Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Hothousing, defined.

A number of posters on this forum have expressed confusion about the term "hothousing" (myself included) and we've had a few threads on the subject.

A new article in the NY Times describes it perfectly:

Toddler Test Prep article

Test preparation has long been a big business catering to students taking SATs and admissions exams for law, medical and other graduate schools. But the new clientele is quite a bit younger: 3- and 4-year-olds whose parents hope that a little assistance � costing upward of $1,000 for several sessions � will help them win coveted spots in the city�s gifted and talented public kindergarten classes.

Motivated by a recession putting private schools out of reach and concern about the state of regular public education, parents � some wealthy, some not � are signing up at companies like Bright Kids NYC. Bright Kids, which opened this spring in the financial district, has some 200 students receiving tutoring, most of them for the gifted exams, for up to $145 a session and 80 children on a waiting list for a weekend �boot camp� program.

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Pre-K boot camp. I don't know about the rest of you, but this concept really sums it up for me.

Val

The fact that hey have "tutoring" for the gifted exams really bothers me. As someone who was, at one point in her career, trained to give the IQ tests, I find it incredibly unethical that someone who has access to said tests would create a program to tutor children on how to do well on them. The reason IQ tests are left pretty secretive is that if people know enough about them to tutor themselves on them, the whole purpose of the test is defeated. IQ tests become useless.

*sigh*

That bugged the fool out of me, too. So unethical!

I believe Austin posted this article a few days ago.

It's really sad how companies like the ones discussed in the article prey on parents' insecurities. There should be a lawsuit for prepping for IQ tests. Unethical for sure.

Wow. Okay I believe in giving your child every advantage...read to them, play with them, if they ask a question answer in a way that they are satisfies, if it leads to another question great....but just wow....As a therapist I just feel this is so entirely unethical. But I also would extreamly worry about these children as they progress in their education. If labeled as "gifted" only because of being "taught the test" then how will they truely perform in an enviroment greared toward highly gifted students.....wouldn't they constantly struggle to keep up, or has it become in these districts where there are so many tutored iq's that the gifted programs have been diminished to teach to this level....thus leaving out children who are gifted with out being taught.

I do workbooks with DD, and I do teach somethings.....but it is all things she has asked....right now we are working on addition, not much treaching involved as she grasped the concept herself one day, came to me and told me it was like counting, bu she has since asked me to teach her more of it....so we work on it when she feels like it....but it is fun to her, and led by her.

These articles just amaze me.