Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Sports vs. Academics

Gifted kids need to be recognized a "high risk" group, but one with great potential, and the challenge is to get the general public to buy it. There is ample data on the relatively high drop-out rate of gifted kids but the lore is still that these kids will be just fine without any intervention needed. Maybe some stories could be told about the tragic side of high IQ.

delbows, I'm so glad you mentioned this:



I remembered last night after I posted that our local high school just received a million dollar gift of a turf field from parent boosters. That's how parents chose to make donations. So that brings me back to the pr angle again - why aren't parents with money making similar donations on a large scale to support the academic programs? Maybe b/c it's perceived as that's what the school is supposed to be doing? Maybe the large group of parents don't realize there is something that they could do? I guess the turf fields are perceived as extras, so there's no argument that that's what my tax dollars are supposed to do - there was no million dollar turf field in the school budget; it would never have passed.

I know on the local level many parents (and many here) are active doing just that in terms of (relatively) small purchases (e.g., software like Aleks for the classroom) and lots of volunteer time. But all those individuals would have to come together to change district practices.

Anyone old enough here to remember SRA reading? Our 4th or 5th grade class would have reading and each child would go up to the front of the room and grab their color-coded reading pamphlet, answer the comprehension questions and move on the next one and to the next level. Different levels in one room with one teacher. Hmmmm, maybe the answer is in the curriculum thing? Like the Aleks approach to math?

Yes, Jool, I'm in agreement about that. In fact, DS was a victim of just that - even after testing at DYS levels, we were told that he'll do fine wherever he is as long as he is supported for his writing. Turned out not to be true. I've had quite the education this year! That's partially why I'm thinking out loud here.

I wanted to clarify that that statement was made by one of the professionals we consulted - and I think the world of her. It just goes to show that the old GT perception remains. Our testing psych did say it will be hard no matter what where he goes - I just didn't understand what she meant. But all of this has been part of our learning process.

Oh, and let's not forget the emphasis in schools with NCLB of "lowering the academic achievement gap". (never heard that about sports achievement). If you are serving mainly high-income kids (which tend to be the ones who are identified due to higher parent involvement), it would be a barrier to federal goals. But I'm still hopeful that NCLB will become more gifted friendly And I think efforts like Question's could contribute to that end. We could use something to change America's reputation of being academically inferior to other countries.

I've been thinking about this. It seems obvious that none of us knows the answer or has the clout to do much about it, except in small doses for our own kids. Someone pointed out that the whole educational system needs to change. That's where someone like Bill Gates and his foundation might come in. I know it seems like a long shot, but it couldn't hurt to ask him something like "We see these issues in the current educational system, these effects on x group of kids, these effects on y group of kids etc. What we need is someone with ideas and money to find a better way to educate all kids. How would you be able to contribute to this project?". And, let him take an interest and take it on as a project (of course with all of our input, right!!). We could certainly do something like start our own group as a grass roots way to make changes. But, we'd need a big mind, a big name, and money to implement those changes. And very clear, specific goals on which to focus. Peronally, I'd love to change my school and school district but I don't have the time or the money.

I also think that none of these changes would come about soon enough to help our own children.

This is a good discussion, but we could discuss it from here until kingdom come and not be able to implement anything widescale. I am a firm believer, however, that it needs to come "from the people" and not from the government. Governement has already made a mess of things. That's also a hard part - making changes to a system so corrupted by government intervention. It is a systemic change and it has to take place on a societal level and it has to affect ALL children.

Or, we are going to have to unite as a group and start suing school districts like people did in the 70s for special education.

Just ideas. Everyone has something to contribute and we've had a lot of good ideas. Keep 'em coming.

I remember SRA and I really liked it. My teacher let me do SRA when I finished my work early and it was an incentive for me to finish early.

I was shocked to find out that in our school all the kids have to read the same books and do the same work regardless of their ability. Crayons are still on the school supply lists for 4th and 5th grade. I wonder if they are supposed to color when they finish their work early. This is one of many reasons we had to homeschool.

I agree with you Squirt. The government, by it's nature, is not going to make things better in terms of addressing individual gifted kids' needs. Legislation and common sense are too much at odds with each other. But NCLB exists, is likely here to stay, and it is a huge barrier to change as is. Districts ultimately gain government money by dumbing down the curriculum and teachers lose jobs for not teaching the bare minimum to the masses. Athletics don't (doesn't?) have these barriers that I'm aware of. I'm thinking suing as a group (and lobbying-$$) are some ways to address these barriers. I'm no attorney, but the fact that gifted kids learn *less* than other kids is educational inequity, no?

Okay, off to the beach...

I think that trying to change the whole school system is difficult, long range and usually top down doesn't work.

I mentioned that NYC is gifted crazy right now. But one by one, because of demand, schools are changing because parents are getting involved. Putting money and elbow grease to change schools, raising money. But in zones where parents are not involved, the schools are not changing.

When parents are not involved, you cannot change the whole school system. That is another kettle of fish.

Ren

I agree. I even heard this idea from a couple bright kids I knew who didn't get picked for the gifted program. They both said "I would really like to have gone to the Science museum. It's not fair." The perception was that the kids from the wealthy families got picked.

Alternatively, if acceleration was accessible to a larger chunk of students, people might start to see it as the norm. And if going on the special Science field trips was based on getting at least a B average in science class, then winning a spot could become a personal challenge.

See, I think a lot of the possibility for success here rests on getting rid of the elitist thing and turning acceleration into a personal challenge. Americans like to overcome obstacles and react negatively when something is perceived as given for reasons unrelated to achievement.

Obviously, I'm not trying to say we have a completely merit-based society. I'm trying to find ways to get a critical mass of parents on board, and this will only happen if they see themselves or their own kids in what's being discussed.

Val

This reminded me of a saying from a guy I used to work with, "Every village needs an idiot". He was content to do what was asked, and do it well, but would play the idiot instead of bringing up new ideas.

Anyway, I've skipped over most of the posts in this thread due to a lack of time. But the OP has an idea that I've toyed with for a while. We have band boosters and the sports booster clubs, why don't we form academic booster clubs? We could raise funds for academic competitions in the schools, don't limit participation to only the top kids unless there is a limit on how many can participate in any particular event. Then there could be try-outs to pick out who goes.

Now I've got to read the rest of this thread!