Hey, parents!

[Garnate]

Anyone familiar with the Gifted Education Program in school? I've never heard of it but I have a survey to fill out about my youngest son, who was referred for review.

The letter said nothing about the program or what it entails. I'm supposed to fill out a survey on my child's behavior and ship it off. I figured someone here has had some kind of experience with this, I hope.

 

[unregistered]

 

[Noor]

As a child I was in one twice, in 1st and 6th.
Strangely, enough the same kids were in both classes.
It was fun for me, and not as dull as normal school.

Not sure "gifted" means the same thing nowadays though.

 

[JohnnySavage]

Dude. I'm gifted. Call me.

 

[Muscadine_Eyes]

I was in it in Jr. High. You had to read more, which was nice. You were better prepared for Advanced Placement classes and college. My whole class was close, because most of us came from divorced households. I am still friends with some of those people, but they are mostly in Austin, Texas.

 

[Garnate]

Dude. I'm a teacher. Call me.

Like.....use my PHONE??

I was in it in Jr. High. You had to read more, which was nice. You were better prepared for Advanced Placement classes and college. My whole class was close, because most of us came from divorced households. I am still friends with some of those people, but they are mostly in Austin, Texas.

Was it just an extra class at school during normal school hours?

 

[Noor]

Like.....use my PHONE??


Was it just an extra class at school during normal school hours?

Mine was different classes during school, kind of likes being in honors in high school.

 

[Noor]

I suggest you google your school district's "gifted" program and see what it says.

Some are a way to contain bright but problem students.

 

[Garnate]

I suggest you google your school district's "gifted" program and see what it says.

Some are a way to contain bright but problem students.

Ahahahaaaa that last part sounds about right, actually.

 

[jomar]

Where I am the gifted program is a pull out program to give smart kids extra stuff so they won't be bored, meet their needs and increase interest in school...creative shit...was good for my kids.

 

[patient1]

It could be a blessed respite and refuge from the mind-numbing, soul-destroying, school day or week.

Or it could amount to extra work.

A lot depends on the teacher and the budget, but my educational expertise is all previous century. I'm out of the loop.

Congratulations on having a gifted kid!

 

[Mr_Bert_thrope]

More fodder for ann to be jealous of.

 

[Tryharder62]

In our schools this program allows kids to take classes earlier. For example, my kids took algebra in 8th grade instead of 9th grade. This allows them to go further or take different subjects to fulfill their high school requirements. My sophomore is taking a college class through the local community college. He had to pass an entrance exam. If he wants to continue to take college courses he could have one year of college out of the way by the time he finishes high school. It's great but we are just seeing how it goes. It helped when he were bored with school but I worry that it will get to be more pressure than it is worth so we will see.

 

[Muscadine_Eyes]

Like.....use my PHONE??


Was it just an extra class at school during normal school hours?

It was a completely different set of classes. You had more options and better sciences. In high school you could take a psychology course which wasn't offered outside of gifted. They were all during regular school hours. You'd take a PE or Choir class with everyone else. Usually schools won't have a gifted art class, but some do.

 

[Noor]

Ahahahaaaa that last part sounds about right, actually.

My first grade class was actually to relieve over crowding. School had already started and the school told the teachers to pick 5 or 6 kids out of their classes who could academically handle being in a newly created classroom where they would be trying some advanced teaching methods. I was one of the chosen

In 6th grade, they were experimenting with an open "gifted" classroom, same kids got chosen, lol!

We had a blast, the teachers were exhausted.

 

[Farrah]

I was in G&T from 3rd grade through my senior year, so that should give you some kind of idea of how low the standards for acceptance are. Seriously though, I bet your kid is bright as hell. Teachers and administrators usually have a good feel for these things.

I had such a blast in the program, and it opened a lot of other doors for me in my education, including acceptance into a Humanities program in a Virginia Governor's School. G&T met once a week, I think, but there were several groups and teams that branched out from there, and the field trips were really awesome. It was all really interesting and surprisingly fun. I can't think of a single downside to the experience.

Do you have any idea how your son's school's program works? Does he know that he may be chosen for inclusion?

 

[Noor]

That is true about opening doors, in 9th grade I applied for and got a scholarship to a private school, which I absolutely loved.
It made a big difference in how I looked at the world.
I am and always have been a non conformist, traditional schooling could have really stifled me creatively and professionally.

 

[Ishmael]

It could be a blessed respite and refuge from the mind-numbing, soul-destroying, school day or week.

Or it could amount to extra work.

A lot depends on the teacher and the budget, but my educational expertise is all previous century. I'm out of the loop.

Congratulations on having a gifted kid!

I think that sums it up. And most 'gifted' children are problems at school, mostly because they're bored shitless.

Ishmael

 

[unregistered]

 

[unregistered]

 

[Garnate]

You guys are amazing. Farrah, since we're dealing with the same state I found that very helpful. I wish the stupid letter explained something, ANYTHING, but it doesn't. Not if he'd be having completely different classes or just an extra class during the day. Nothing. Doesn't sound like our school system is all that experienced with this program yet so we'll see. Thank you EVERYONE for your helpful posts.

More fodder for ann to be jealous of.

I'm nothing but a giver.

 

[Garnate]

I think that sums it up. And most 'gifted' children are problems at school, mostly because they're bored shitless.

Ishmael

Exactly. My son has been talking in complete sentences since he was 10 months old and his vocabulary is ridiculous but I don't know how that will translate during this testing process. Or matter. All I know is that he's gotten in trouble lately for talking in class too often lol. Maybe they just want to get rid of him.

In elementary school, gifted programs are hit and miss. They are intended to take exceptional students who are likely bored with the regular curriculum and give them more challenging learning objectives.

A question to ask: is this a pull out program that your son will attend gifted math (or whichever subject) each day? Or, is it a pull out program that he will miss regular classes for his gifted classes and still be expected to complete all of the work from the traditional class as well, often at home?

The former is a much better model. The latter often breeds hostility with students.

Ideally, all students would have access to engaging curriculum designed for their needs. Generally, gifted programs are meant to do that for those identified as capable of achieving at a higher level (the referral process should be designed to identify these kids). My daughters have thrived in gifted ed, but I see a huge improvement with their current school by comparison to their former.

See, the letter should have explained at least some of this. Maybe they think it isn't worth it to explain everything unless the child scores high enough and is accepted in? Ridiculous.

 

[DesEsseintes]

I was the Gifted and Talented co-ordinator for my county in my first school, and developed a lot of the programmes now used in all the local schools - of course the UK take on such things is likely to be different, and my experience is with 11+ students, but feel free to ask any questions. I have lots of interesting material and phone numbers. And some stuff on gifted education, too.



Ahhahahhahahaha. Aha. Ahem.

I slay myself.

 

[Farrah]

I'm with you, Noor. I was incredibly lucky to have the program and all that it entailed to keep me from death-by-boredom in my small hometown and its sort of backwards school system. My college experience was pretty non-traditional, too...a liberal arts work college.

Garnate, will you keep us posted? Best of luck to you as you navigate these new waters. But let me just reiterate, in my very personal experience, it could mean some really cool things for your little guy.

 

[neci]

all day testing can be rough on the little guys. make sure he has a good breakfast, before he goes in for any assessments.