Who thinks it is ridiculous when someone says his/her child is bored in school?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:From high school on, I was in a G&T program with other highly gifted kids, and over the years have known a lot of other high-IQ folks and have compared school experiences with some of them, and can say for sure that yes, high IQ kids do frequently find school lacking much of interest to them that is stimulating or challenging - a lot of it seems tremendously slow and repetetive, and as such do often get bored.

And no, "bored" does not in any way mean "uncreative" or "inimaginative" - the important point there being that it's not a given that gifted kids will entertain themselves with useful or constructive pursuits - they are still kids afterall - instead, they frequently end up entertaining and distracting themselves during school time with outside pursuits like reading, rather than having much focus or interest in the school's academic program. It's a huge lost opportunity for them, school programs end up holding them back.

+1000. It is such a waste for the bright kids. There are many many of them out there, and the school system just keeps getting more and more dumbed down, while praising themselves endlessly about how advanced the classwork their system is. I feel sorry for a bright kid in school today.

[Anonymous]

^^^ To 7:39. Again, if you live in the burbs, your child will be identified as gifted and given accommodations including GT programs, magnets and TJ/Blair. In MoCo, 40% of kids are identified as gifted and given some accommodation, although fewer are accepted into magnets (as it should be, IMO).

I'm aware that in DC, if that's where you live, there are a number of competing concerns. One concern is budgetary. Another is the concern about potentially creating enclaves for high-SES kids.

These are the realities, whatever side you're on. Complaining repeaywdly, and insulting anonymous strangers on DCUM, are not going to change any of this - unfortunately. I think you need to put your big girl panties on, and either use CTY/do extra things at home, or move to the burbs. I'm not recommending anything the rest of us haven't already done.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

Again, not really. that would be the exception for GT kids -- most wouldn't get disruptive, certainly. That's just bratty behavior. I'd say in maybe 1 case out of 20 there's a gifted kid involved.

It may be bratty, but it's not "just bratty." It's bratty behavior designed to rebel against a school system that doesn't respect your needs.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Some kids get bored because they don't understand, some get bored because they already understand (the gifted kids), some get bored because the teacher is a drone, and some get bored because they can't see why they should care.

I don't think gifted kids are special in this regard, getting bored in class. In fact, I believe, based on experience, that gifted kids probably have more resources than the other three groups to deal with boredom.

If the question on this thread is, should we excuse bad behavior from gifted kids, put me firmly in the "no" camp.

I'm not excusing bad behavior from gifted kids. I am saying that the solution is not applying more beatings until morale improves.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here.

A gifted child in a traditional classroom is like a Ferrari on roller skate wheels.

Many of the most brilliant minds of our times found their traditional school environments to be tremendously stifling and boring - as examples, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. As for anyone's misguided ideas of gifted children being quiet, studious, well mannered and well behaved little nerds, consider for example MIT's notorious reputation for pranks. Gifted kids are not magical beings, despite their intelligence they are still kids and still need guidance to help them find their way. Otherwise, all of that capability can and often will express itself in often unintended ways, including disruption and mischief.

Statistically speaking, there aren't enough Einsteins or Hawkings to warrant G/T programs. That's the fact. The perceived need of alleged G/T kids (and just because you are white with a relatively high SES doesn't make your child 'gifted') is nothing compared to the real needs of the majority of kids in DC. Your perceived needs are just not that important. Sorry. If you want G/T style classes, work harder to improve your local school for everyone. Then, maybe, the rest of us would get on board with your agenda.

NP, that's already been covered and you are incorrect. Typically the top 3-5% of a statistical sampling of students would test as high-IQ, and with for example a school district like DC where there are 75,000 students in the public school system (including charters) that means there are likely 2,250 to 3,750 students who would qualify. So yes, there are more than enough to warrant a solution.

I'm fairly certain you are combining gifted, highly gifted, and profoundly gifted into this 3-5% grouping. There are enormous differences between the needs of a gifted child and the needs of a profoundly gifted child, which is less than .01% of the population. Unfortunately I don't have the time to dig out a table, but I'm so certain that I'll post a link and let the rest of you do it: http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/testing.htm .

Why limit it to the profoundly gifted only? While a child with 140 IQ may not be a genius, his learning capability and educational development needs are still every bit as different from the needs of a normal child of 100 IQ as a child of 60 IQ would be different from the needs of a child of 100 IQ. A child of 140 IQ will be able to learn and master material far faster than a child of 100 IQ.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

Perhaps you believe that, but most intelligent people do not believe that at all. Parents of gifted children are far more likely to pick up on children's giftedness by their interests and the speed at which they acquire new skills. Gifted kids are likely to be voracious readers, and are likely to go very, very deep into various subjects, whether science, history or other areas and rapidly get to a high level of knowledge.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

I give up. You are an ignorant, hateful bigot. You win.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

Perhaps you believe that, but most intelligent people do not believe that at all. Parents of gifted children are far more likely to pick up on children's giftedness by their interests and the speed at which they acquire new skills. Gifted kids are likely to be voracious readers, and are likely to go very, very deep into various subjects, whether science, history or other areas and rapidly get to a high level of knowledge.

On the contrary. You're speaking only for yourself, which means you cannot possibly be speaking for intelligent people, let alone "most" intelligent people.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

I give up. You are an ignorant, hateful bigot. You win.

