Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion story about twins gifted in math (they use EPGY)

Twins = math whiz x 2 |
Two Shasta students win national recognition for their school
By Anne Williams
The Register-Guard
Appeared in print: Tuesday, Apr 20, 2010
http://www.registerguard.com/csp/cm.../math-northrup-anthony-middle-robert.csp

Shasta Middle School eighth-�graders Robert and Anthony Northrup share a genetic identity and a towering talent for mathematics.

The identical twins, who turned 13 last month, also share a fearsome competitive drive, evidenced by how eagerly they embrace any chance to test their skills and how precisely they can recount their performances.

Surprisingly, though, they aren�t especially competitive with each other. The fact that Anthony scored 700 out of a possible 800 on the reasoning portion of last year�s SAT college placement exam and Robert 690 created no fraternal rift, they and their parents insist � even though it meant that only Anthony was invited to become a member of a study of exceptional talent through Johns Hopkins University�s Center for Talented Youth.

A year earlier, it was Robert�s turn for glory when he placed first in Oregon and 12th in the nation in the Math League Contest. Anthony took fourth in the state.

�I think they�re much more competitive with the tests themselves than with each other,� said their mother, Linda Northrup, who works in accounts payable for the Bethel School District. �One nice thing is they both test well.�

That is an understatement. The boys have been turning heads with their math prowess since they began kindergarten at Bethel�s Danebo Elementary School; last month, they alone earned Shasta a nod from Johns Hopkins as a �top school� for talent.

From the middle of first grade, it was clear that the boys needed something more than what first grade had to offer. Then-Principal Nancy Mc�Cullum, who has since retired, recommended testing the boys for talented and gifted education plans. They were deemed intellectually gifted, and also earned a separate academic TAG designation in math.

After much discussion, McCullum and the Northrups agreed to bump the boys up midyear to second grade, a rare step.

�That was a tough decision,� father Bill Northrup recalled recently in the living room of the family�s modest home off Royal Avenue. �The phrase I used over and over again is, �I don�t want to push my kids, but I want them to be free to fly.� �

<rest of story at link>

What's sad is that a single year grade skip is so "rare" in their elementary school. It's hard to believe it was really enough for them at the time - obviously since that time they accelerated through a couple years' worth of math if they managed to be in geometry in 7th grade (it looks like their age was sixth grade at the time that they took geometry - must have been 11, I guess).

I have twin first graders who are kinda 2E and, as far as we can tell, merely MG. If my 2E boys were in a traditional classroom, even they would need a bigger grade skip, now, in order to keep making progress with math than the boys in the article were originally granted.

Good for the boys in the article; it sounds like they're doing fantastically well now.

Shasta Middle School has 600 students - its one of only two schools in that school district. And the Eugene MSA has about 300K people living in it. So, I would imagine these kids are kind of rare given both the size of the district and the nature of Eugene's demographics.

I lived in Portland when in Middle School. It is a great town for MG/PG kids due to the excellent public transportation and lots of stuff going on. Via showing up at club meetings of topics I liked, I lucked out and met adults who understood me. The school districts back then were just getting going on "TAG" programs. Most of them were not in-depth or challenging enough and were aimed more at the top 5%, not the 5/10% of 1%.

In this article, it really sounds like the dad is the driving force behind his kids' success, not necessarily the schools.

Hats off to the school district for being flexible.

Hi snowgirl. I think your age estimate is off. I was 10 in grade 6 with one grade skip with a midyear birthday.

And I can understand wanting to push acceleration on the academics but you do hit that wall of puberty and lots of other stuff going on.

Lang Lang talked about how hard it was for musical prodigies when they hit puberty and most stop performing because they just can't handle all the stuff going on emotionally etc. He said he barely made it through as a performer. Luckily these kids have each other. Though it doesn't sound like there are at the level of Kit Armstrong who could scored perfectly on the SAT at 10.

Ren

I loved this.

There is a wonderful story in local NYC tabloids today about a 15 year old sophomore at Stuyvesant who was admitted for this fall to MIT, Cal Tech and Harvard. He seems to be leaning towards MIT.

Stuyvesant is an amazing high school in NYC (the subject of a book a couple years ago entitled something like Prodigies and Pressure in One of America's Leading High Schools). Stuy only accepts something like 1 in 40 applicants (admission is by competitive exam), and this kid is already young for his sophomore class at Stuy.

I'm sure he has enjoyed Stuy, but college will probably be even more fun for him. He seems happy and well-adjusted, and mature enough for college. I always appreciate hearing about kids who are doing well, and actually getting their educational needs met.

Thanks, HannahZ, below is an excerpt of the story you may be referring to. The book about Stuyvesant is

A Class Apart: Prodigies, Pressure, and Passion Inside One of America's Best High Schools
Alec Klein
Simon & Schuster (2007)

http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/manhattan/hs_kid_gets_into_harvard_and_mit_ZqLY8RPivQzlP8CCtdbKcL
'Mind' boggling
HS kid, 15, gets into Harvard and MIT
By YOAV GONEN Education Reporter
Last Updated: 6:02 AM, April 26, 2010

Zachary Young's acceptance letters to Harvard, MIT and Caltech arrived early at his Upper East Side apartment last month.
Two years early.

...

Young's aptitude was obvious from preschool, although he also once read an "Idiot's Guide to World War II" -- when he was in third grade.

His passion for math began at age 2, when he finished a puzzle -- and then did it upside down to make it more challenging.

"He's very intense and driven," said his mom, Lisa Young, who works in the office at the Anderson School for the intellectually gifted on the Upper West Side. "My only reservation is that I wish he could know that he's only going to be a kid once. He'll have plenty of time to be a grown-up."

But Young is impatient, especially with those folks who just don't get math.

"A lot of people have the misconception that it's plugging and chugging," he said. "That's not real math. Real math is basically proving things and solving problems."

Young has already taken every math and science class Stuyvesant has to offer.

"I wasn't sure what classes I'd be able to take next year," said Zach, who attended the private Ethical Culture Fieldston School through fifth grade before switching to the Anderson School in sixth. "I really just applied to college to give myself options."

Zach is a two-time national chess champion who doesn't watch TV or listen to music.

"If I have a choice between math and almost anything else, I choose math," he said.