Your story about the teacher at your son's school does not surprise me at all. I teach in a selective K-12 gifted school and there's always drama. I used to associate it with NYC parents, but apparently it isn't limited to NYC.
It amazes me that in 2010 people are still judging people by things like regional accents. Amazing.
I hope they find a fantastic teacher to replace him and the drama stops.
I don't think it's limited to gifted either. Sigh. I long ago ceased being surprised at what gross generalizations some people make, I just try really had to teach our kids NOT to do it!
Puzzles!!! YAY! Very cool idea! Oh I must say I agree that we do bend over backwards to make these surprises "magical" and fun! MY guys would probably lose interest in the puzzle or would fight about it or lose a piece, etc. etc. etc.
So my 10 cents on the school issue...
I work with a GT program, but at the HS level. Previously a teacher, now I run a program. I see all the same things you all are describing -- there is a lot of pressure to perform, so that comes with its own problems unfortunately. GT kids are bright, but that doesnt mean they have the facility to navigate situations, experiences, or emotions that are new to them. Sometimes teachers and parents forget that 9th graders are still children, and 17 year olds emerging adults. I think it can be more intense at HS too, because the future is eminent. Especially when you start working with children and families who believe there is no future for their student if he or she isnt accepted to Yale...
Hoping not to offend. Just making observations.
LOL. That's why I'm doing 2 puzzles! Although I must say they've done amazingly well building this giant (and I mean giant, like 3.5 feet tall giant) knex roller coaster that Sandie and Paul got them for xmas, together. Still, building one puzzle together, on a plane tray table, sounded like a recipe for disaster!
No offense taken. I can absolutely see where it would be much more intense in HS and it the emotional aspect that is much more difficult for many of these kids, Eric included. It will be interesting to see what happens when we get there. Our district does not truly have a program after elementary, they move into honors and then AP and many of the kids choose not to do AP as it brings down their GPA.
A huge part of the reason we did it for Eric was for the emotional aspects, the teachers that are trained in this area seem to manage it/him so much better. His 1st grade teacher suggested we wait a year so he could mature which is the exact opposite of what the hi-cap teacher said. I'm glad we listened to the hi-cap teacher, it is such a better dynamic for him and thankfully he is largely protected from any of the drama. That said, the one we just lost "got" Eric so it's a huge loss to me personally.
He did come into the class today Eric tells me and gave them their last journal topic which made Eric really really happy so that's something. I hope the new teacher can inspire the same kind of writing.
I have no aspirations of Yale. Eric has aspirations of his own but we will see where they take him. I am amused by his constant asking about scholarships though. As long as he goes to college, I'm good!
Yay on saving $$$!!!
And I must have missed something. What airline are you using that you got kids fly free?
You're going to LOVE The Getty Museum. It's amazingly beautiful.
I hope you get to try Sushi Roku. They serve the best crunchy spicy tuna rolls.
Love the puzzles idea. If you ever want to make your own puzzles or games, check out this website:
http://barebooks.com. They sell tons of blank books, puzzles, and game boards. We use them at school all the time.
OOOOHHHHH crunchy spicy tuna rolls!
Alaska Airlines is having kids fly free right now. It's only out of certain cities (not that I know which ones lol) but interestingly the packages directly through Alaska were $180 less than any direct through Disney even though it's the same flights and hotels. Works out better for us as well as the Disney packages required 3 day hoppers which we don't need anyway.
After chatting last night, Jeff adamantly wants to avoid going through LA in any way shape or form, so the Getty is likely out as is Santa Monica, he wants to stay south. Which really bums me out but there is plenty to do. He's angling for Laguna Beach.
Thanks for the link, Diamond was going to PM me some she uses for school too, I'll definitely be making some! I want to do puzzles/games for each of the main things we will be doing.
I apologize in advance if I missed something. After casting the Wizard of Oz and having to explain to my students that your genes don't explode in your body if you marry a relative it's just not a good idea, my brain is fried.
Did you look into a Disney split stay? We're doing a split stay in August, but only doing tickets and the dining plan on the longer, first part of our stay. We're buying tickets that will cover the days at the second resort. That could be an option also.
If you get a better deal at Disney, you can always do a room only package for a couple of nights and drive to Universal. You don't have to rent a car for your entire stay. I found out that Alamo has two sites (the Car Care Center and the Dophin) at Disney. You can just rent the car the couple of days you need it, use ME, and ditch the town car service.
My brain would be fried too!
on the genes exploding if you marry a relative.
On the split stay, Sandie wants to be at the YC the whole time. THV would be less. Quite a bit. But it's ok. I figure we are celebrating her birthday as well as Kendall's and they are in heaven. Actually the boys are just as excited about it as the rest of us.
I did look at doing THV instead of HRH assuming those were Universal days but the savings, once we rent a car is only about $300. The town car is less than a rental because we'd need a minivan. We'll do a 2 leg trip, MCO to HRH with a stop at the grocery store and then HRH to the YC. We'll take ME back to MCO for the last leg. That will run us $124. A minivan for the 3 days runs us $300-$500 depending on who we go with so it eats up a lot of the hotel savings not to mention the addition of the parking cost.
Still, $300 is a
lot but Jeff
1. Doesn't want to rent a car and deal with driving (and I think the parking at US is $25 a day so the savings comes down to $225).
2. Wants the fast pass benefits that come with staying at the HRH.
3. Wants to be able to walk to US/IOA/Citywalk (aka Margaritaville!)
4. Is really set on HRH for Taylor & Kendall, they are very excited about it. So is Evan for that matter.
I figure we will stay in the Treehouses for Evan's 13th and Peepfest! Assuming I can pull that off. Since it IS Evan's dream resort and all, I feel I must. Of couse that means 2 years later I will HAVE to stay at BLT...for Eric's 13th!
Sad isn't it if I'm using their 13th bdays to justify trips. Too bad it didn't occur to me when K&T turned 13! Oh well, K's is belated. Really it's more of a "last summer with T before graduation" trip then a K's 14th but we'll just celebrate all of it!
I do find Jeff's logic on HRH a little funny though.I'd prefer to use our give a day vouchers for the fast pass options for the August trip, he wants to use them for the DCA day in April! But since I'm getting a partial, and very unexpected, Disney (and SUN) fix in April, I'm going along with it!
I'll admit, I'm pretty excited to stay there too, I just wish they had a suite that worked instead of 2 rooms. Being a family of 6 is a real pain sometimes!
