Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Learning Environments How did we get so lucky?

Just have to share our good experience ...

We met with the school principal and middle school math specialist this afternoon. We are requesting the same math and science accommodation for our DS10 (currently in 5th) in next school year.

In short, the principal agreed that they would deal with the scheduling issue to make that happen. Whole grade acceleration is an option, too, if that is what our son needs and what we want. He also talks about figuring out a more individualized accommodation in science in the second half of next year.

How lucky are we? We don't have a gifted program in our school, but our principal is surely trying his best to accommodate the gifted kids in a very real and meaningful way.

That is wonderful news Cocopandan. Interestingly, I've just been skimming a book that has the premise that although there certainly are kids with special educational needs for higher challenge, that they are different enough from each other that what is needed so that the label, "Gifted Child" makes no sense in a school setting. The writer proposes that instead of 'gifted programs' what should be offered is a set of ways to analyze the individual needs and the flexibility to arrange resource to meet those needs. It sounds like your principal is doing that and it is a wonderful example.

I still think that pull out pull out gifted programs have their place in the 'set of ways to analyze and accommodate' but I do believe that their are usually going to be more than one way to get the job of accommodation done workably.

Yippee for the School!

Grinity

Yippee for the school and the principal, indeed! I have to say that his 5th grade teacher is wonderful, too!

Grinity, I'm wondering what book it is that you're skimming. What you said about the book seems to be what our principal is trying to do.

I pass along a book about school-wide cluster grouping to our principal yesterday. We'll see what comes out of it...

In any case, we had PT conference yesterday, and his teacher thought that if the needed accommodation can be made, our son's current friends would be a better match for him academically and socially. So we're crossing our fingers!

I kindle downloaded a sample of Robert Sternberg's 'Conceptions of Giftendness' which is a compliations of essays. The one I'm reading now is by James H. Borland, faculty at Teachers College, Columbia University New York.

I wouldn't suggest giving it to the Principal to read, because it's sort of 'falsely innocent' from my perspective.

As in: I believe that some kids learn at different rates, and I believe we have a social responsibility to teach them at their readiness level, but we are spending too much money on Gifted programs -other kids need it more- and kids lives aren't being improved by labling them as Gifted Children. (my paraphrase)

From my perspective, Gifted Pull out programs do a lot of good for a lot of OG kids, and until training is given to every teacher and every principal about the importance of full skips and subject acceleration and the tools are given for differentiation and giving material at a child's readiness level in every classroom, then we need the label.

I do look forward to a time when every child will be checked to be sure that their readiness level fits the grouping that they are in for every subject, without regard to how old the child is, and then the label won't be needed, but we aren't there yet. Not nearly.

Love and more Love,
Grinity