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I agree!


I find this fasinating. XH is being held to a higher standard than the school system? I thought that all children are entitled to a Free Appropriate Public Education? I can understand if the needs of the Gifted aren't recognised as Appropriate by the law, which after all, reflects the sensibility of the U.S. citizenry, but I would hope that if a Judge can tell that a gifted child has special needs, that the FAPE would kick in to effect. Not that I'm unhappy that your daughter is well placed - that is the main thing. But for everyone of your 'daughter' whoes parents can pay for private school, how many children are there who can not?

Curious,
Grimity

I totally agree. It seems like this declaration in a court of law could and should lead to bigger things. If I were bianc, I'm quite sure I would have pursued things the same way. But it does beg the question - what about the public school? When I think of kids whose parents can't afford alternatives or worse, parents who don't even know their child's "special needs", these kids can and will just slip through the system it makes me sad and mad.

Mia - you totally described my DS and DH. Funny! They get totally engaged in surfing the web, math problems, Lego Mindstorms, etc etc etc. Last night, I went out for a dinner with a girlfriend and they had written "I love you" across the living room in legos for when I got home.

And kcab - stick around! We're all in the same boat.

I agree, I think parents need to sue the school system and force them to provide "a free appropriate education". I think the problem comes when there are many definitions of "appropriate". Neither my XH or I wealthy. We are both middle class working people. Paying for private tuition is a big sacrifice for both of us. We disagreed on what was "appropriate" education for or DD. He felt the public system could do a good job. I didn't. The judge agreed with me. I get upset sometimes because we pay taxes to support the public school system, yet they are unable/unwilling to provide the services our daughter (or other people's daughters/sons) need.

I wish every parent with a highly gifted child would go to court and force public schools to provide an appropriate education for every child, no matter what end of the bell curve they happened to be. Special ed right now only recognizes kids with disabilities. Parents of such kids fought a lot to get where they are. I think we need to do the same. I have no problem with my daughter being labeled a "special needs child" because she is. The needs may be different, but they are as important and should not be ignored.

I'm going to try to state it once and for all. Let's see how I do.

Every child is precious and deserves to be thought about well. I mean it, Every Child. Disablilitied. ND. 2E. MG. HG. PG. This is the only position worth taking.

There are other websites that address the experiences of MG children. Further, there are more educational programs that meet the needs of some MG children without a lot of stress from their parents. So what are parents of MG kids doing here? Can a site that makes space for parents of HG and PG kids have something to offer parents of MG kids? I believe so. Depending on the local situation your MG child finds themselves in, and their personality, they may be more 'out of place' than a PG child in a +3SD magnet school, for example. Its about having special educational needs that may or may not be being met. Its about parents who can not afford to passivly allow the local school system to do their business as usual. Some have said that the best way to learn about gifted chldren is to study the experiences of Profoundly Gifted children, because everything is thrown is such stark contrasts.

More importantly, Do parents of MG children have something to contribute here to the parents of HG and PG children? Of Course you do. The fact that you care about a group of families who almost no one else cares about, in itself, is a strong positive contribution. But even more than that, your own experiences figuring out your children absolutly are valuable to helping us figure out our children, and are just as inspiring and important. Some parents of MG children are themselves HG and PG, admit it or not, and your own childhood perceptions are valuable.

Many of us attended school. Usually, School is a world were it's made clear to all that the high achievers are good and valuable, and the rest are not so much. 99% on that test? Good. 98%? Not so good. What a flat, stale, unimaginative place! So I get it that one might feel timid about expressing themselves here. Some of us here even have credentials that their child is very very smart. But 'here' is a place to honor any adult to cares about any child and is willing to go to that uncomfortable place when nescessary on behalf of that child. We, at least, are not in the schoolyard anymore!


