DD is no longer gifted, she's

[mrsv98]

"highly able"...She and I were , its like being a downgraded hurricane, does this mean she is now a tropical depression?

I swear, our school district has no idea what it wants to do 90% of the time. Last year it took them until just before Thanksgiving to start the GaTE program for the kids in her grade. Now they are changing the program again...

The one good thing is there is a new Learning Coach and we really like him so maybe they will be more on the ball this year. Ah well, one more year at this school and we can happily move on.

 

[golfgal]

In reality, that is probably a better term anyway--VERY few kids are really "gifted", highly able is a more accurate description.

 

[Liberty Belle]

Too much reality tv?

It's funny how all schools have different criteria. You could get dumber just from a move across town.

 

[mrsv98]

Too much reality tv?

It's funny how all schools have different criteria. You could get dumber just from a move across town.

I an totally willing to accept the fact that Suite Life on Deck has destroyed many of her brain cells....

Same school, they just keep changing, first it was "differentiated" then it was "gifted" now it is "highly able" it is just goofy. I have two degrees in education and the buzz words never stop changing.

It just struck us as funny that they changed it yet again.

 

[dislaney]

Does that mean that if your not in that program - your highly unable! Is that even a word? Funny how they keep changing the name!

 

[mrsv98]

Does that mean that if your not in that program - your highly unable! Is that even a word? Funny how they keep changing the name!

Oh no, then there are the "high potential" students...I swear between this and all the kids with IEPs, there are no "regular" students left!

 

[binny]

Oh man! What a PITB! Arent they crazy with their labels for programs?

I am so glad those days are over for us! I had had it up to here with the whole "gifted program" by last year. DS finally just said "mom I want to go a regular school and take AP and Honours classes"

They were constantly changing schools (whichever had the most room for our "magnet school") changing curriculum, changing if it was pull out to FT or whether those who qualified for the highly gifted school should be put there instead, changing the name of the program, they were always changing everything around. The same 22 kids stuck with the program from grade 2 on. Im sure most of them are still in it but we've moved out of State so it doesnt matter anyway. DS is thrilled now that he is out of it. His grades are better and he is happier.

 

[Debbie7452]

Does that mean that if your not in that program - your highly unable! Is that even a word? Funny how they keep changing the name!

no, it wouldn't be PC to call someone "unable" maybe just "highly unmotivated"

 

[torinsmom]

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!

 

[goofyernmost]

Hee Hee! There is no end to how stupid PC is no matter how you look at it.

 

[minkydog]

Gotta love tthe DIS, where "all the women are strong, all the men are good looking, and all the children are above average."

 

[monkeyboy]

Today I would be gifted
back in the day I was incorrigible

 

[scrapquitler]

"highly able"...She and I were , its like being a downgraded hurricane, does this mean she is now a tropical depression?

I swear, our school district has no idea what it wants to do 90% of the time. Last year it took them until just before Thanksgiving to start the GaTE program for the kids in her grade. Now they are changing the program again...

The one good thing is there is a new Learning Coach and we really like him so maybe they will be more on the ball this year. Ah well, one more year at this school and we can happily move on.

So they aren't teachers anymore?

 

[descovy]

our school district has this "highly abled" moniker.

It's honestly because parents find "gifted" as a badge...on honor...something brag-worthy. When in fact, a truely "gifted" child is in as need of special services just as someone who is learning disabled. It is to say, the regular classroom is not meeting his/her needs, and "special accomodations" are needed to teach this child.

But too many parents push to get their "highly able" children into the "gifted program." So they have something to brag about. In the end it waters down the one and only service for the truely gifted.

My kids are smart. My oldest two are in 3rd and 5th grade. They have earned straight A's all the way through with a nominal amount of effort. Are they smart? Yes. Are they highly able? Yes. Are their needs somehow not met in a mainstream classroom because they are so far beyond? No. They are just bright kids who excell in the traditional mainstream classroom. Their needs are being met where they are. They do not "need" to be pulled out into some special gifted program.

The real "gifted" would not be fulfilled in a regular classroom...

Our school will assess for giftedness by request in K-1. And they actually assess ALL in 2nd grade for giftedness. Either you are or you aren't. But it pays no mind to whether or not you make all A's... that's for sure!

 

[mrsv98]

our school district has this "highly abled" moniker.

It's honestly because parents find "gifted" as a badge...on honor...something brag-worthy. When in fact, a truely "gifted" child is in as need of special services just as someone who is learning disabled. It is to say, the regular classroom is not meeting his/her needs, and "special accomodations" are needed to teach this child.

