Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy MY FIRST POST

Yup. But I tend to be careful about cross-referencing, unless I know the parties involved. (BTW, I'm a list junkie, so I'm on P&P, Highly Gifted Support Board (I always call it Haven's board to myself), HomeschoolingMensans, and a bunch of others, many strictly homeschooling related. And a few unrelated to my son! (Wow, I get something just for me!)

A crucial thing to remember about teachers is that they almost always have a pretty sizeable chip on their shoulders. Simply put, they feel that they don't get any respect. Which is why there's such a strong passive-aggressive streak in so many of them.

After all, look at things from their point of view. They work long, hard hours for pitiful pay. Their obviously important work isn't valued. They're not taken seriously as professionals, either -- no teacher, however successful, has the social status of even the lowliest lawyer. And then, too, teachers are constantly being bullied and buffeted and badgered by people to whom they can't talk back. Truth to tell, most of them would chuck the whole thing in a minute, if it weren't for their devotion to the kids.

So is it really surprising, in light of all this, that teachers bristle -- indeed, even lash out -- when a parent tries to tell them their business? Is it really surprising that they react with a barely suppressed righteous indignation? Is it really surprising that their reactions become even more peremptory and hostile when the parent seems to know more than they do about the issues involved?

No, of course it isn't. In fact, it's more or less exactly what you should expect.

So the moral of the story is that parents of gifted children would do well always to keep in mind that the typical teacher has a very delicate ego. Yes, the typical teacher has never once seen any profoundly gifted children, and yes, the odds are long that she's ever even read anything about these exotic creatures. But that doesn't mean that she will react genially to parents, however well informed, who seek to lecture her on the subject.

Which is why, in dealing with a teacher from whom you seek a classroom accomodation for your child, extreme delicacy should be the order of the day. Show the utmost deference to the teacher, and above all, never press a point, however much you know yourself to be in the right.

In fact, you'll almost certainly get better results if you enlist a surrogate to make your argument. This can get expensive if you use the best sort of surrogate, who simultaneously knows teachers, subject matter, and profoundly gifted children extremely well. But books or articles by recognized ed/psych authorities may also be effective, and at any rate they're much more likely to influence a teacher positively than anything you can say yourself -- even if you're a world-class mathematician, and what you want for your kid is a different kind of exposure to math.

Oh, and what goes for teachers goes school administrators, too -- unfortunately. Why? That's another story, for another post.

thanks Teaching Genius! I'd love to hear your perspective about school adminsitrators, especial at the District Level.

Well, Trinity, as far as I can tell, the facts about school administrators are, if anything, even more depressing than the facts about teachers. Basically, school administrators are a lot like teachers, except that they're farther removed from the actual daily sufferings of the kids the system can't adequately serve. So it's easier for them to be callous.

Which, from their point of view, is generally a big plus. After all, in their dealings with the parents of gifted children, school administrators are essentially gatekeepers -- which is to say, they think of it as their job to say "no."

This, they believe, is more or less always the right answer, for at least three reasons. First, they want to keep their passive-aggressive subordinates as quiet and cooperative as they can, which means placing no additional burdens on any teacher. Second, they want to steer clear of complaints that they've favored any kid over any other. And third, they want to assert their authority. Saying "no" to a proposal, especially a proposal from the parent of a gifted child, is plainly more assertive than saying "yes."

These days, the preoccupations of district administrators are pretty easy to see. They want to ensure that none of the schools for which they're responsible gets tagged as "underperforming," and they want to persuade any major local business they can think of to contribute cash to the district (in one way or another.) Whenever they can, they want to pass local school bond issues, and get the city to approve subsidies for teacher housing. That sort of thing.

And this is all very natural, of course. But with concerns like these on his mind, it's hard to convince a district administrator that he should go out of his way for gifted kids. After all, gifted kids are never going to keep any of the district's schools from slipping into that dreaded "underperforming" category. Those major local businesses he's courting are just as wary of being labeled elitist as school administrators are. And a gifted program costs money that might better be put into those housing subsidies.

If you need to understand the thinking of district administrators, Trinity, I'd suggest that one good way to go might be to scan a few recent issues of the professional magazine that serves them,

http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=1

On the whole, though, this is unlikely to give the parent of a gifted child much cause for rejoicing, I'm afraid. Still, it's worth noting that there are some interesting things going on here and there, and a few rays of hope clearly do shine through the gloom. For example, take a look at this:

http://www.districtadministration.com/page.cfm?p=1057

It's hard to escape the conclusion, I think, that if only more districts had administrators like Stan Olson, life would be a good deal easier for most Davidson parents.

gosh Trinity, that really **is** like our story.
I just now figured out how to get to these other posts. I've been stuck at reading only my own post.

In response to some of the other posts, my take on education, as a person with an MA in ECSE, is that many educators do two things....1) the least they can to get their pay and 2) the most they can to undermine the parent. It is the dominant "school culture", unfortunately. I see it proudly propelled in our school district administration. It's so frustrating and sad.


They accept mediocrity in themselves and they resent the striving for excellence in others. There are a handful that really care for the kids and really try their best, in spite of the "school culture" that inhibits them. Those are the ones I rely on. I think I've seen that in our principal, a couple of the teachers, and one or two other members of The Mite's special ed team. Because of that, I'm going to give them a shot at striving for excellence in themselves and The Mite, before I pass judgement. Plus, it will give me a little time to plot alternative strategies.

Hi everyone
Just been reading your ideas about teachers and their understanding of giftedness.
I was a teacher for seven years. The last school I taught at had no programs or support for gifted children AT ALL! Partly, it was money related, however, the underlying belief was that because they were so bright, they could manage by themselves without support! I was disgusted at the way their needs were ignored and offered to provide a program during my own time. I was not trained in gifted education but had done some subjects and had a very basic understanding of their needs. Eventually, I quit. I was burnt out and I was horrified at the way the school completed ignored their needs, which often resulted in poor behaviour or total boredom and complete waste of their time and talents. The school seemed more interested in spending money on its buildings, rather than supporting students.

Willa,
I understand your frustration, and I do know a few teachers who do the very least they can. However, I really believe that basically, they just don't have a clue about how to identify a gifted student, especially a profoundly gifted student, and definitely not a PG student who also has learning difficulty in other areas. I know that at least in Australia, we are completely unprepared to meet the needs of such students. I believe teacher education is mostly to blame - at least here in Australia.
Well, that's my opinion - coming from an ex-teacher who really did care about students - so much that I had to leave the job - it is just too difficult to do the job as well as I would like. I would have to work 24hours a day, 7 days a week and even then I wouldn't be fully meeting the learning needs of all the students in my class. It's terribly frustrating - for teachers, parents and students. And very sad, too, especially for the students.