It's a big mysterious world, and one of it's beauties is that everyone with love in their hearts has something valuable to offer. If you like reading what we have to say, you probably identify with it in some way. If this can be a home for you, I say, 'Come on inside and pull up a keyboard!' I'm sure some of us will be having 'Am I/my child smart enough to belong here' feeling for a long time, but I would respectfully request that we post about it in terms of how certain experiences have left us feeling timid and unconfident. All of us have those experiences, and so do all of our kids. If we look at this together, we can help each other and our children, and probably every person we come in contact with for the rest of our lives.

Grinity, ((climbing down off the soapbox - or mountian - hummm??))

Yeah, what she said!!

Incog

((hugs to KCab))
I'm still here until Monday, and I'll try to peek in once in a while while traveling...

I do agree that schools "should" have open and above board policies for meeting the needs of gifted kids. OTOH, until the taxpayers make it clear that they want the needs of gifted kids met, and will pay the difference, if there even is one, or there is a State Law forcing the issues, I don't think it's going to happen widely.

I think we need 'not either timid or pushy' moms, like Kcab, everywhere to make friends with all the voters and taxpayers we come in contact with, and gently put forward our perspectives. This might take a while...but while we patch together things for our children, you can bet that the grandchildren will come along and many will have special educational needs as well.

((Rally Cry: For the Grandchildren!!))
Smiles,
Grinity

That is exactly the way it is at my kid's school. I didn't even know why my child was testing in 2nd grade (they test all kids at that time) and no one told me. Our GT program is a HUGE secret and it has taken me almost 2 years to fully understand what all has happened with my child in my effort to see him qualify. My boys are in an excellerated magnet and lots of kids are in the program, but I don't think about half of the parents even know the program is there. And I don't understand the secrecy.



I agree with Grinity and she is right, it is up to us. I love the rallying cry for the Grandchildren!!! LOL! Thanks for the post about all belonging here too. I've never felt unwelcome from any of the members, but my issues with my child seem mundane compared to the struggles many of you are going through. That is what makes me wonder if I really have a right to be here. But I figure I can be a cheerleader for those of you who are struggling with bigger issues with your highly gifted children. Ya'll are definitely blazing the trails for everyone else and I appreciate and empathise with all you are going through.

Dottie - good luck with your "advocacy" issue that is coming up. You don't have to worry about one of the other random anons either because that is me half the time!!! :-)

Dottie - you're going to let us hang on this!?

I think I'm still showing up as anonymous sometimes? I guess I don't have auto login set up.

Heck, kcab, I wonder sometimes if I should be posting here when I read about all the amazing kids -- even with test scores in hand!

For the grandchildren...If you were on the school board and developing a gifted education plan, what would it entail? You'd have to be careful because there are limitations to what you'd commit to because of budgetary constraints (which IS one of your responsibilities as a board member). If students were allowed to work on online courses or independent study (say there was not an available teacher for every level and those two options were more affordable than hiring addl staff), how does a school make sure the student's not goofing off or floundering while working "independently"? If the school paid for the online stuff and the kid never completes it, are there consequences (repayment?). Does the kid get to come back next semester and enroll in another? Ideally real life instruction is better than online, but schools have real money concerns and may not be able to do that. What is to stop every student who wants to enroll in an advanced course from asking for it--how does the school discern which ones it's appropriate for?

I'm asking these questions because I'm on a charter school governing council and the school is just developing their gifted ed plan. Specifically, for my DS 9 who will go there next year and hopefully have a modification for math & L.A., I'm trying to figure out what is realistic for the school to offer. If the Alg 1 class conflicts with his schedule, then online coursework. How does the school select the provider and what responsibility does the school have for successful completion or monitoring online work? Is that the best solution for Jr high (are those age students really independent enough to work like that or are there better options?)

The school currently uses SEM (Schoolwide Enrichment Model) so that every student (not just gifted) has lots of hands-on projects, field trips, guest speakers, critical thinking exercises, etc. They have a talent search coordinator, encourage above-level testing, offer participation in lots of competitions/contests. I'm just not sure what's realistic to expect the schools to provide for HG in terms of differentiation. Current population of gifted (all levels) is 34%.