Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Gifted DD, 2e DS?

Oh really? Well now that's interesting. I'd love to get her into a pure GT program, I think it would really benefit her. However, what would it mean for our family? Would we have to move to accommodate? We're in Georgia right now. I'm new to all this GT stuff, there was no such thing in the UK when DH and I were growing up!

I think you'll find that there are very few pure GT programs, as, by definition, they would be quite exclusive, which is counter to our prevailing educational culture in North America.

Nearly all gifted programmes are actually "high across the board achiever programmes".

Thanks puffin and aeh, that makes sense. I guess if you make a program "too" exclusive, there wouldn't be enough students to warrant sustaining it!

All the districts aroud here seem to look for cogAT 98th percentile or above and MAP (at least one subtest, either reading or math) 98th percentile or above with a high score in the other subject as well. DD was 99.9th percentile for IQ, 99th Math and 97th Reading, we tried the self-contained gifted program and it was obviously something that catered to highly motivated kids who are very independent and like churning out papers, worksheets, projects, etc. What DD needed was more advanced content not more work. But she is 2e which played a big role. Biggest lesson learned is that gifted programs do not necessarily work for all gifted kids. She is still Id'ed as gifed in a new school and is placed in a gifted house of some sort for middle school (which also includes high achievers that are not id'ed as gifted) and she is subject accelerated for math. If that doesn't work either we may need to take her out of g/t and have her unidentified (hoping not, though, since the school seems well versed in 2e).

Hi blackcat, thanks for the insight! Your DD is obviously gifted and it would be a shame to have her unidentified as such. If only all schools catered for all types of gifted children.

My DD IS the kind who is highly motivated, likes to do projects for fun, etc., HOWEVER, it has to be something that interests her. I'm still surprised that her scores were so low as her usual scores are up there.

I don't if she is so much intelligently gifted as just extremely motivated and curious. Is there even a difference? I don't know. I find this all very confusing!

There can be a big difference, but there's no magical binary distribution between the two. Some kids are both, some are only one or the other. Lots blend in the middle. Really bright, motivated kids tend to be really good at doing the normal stuff of school and life. They are well positioned for success in whatever they set out to do. Really gifted kids tend to be divergent thinkers, which can sometimes make them really bad at doing the normal stuff of life.

But there's also no clear line between "gifted" and "not gifted", just tendencies that seem to increase the farther you get from the norm. From what I can see, the further you move away from typical and towards HG or PG, the more likely you are to see those greater extremes of divergent thinking - and, often, the lousier the kid will do in a regular classroom.

A favorite quote of mine, somewhat paraphrased for thinking about what differentiates gifted vs bright/ high achieving, is "Talent hits a target no one else can hit. Gifted hits a target no one else can see."

Teachers do not like children who are aiming at targets they cannot see.

I see that divergent thinking a lot in my younger kid (age 9), who tested lower on the WISC (still gifted though) but I think he is actually MORE gifted than my other child. He also has a lot of unconventional views and thinks about things that most kids his age would not. For instance when I asked him if they say the Pledge in school and what he thinks of it, he started rambling on about totalitarianism, something abbut Hitler, it's a waste of time, could be learning instead, God has nothing to do with America so God shouldn't be in the pledge, etc etc etc. My other child doesn't even think about things like that. I think he is pretty good about keeping his mouth shut in school, but they don't seem to esp. appreciate critical or divergenet thinking in elementary school.

blackcat, I think I would get on great with your kid! My DD does tend to think unconventionally, go against the grain, couldn't give a hoot what other people think BUT she gets on great at school for the most part and is really popular. So she's either just really bright and motivated OR she's really good at faking it!! Only one way to find out, get her tested...