You need to improve your vocabulary or at least learn the definitions of the big words you attempt to use. But, goodbye and good riddance.

[Anonymous]

My kid has very close to a photographic memory, and is a speed reader. Tests exceptionally high across the board.

In kinder, the teacher would not recognize this for about the first semester until the child was tested by the school. He got in lots of trouble. I used the word bored, incorrectly. He was not bored; he was filling his time with all sorts of disruptive behavior. Once the academics fell into place, the behavior did a 180.

In 1st grade, the teacher had GT certification, and would modify curriculum for my kid and one other. She also let him read ahead, read independently, do brain teasers & math puzzles when his work was done if everyone else was still learning/working. Her was never bored in first grade.

In 2nd grade, the teacher was very resistant to the idea differentiation and gifted education (different school). The kid was BORED. Coincidentally, the majority of the class was lower leveled academically. The teacher told us that her focus was on them (I understood) and refused to offer differentiation. This school's standards were also a year behind or more than the previous school. My kid spent the year sneaking books, day dreaming, fidgiting. AND tutoring classmates and going to the kindergarten & first grade classes to tutor new readers. As a 2nd grader. Yes, he was very bored & wasted the year. He did not cause trouble, but there was another boy equally advanced who did cause trouble. I guarantee that boy was bored out of his mind. Maybe he wouldn't have caused trouble if the school and teacher would have put some effort into finding something to teach this child. We are talking 2nd graders here.

3rd grade landed him a fabulous teacher very open to differentiation and letting my kid work ahead and delve into topics more in depth, and I don't think he was bored for a single second that year.

Now he is in a program more suited to his ability, and boredom is completely eliminated.

So yes, from my experience with my child, and from watching that other 2nd grader get in trouble repeatedly, I firmly believe that in certain classrooms with certain teachers, gifted students can indeed be bored, and become poor students as a result of that daily, mind numbing learning environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:^^^ To 7:39. Again, if you live in the burbs, your child will be identified as gifted and given accommodations including GT programs, magnets and TJ/Blair. In MoCo, 40% of kids are identified as gifted and given some accommodation, although fewer are accepted into magnets (as it should be, IMO).

I'm aware that in DC, if that's where you live, there are a number of competing concerns. One concern is budgetary. Another is the concern about potentially creating enclaves for high-SES kids.

These are the realities, whatever side you're on. Complaining repeaywdly, and insulting anonymous strangers on DCUM, are not going to change any of this - unfortunately. I think you need to put your big girl panties on, and either use CTY/do extra things at home, or move to the burbs. I'm not recommending anything the rest of us haven't already done.

Thank you for your concern about my panties! You have "me" confused with someone else.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My kid has very close to a photographic memory, and is a speed reader. Tests exceptionally high across the board.

In kinder, the teacher would not recognize this for about the first semester until the child was tested by the school. He got in lots of trouble. I used the word bored, incorrectly. He was not bored; he was filling his time with all sorts of disruptive behavior. Once the academics fell into place, the behavior did a 180.

In 1st grade, the teacher had GT certification, and would modify curriculum for my kid and one other. She also let him read ahead, read independently, do brain teasers & math puzzles when his work was done if everyone else was still learning/working. Her was never bored in first grade.

In 2nd grade, the teacher was very resistant to the idea differentiation and gifted education (different school). The kid was BORED. Coincidentally, the majority of the class was lower leveled academically. The teacher told us that her focus was on them (I understood) and refused to offer differentiation. This school's standards were also a year behind or more than the previous school. My kid spent the year sneaking books, day dreaming, fidgiting. AND tutoring classmates and going to the kindergarten & first grade classes to tutor new readers. As a 2nd grader. Yes, he was very bored & wasted the year. He did not cause trouble, but there was another boy equally advanced who did cause trouble. I guarantee that boy was bored out of his mind. Maybe he wouldn't have caused trouble if the school and teacher would have put some effort into finding something to teach this child. We are talking 2nd graders here.

3rd grade landed him a fabulous teacher very open to differentiation and letting my kid work ahead and delve into topics more in depth, and I don't think he was bored for a single second that year.

Now he is in a program more suited to his ability, and boredom is completely eliminated.

So yes, from my experience with my child, and from watching that other 2nd grader get in trouble repeatedly, I firmly believe that in certain classrooms with certain teachers, gifted students can indeed be bored, and become poor students as a result of that daily, mind numbing learning environment.

Describes my DS also who just graduted form Yale with high honors.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

I'm not the ranter and I also believe truly gifted kids don't get bored.

Do you understand how offensive this is?

If a kid is bored, then he must not be "truly gifted."

Yes, that is the assertion, essentially. However it's more frequently used as a retort in the converse, i.e. the parent who has a child with problematic behavior who immediately goes to "aha! my child is gifted!" I.e., boredom in children is not an indicator of giftedness as many, MANY people seem to believe, probably because it's a popular myth.

I give up. You are an ignorant, hateful bigot. You win.

PP, I've been in your place with my frustration with this poster. When I reached your point of frustration, she slammed me. She wants to pick a fight, that's all.

I pointed out her plagiarism, but I've also tried right above to urge her to do something constructive, like move to VA for AAP. We loved our DC condo, the walkability and the rest. But at the end of the day you need to stop being angry, realize that picking fights is immature and counter- productive, and do something. We moved.