DD is no longer gifted, she's

[Cheshire Figment]

I would suggest going to us.mensa.org and look for the Chicago Mensa Group. They are one of the lagest local groups in the country and they have a very active Gifted Children's program. They may be able to assist you.

 

[Magpie]

My DS has 3 different learning disabilities (ADD, Dysgraphia, and a math computation disability) yet his scores on vocabulary, matrices, and one other section of the IQ test he took are genius level. He struggles even to make C's. Just goes to show that even kids who are not in the gifted program are gifted, just maybe not in an area that really helps them in school. Also, sometimes the kids who are great at every subject in school don't have any common sense and we need that more than "book smarts", IMHO.

I've got one of these kids, too. But I'm lucky in that our school district says that Gifted/LD kids belong in the gifted program. Your LD shouldn't keep you out of an appropriate learning environment any more than being in a wheelchair. My son struggles in some areas, but he gets to use "assistive technology" (ie a laptop), and he's allowed to use alternative means of showing that he's mastered the material. And he's still being challenged intellectually, which is something he needs. It's not a perfect fit, but it's pretty good. He works hard for his C's and B's, and we're proud of him.

Other kids in his Gifted class have been autistic, and ADD, all sorts of variety.

Now, despite what other people have said about the characteristics of a "real" gifted child... I've got another one who has no LDs and is beyond gifted. She started reading bits out of the newspaper at 2 and currently tests in the 99.98th percentile. And she's NEVER bored in a classroom, or anywhere else. She has no drive to succeed at anything. She's happy, mellow, and content to watch the clouds drift by as she composes pretty fantasies in her head. She rises to exactly the level requested of her and no further.

She's a delightful young lady, and definitely gifted by any measure you want to take, but she doesn't need gifted programming to keep her from being bored. What she needs are people who can challenge her and pull her out of her comfort zone - and that's what the gifted program gives her. Peers.

Drive, ambition and a work ethic are gifts in themselves, and I think having a "highly able" program is a way of saying "our program is for high achievers, not just bright kids". My excessively laid-back daughter probably wouldn't fit into a program like that.

I'd like to see all schools have a wide range of options available to students and parents, so they can find their best fit.

 

[*BTMRR*]

Gotta love the buzzwords.

In my school, there was a support group for kids who were in the "Gifted" program but weren't getting high grades. It was called "Underachieving Overachievers." You got a few months in UO and then it was a boot out of the Gifted program!

 

[asta]

I think they need to get rid of all the programs and just teach each child at their own level. That's what I do in my classroom. Everyone is on their own path in each subject. A child with a learning disability in math may be "gifted" in language and it bugs me that unless the kids score high in all three areas (language, math and non-verbal), they are not allowed into the "gifted" program. To me, all kids are "gifted" in one way or another. We should challenge each at their own level and stop trying to use one size fits all curriculums. It isn't all that hard to do, and it really pays off!

You are my hero. My children are in college now but I wish that the public elementay school that they attended had someone teaching with your wisdom. We gave up on the local public schools after fifth grade because the gifted labeling that was put on some students and the harm that it was doing to my daughters. In 3rd grade my daughter was not allowed to progress on her multiplication tables until the "gifted students" caught up with her. In 4th grade she came home and announced that something was wrong with her because she understood math concepts before the "gifted students". That was it for me and we moved her to a private school and never looked back. What kind of educational system teaches children that there is something wrong with them if they understand? Our school was far more interested in proving that their labeling system was right and in serving the needs of this "gifted" special interest group over the other students.

And by the way, that little girl who was told that there was something wrong with her went on to get undergraduate degrees in math and chemistry in 4 years and is now in a chemistry Phd program at a top university. She is on full scholarship. Pretty good for a student who wasn't supposed to be smart because of a lousy gifted progarm.

 

[newddmommie]

I agree with the pps. When I was in gifted, we truly weren't getting what we needed in a regular class room and would frequently get in trouble for talking and being restless. I was just bored. If children are being productive in regular classes, that's where they should stay. Parents may want to brag about their "gifted" children, but being labeled isn't always fun. If they don't truly need to be pulled out, then I would just leave the "highly able" alone. I do agree that all the buzz words are getting a little crazy.

 

[torinsmom]

You are my hero. My children are in college now but I wish that the public elementay school that they attended had someone teaching with your wisdom. We gave up on the local public schools after fifth grade because the gifted labeling that was put on some students and the harm that it was doing to my daughters. In 3rd grade my daughter was not allowed to progress on her multiplication tables until the "gifted students" caught up with her. In 4th grade she came home and announced that something was wrong with her because she understood math concepts before the "gifted students". That was it for me and we moved her to a private school and never looked back. What kind of educational system teaches children that there is something wrong with them if they understand? Our school was far more interested in proving that their labeling system was right and in serving the needs of this "gifted" special interest group over the other students.

And by the way, that little girl who was told that there was something wrong with her went on to get undergraduate degrees in math and chemistry in 4 years and is now in a chemistry Phd program at a top university. She is on full scholarship. Pretty good for a student who wasn't supposed to be smart because of a lousy gifted progarm.

Well, I grew up being bored in school, and once I set foot in a Montessori classroom, I was hooked. I teach in a public Montessori, so we have kids from every walk of life. I have some K's who don't know 1-10 and I have some who are doing multiplication. I have some who have not begun reading, and some who can read as well as many 4th graders. It doesn't take any more time for me to give individual lessons to some kids every day, while the other kids work on lessons I have given them in previous days. Besides, bored kids get in trouble! Mine don't have TIME to get in trouble.

Marsha