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#1
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gifted acceleration
My son is entering school this year. We did a high quality montessori
preschool this past year. He literally came home every day, told me all the different things that they covered, told me "but I already knew that", and then told me that he likes his class "but I wish I got to learn about..." The teacher spoke with me about my plans for him for school and asked if she could help by doing some evaluative testing with him. Even she was surprised at what he was mentally capable of. Right now, we're between a rock and a hard place. The woman who will be my son's teacher is NOT open to acceleration. She felt the need to tell me 6 times in one conversation that she was "an early childhood education developmental specialist". She has yet to ask me a single probing question about him or his abilities. I am very frustrated. The gifted programs in our county have been systematically deleted over the last 5 years to save school dollars. There are no gifted centers, programs, or classes available to him. There is not a decent, secular, private school. I am considering homeschooling him. (I have a degree in biochemistry, have tutored elementary age, substitute taught for 2 years, and am very resourceful.) I can not find local guidance, support groups, etc. They don't exist. Moving to a different district is not a valid option. I want him to keep his love, interest, and motivation for learning. I'm not sure there's any value to him or the other children in his classroom for him to bring up information that they may not be ready for, and interrupt the teacher to do so. If he continues as is, I think the principal's office will be informing me of discipline problems. No child is a constructive force when they have nothing to stimulate them. So, what do I do? I am looking for the voice of experience. I have also begun posting flyers to start my own homeschool group, but have had difficulty finding recruits. I can't spend another year with him being influenced to "just keep working'. He's a voracious reader and learner. When the other kids are learning that a spider has eight legs, he's interrupting the teacher to tell her that they also have eight eyes that are on the front of their cephalothorax - with one larger pair that they use for hunting, while the other six just help them with day and night. HELP!! |
#2
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gifted acceleration
Have you checked out www.hoagiesgifted.com yet? Lots of resources there.
Here's a discussion board dedicated to HG+ children, and it sounds like your son probably fits in that group. Many, many of the parents here have found that homeschooling is the best choice for their child, and many others have found ways to make traditional schooling work full or part-time. http://disc.server.com/Indices/226130.html |
#3
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gifted acceleration
On Jun 27, 1:49 am, wrote:
My son is entering school this year. We did a high quality montessori preschool this past year. He literally came home every day, told me all the different things that they covered, told me "but I already knew that", and then told me that he likes his class "but I wish I got to learn about..." The teacher spoke with me about my plans for him for school and asked if she could help by doing some evaluative testing with him. Even she was surprised at what he was mentally capable of. Right now, we're between a rock and a hard place. The woman who will be my son's teacher is NOT open to acceleration. I started a thread recently about "entering kindergarten early" which you could read, since our situations may be similar. Is your son entering kindergarten or 1st grade? If he normally would be entering kindergarten but is too advanced for it, maybe he ought to enter 1st grade immediately, if the school district permits it. There is considerable evidence supporting academic acceleration of gifted children -- see http://www.nationdeceived.org/ . She felt the need to tell me 6 times in one conversation that she was "an early childhood education developmental specialist". She has yet to ask me a single probing question about him or his abilities. I am very frustrated. The gifted programs in our county have been systematically deleted over the last 5 years to save school dollars. There are no gifted centers, programs, or classes available to him. There is not a decent, secular, private school. I am an atheist and my wife is not a Christian, but we are sending our son, who will be four in July, to kindergarten in a local Catholic school. The preschool teacher gave him a test and concluded that the decision of whether to enroll him in preschool or kindergarten was up to us. I don't think public schools even consider taking 4-year-olds in kindergarten. Catholic schools spend the vast majority of their time on secular material, and many students in Catholic schools are not Catholic, especially in inner cities. I am considering homeschooling him. (I have a degree in biochemistry, have tutored elementary age, substitute taught for 2 years, and am very resourceful.) I can not find local guidance, support groups, etc. They don't exist. I've read that there about 1 million homeschoolers in the U.S. Most states have homeschooling associations, for example Massachusetts Home Learning Association http://www.mhla.org/support/masupportgroups.htm . Those associations have links to email lists of homeschooling parents. Moving to a