But too many parents push to get their "highly able" children into the "gifted program." So they have something to brag about. In the end it waters down the one and only service for the truely gifted.

My kids are smart. My oldest two are in 3rd and 5th grade. They have earned straight A's all the way through with a nominal amount of effort. Are they smart? Yes. Are they highly able? Yes. Are their needs somehow not met in a mainstream classroom because they are so far beyond? No. They are just bright kids who excell in the traditional mainstream classroom. Their needs are being met where they are. They do not "need" to be pulled out into some special gifted program.

The real "gifted" would not be fulfilled in a regular classroom...

Our school will assess for giftedness by request in K-1. And they actually assess ALL in 2nd grade for giftedness. Either you are or you aren't. But it pays no mind to whether or not you make all A's... that's for sure!

This is very true and something most parents do not understand. DD is gifted in anything to do with language. At 10yo she reads/comprehends on a 11th to 12th grade level and she is an amazing writer. Her needs in those areas were not being met so it is appropriate that she is pulled to so something different.

In math, she is bright, but so are a lot of other kids and she does just fine with extension work in the classroom and we have never seen the need for anything more.

Its funny that you bring up the point about too many kids in the program watering it down. Last year, there were only three kids in DD's grade and a handful in two others. Now, with the new guidelines, there are 27! To us it seems like they are trying to justify the existence of the program itself. It doesn't matter to us really if there are 2 or 20 kids. As long as DD is not sitting in class bored to tears then we are fine.

Oh and the Learning Coach isn't a classroom teacher, he is more on the lines of a "specials" teacher where he sees kids from various classes. Actually it is kind of nice to have a point person to talk to and get help from. DD has a very hard time staying organized and he is going to work with her in school on that, something her classroom teacher wouldn't have time for.

I knew I would be subject to teasing about having the dreaded "gifted" child but we really did find it funny that they changed the moniker once again.

 

[torinsmom]

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.

 

[polkadotsuitcase]

"highly able"...She and I were , its like being a downgraded hurricane, does this mean she is now a tropical depression?

 

[onelilspark]

Too much reality tv?

It's funny how all schools have different criteria. You could get dumber just from a move across town.

True story! When I was in elementary school, I was tested. When we lived in Jersey, I had the highest possible score on their "gifted" test. When we moved to PA, I was tested again and didn't even come close to passing their test And before this becomes a commentary on Jersey, the opposite was true for my brother! He didn't pass the test in Jersey, but scored abnormally high in PA!

 

[daughtersrus]

Oh no, then there are the "high potential" students...I swear between this and all the kids with IEPs, there are no "regular" students left!

My DD has a student on her caseload (she's a SpEd teacher) that has an IEP and is in honors classes.

 

[Buckeye Princess]

our school district has this "highly abled" moniker.

It's honestly because parents find "gifted" as a badge...on honor...something brag-worthy. When in fact, a truely "gifted" child is in as need of special services just as someone who is learning disabled. It is to say, the regular classroom is not meeting his/her needs, and "special accomodations" are needed to teach this child.

But too many parents push to get their "highly able" children into the "gifted program." So they have something to brag about. In the end it waters down the one and only service for the truely gifted.

My kids are smart. My oldest two are in 3rd and 5th grade. They have earned straight A's all the way through with a nominal amount of effort. Are they smart? Yes. Are they highly able? Yes. Are their needs somehow not met in a mainstream classroom because they are so far beyond? No. They are just bright kids who excell in the traditional mainstream classroom. Their needs are being met where they are. They do not "need" to be pulled out into some special gifted program.

The real "gifted" would not be fulfilled in a regular classroom...

Our school will assess for giftedness by request in K-1. And they actually assess ALL in 2nd grade for giftedness. Either you are or you aren't. But it pays no mind to whether or not you make all A's... that's for sure!

Very well said. I was labeled as gifted early on. I was a kid who actually needed the extra help and program. My school didn't offer anything until 4th grade and up until that point I was bored, restless, and not too happy. While in the program from 4th-6th things were so much better. It was very tiny and our teacher even had me work independently to further challenge me. Then came middle and high school where it was again a regular school. Even the AP classes didn't really keep me interested. I was bored, skipped school a lot, etc. It wasn't until college that I once again came to love academics. I had lots of high school teachers who thought I was a slacker and a few who understood. My biggest problems were in math. I thought differently and couldn't always explain how I got my answers. I just got them. This would often mean not getting credit for my work since the teachers always required you to write out all of the steps. My husband is the same way. I really hope that if our kids take after us, we can use some of our experiences to help them.