different district is not a valid option. I want him to keep his love, interest, and motivation for learning. I'm not sure there's any value to him or the other children in his classroom for him to bring up information that they may not be ready for, and interrupt the teacher to do so. If he continues as is, I think the principal's office will be informing me of discipline problems. No child is a constructive force when they have nothing to stimulate them. So, what do I do? I am looking for the voice of experience. At most, others can share their experiences with THEIR children, and you know your child best. You'll need to experiment. If you want to homeschool and are able to do so, one of the first steps is to figure out the legal requirements in your state. In many places you must file a "letter of intent" with the local school district. I found the book "Homeschooling for Dummies" (2001) by Jennifer Kaufeld informative. My wife and I both work and are not planning to homeschool, but with three small children (0.5 yrs, 2yrs, 4yrs), we'll see ... I have also begun posting flyers to start my own homeschool group, but have had difficulty finding recruits. I can't spend another year with him being influenced to "just keep working'. He's a voracious reader and learner. When the other kids are learning that a spider has eight legs, he's interrupting the teacher to tell her that they also have eight eyes that are on the front of their cephalothorax - with one larger pair that they use for hunting, while the other six just help them with day and night. HELP!! Remember that having a gifted child is a great problem to have . |
#5
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gifted acceleration
On Jun 27, 6:31 am, Beliavsky wrote:
On Jun 27, 1:49 am, wrote: My son is entering school this year. We did a high quality montessori preschool this past year. He literally came home every day, told me all the different things that they covered, told me "but I already knew that", and then told me that he likes his class "but I wish I got to learn about..." The teacher spoke with me about my plans for him for school and asked if she could help by doing some evaluative testing with him. Even she was surprised at what he was mentally capable of. Right now, we're between a rock and a hard place. She felt the need to tell me 6 times in one conversation that she was "an early childhood education developmental specialist". She has yet to ask me a single probing question about him or his abilities. I am very frustrated. The gifted programs in our county have been systematically deleted over the last 5 years to save school dollars. There are no gifted centers, programs, or classes available to him. There is not a decent, secular, private school. I am an atheist and my wife is not a Christian, but we are sending our son, who will be four in July, to kindergarten in a local Catholic school. The preschool teacher gave him a test and concluded that the decision of whether to enroll him in preschool or kindergarten was up to us. I don't think public schools even consider taking 4-year-olds in kindergarten. Catholic schools spend the vast majority of their time on secular material, and many students in Catholic schools are not Catholic, especially in inner cities. Catholic schools do tend to be more flexible on letting kids start early, but they also tend to have even fewer dollars to spend on special programs at either end of the spectrum (gifted or delayed). Where we live, the Catholic schools send their gifted students to the public school GT pull-out programs and for special ed. I am considering homeschooling him. (I have a degree in biochemistry, have tutored elementary age, substitute taught for 2 years, and am very resourceful.) I can not find local guidance, support groups, etc. They don't exist. I have also begun posting flyers to start my own homeschool group, but have had difficulty finding recruits. I can't spend another year with him being influenced to "just keep working'. He's a voracious reader and learner. When the other kids are learning that a spider has eight legs, he's interrupting the teacher to tell her that they also have eight eyes that are on the front of their cephalothorax - with one larger pair that they use for hunting, while the other six just help them with day and night. I feel for you. Our boys would similarly interrupt their teachers with additional facts and we found that some teachers really did not appreciate it. We also struggled with what to do. Thankfully, we had a great 1st grade teacher for both that was able to challenge the boys and we just toughed it out for Kindergarten and 2nd grade. Our school district has recently started offering full-time gifted classrooms starting in 3rd grade and it's been a perfect fit for us. The classrooms cover the regular curriculum at a faster pace and also go more in depth into each subject because these kids don't need to spend as long on the basics. Classroom discussion is highly encouraged, so our boys fit right in. It sounds like home schooling is going to be your best option. I know when we were looking into it, we investigated a few online academies. That would be the route I would take if we didn't have the classroom option we have now. Good luck, Annie |
#6
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gifted acceleration
On Jun 27, 11:53 am, annie wrote:
snip Catholic schools do tend to be more flexible on letting kids start early, but they also tend to have even fewer dollars to spend on special programs at either end of the spectrum (gifted or delayed). Where we live, the Catholic schools send their gifted students to the public school GT pull-out programs and for special ed. Yes, I think the tuition is less than $4K per year, which is much less than the average spending per student in publis schools. Furthermore, there are only about 20 students per grade and one teacher per grade, so "ability-grouped" classrooms will not be possible. I don't think the school will be our long-term choice, but we'll see. I think the full-time gifted classrooms starting in 3rd grade that you mentioned are unusual in public schools. Ability grouping (not exacly the same thing) in all subjects started in 7th grade when I went to school, in the 1970s. |
#7
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gifted acceleration
"Beliavsky" wrote in message oups.com... On Jun 27, 11:53 am, annie wrote: snip Catholic schools do tend to be more flexible on letting kids start early, but they also tend to have even fewer dollars to spend on special programs at either end of the spectrum (gifted or delayed). Yes, I think the tuition is less than $4K per year, which is much less than the average spending per student in publis schools. Furthermore, there are only about 20 students per grade and one teacher per grade, so "ability-grouped" classrooms will not be possible. Actually, Catholic schools don't have any incentive to keep classes small, so a class of only about 20 students is not all that common. A first grade classroom in a Catholic school in this area usually has 35 to 40 children. The upside is, being a Catholic school they can kick out disruptive children, so they might be able to handle 40 children with one teacher if none of them are unruly. Looking back, I was surprised to see my 4th grade class had 50 children. |
#8
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gifted acceleration
On Jun 27, 7:29 pm, "Cathy Kearns" wrote:
"Beliavsky" wrote in message oups.com... Yes, I think the tuition is less than $4K per year, which is much less than the average spending per student in publis schools. Furthermore, there are only about 20 students per grade and one teacher per grade, so "ability-grouped" classrooms will not be possible. Actually, Catholic schools don't have any incentive to keep classes small, so a class of only about 20 students is not all that common. A first grade classroom in a Catholic school in this area usually has 35 to 40 children. The upside is, being a Catholic school they can kick out disruptive children, so they might be able to handle 40 children with one teacher if none of them are unruly. That has not been my experience at all. In the Catholic school I attended, the one my nephews go to, the one my nieces went to, the ones my mother taught at and the one my daughter currently attends, class size was/is 25-28 students per class. Plus, the elementary grades (K-3 or so) have a teacher and an aide. (Note this covers 4 different states). It is true that they can be more selective in who they let in and who they kick out. Also, the Catholic schools I've been involved in have good parental involvement. Mary W. |
#9
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gifted acceleration
Mary W. wrote: On Jun 27, 7:29 pm, "Cathy Kearns" wrote: "Beliavsky" wrote in message groups.com... Yes, I think the tuition is less than $4K per year, which is much less than the average spending per student in publis schools. Furthermore, there are only about 20 students per grade and one teacher per grade, so "ability-grouped" classrooms will not be possible. Actually, Catholic schools don't have any incentive to keep classes small, so a class of only about 20 students is not all that common. A first grade classroom in a Catholic school in this area usually has 35 to 40 children. The upside is, being a Catholic school they can kick out disruptive children, so they might be able to handle 40 children with one teacher if none of them are unruly. That has not been my experience at all. In the Catholic school I attended, the one my nephews go to, the one my nieces went to, the ones my mother taught at and the one my daughter currently attends, class size was/is 25-28 students per class. Plus, the elementary grades (K-3 or so) have a teacher and an aide. (Note this covers 4 different states). That's my experience as well (2 cities - Atlanta, GA and Charleston, SC. My children don't go to Catholic schools but I did investigate them. 25 students per class seemed about the norm. 35 to 40 kids in a first-grade classroom? That would definitely not be typical in the places I've lived. Clisby It is true that they can be more selective in who they let in and who they kick out. Also, the Catholic schools I've been involved in have good parental involvement. Mary W. |
#10
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gifted acceleration
On Wed, 27 Jun 2007 05:31:59 -0700, Beliavsky wrote:
I am an atheist and my wife is not a Christian, but we are sending our son, who will be four in July, to kindergarten in a local Catholic school. The preschool teacher gave him a test and concluded that the decision of whether to enroll him in preschool or kindergarten was up to us. I don't think public schools even consider taking 4-year-olds in kindergarten. Catholic schools spend the vast majority of their time on secular material, and many students in Catholic schools are not Catholic, especially in inner cities. In our school district, children enter kindergarten as early as 4 1/2 and as late as 6 1/2. |
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