Why obsess over getting into gifted program?

[Anonymous]

FCPS: http://www.fcps.edu/is/aap/pdfs/localplan/AttachmentHMSHonors_Final.pdf

How is the middle school Advanced Academic Level IV center
program different from middle school Honors classes?

The Level IV center program for students in grades 7 and
8 offers identified students a full-time, highly challenging
instructional program in all core subjects: social studies,
English, science, and/or mathematics. Honors classes
provide opportunities for students to develop academic
strengths through a more rigorous and challenging
program in one or more identified subject areas.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not race, but many first generation americans from countries where kids have one chance to excel push their kids harder at younger ages. Scoring well to get into AAP does not impact long term success....Not getting into TJ does not equate failure, even if you want to be a physicist.

I don't think anyone is suggesting that not getting into TJ means failure. The core issue is the quality of school experience (classes, opportunities, peer groups ...). Although there are always exceptions, generally the higher the quality of the educational experience, the better prepared kids will be for the future steps. If you wish to take some responsibility for better preparing your child for her future (other than just sending her to school and believing things will work out at the end), then you have no choice but to give serious consideration to her k-12 education. If this means you need to raise the bar a bit, assuming she can handle it, then so be it.

[Anonymous]

Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.

[Anonymous]

Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course if you train your child hard to get good scores, then the results are skewed, and it may not mean much.

Duh. If you go the weight room at Gold's Gym you will also find the tonnage the guys can lift skewed. But these trained muscled behemoths are still strong as oxes .... preparation and mental training also makes one smart as hell. Check out the performance of those attending Blair magnet or TJ. If you desire supreme strength or intelligence you had better train. The entitlements are disappearing fast.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.

Intellectual development will allow a child to grow to there full potential. Just like training allows Bryce Harper to be good. With that said, no amount of training will turn someone with average intellect into a genious. Nor will I ever be able to play baseball like Bryce Harper.

Prepping for the CogAT or NNAT will not improve your childs intellectual ability. It may improve the test score. If you want to improve your childs intellectual ability, on on a walk out side, get the child to observe nature, and understand what they are seeing: why are streams at the bottom of the hill? why does moss grow on the north side of trees? Take them to museums. Teach them that it is ok to wonder why, and try to teach the how to answer the why.

Spend your summer studing for a test, and it is a lost summer.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I knew my kids were smart, so just got them in AAP which was right for them.

This is what it boils down to. People want to think their kids are smart - and it's only the smart kids that go to AAP. "Regular" or "dumb" kids stay in general ed. You can definitely tell who the parents are that are hell bent on getting their kid into AAP with out regard to whether it's the best placement for them. They just want everyone to know their kids are 'smart'.

I say this as a parent with a 'regular' kid, a kid that is truly gifted and with LD, and one 'regular' kid with LD.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.

Intellectual development will allow a child to grow to there full potential. Just like training allows Bryce Harper to be good. With that said, no amount of training will turn someone with average intellect into a genious. Nor will I ever be able to play baseball like Bryce Harper.

Prepping for the CogAT or NNAT will not improve your childs intellectual ability. It may improve the test score. If you want to improve your childs intellectual ability, on on a walk out side, get the child to observe nature, and understand what they are seeing: why are streams at the bottom of the hill? why does moss grow on the north side of trees? Take them to museums. Teach them that it is ok to wonder why, and try to teach the how to answer the why.

Spend your summer studing for a test, and it is a lost summer.

Well said.

[Anonymous]

Honestly if the regular ed curriculum was more challenging and interesting I wouldn't care. I'm not interested in accolades, I'm interested in my children getting a good education. So far in K-2 we are completely unimpressed.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Honestly if the regular ed curriculum was more challenging and interesting I wouldn't care. I'm not interested in accolades, I'm interested in my children getting a good education. So far in K-2 we are completely unimpressed.

Me too. The disagreement here seems to stem from a lack of consensus on what constitutes quality education. Some believe all the academic programs being offered in the county are comparable in quality while others consider AAP (and similar programs) as a more acceptable option.

[Anonymous]

Why obsess over getting into gifted program?

[list]Not sure because it is not working: http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/256400.page

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Why obsess over getting into gifted program?
This is the correct link:
[list]Not sure because it is not working: https://p1pe.doe.virginia.gov/reportcard/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.




Intellectual development will allow a child to grow to there full potential. Just like training allows Bryce Harper to be good. With that said, no amount of training will turn someone with average intellect into a genious. Nor will I ever be able to play baseball like Bryce Harper.

Prepping for the CogAT or NNAT will not improve your childs intellectual ability. It may improve the test score. If you want to improve your childs intellectual ability, on on a walk out side, get the child to observe nature, and understand what they are seeing: why are streams at the bottom of the hill? why does moss grow on the north side of trees? Take them to museums. Teach them that it is ok to wonder why, and try to teach the how to answer the why.

Spend your summer studing for a test, and it is a lost summer.

Well said.

Well said by the bible clutching preacher!

I wonder why children and young adults spend hours upon hours in the pool, baskeball court and track trying to become the next Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant (Michael Jordan)or Usain Bolt (note all the latter athletes spent an inordinate amount of time as children honing their craft). I doubt any of them knew, at such a young age, this intense training and preparation would bring global stardom. Did you PP?

How do you measure a child's or fully mature adult's intellectual ability?

You can't and you don't know who will be smart and reap the rewards of global intellectual stardom. Mental exercise (training and preparation) will at least give you a sporting shot ... just like it did for Phelps, Jordan and Bolt. Without this training and preparation each would have amounted to a hill of beans in their respective sports!!!

Constant reach for and intensely clutching the remote and the TV at your peril. This will most definetely decrease your intellect. You can take that to the bank.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.




Intellectual development will allow a child to grow to there full potential. Just like training allows Bryce Harper to be good. With that said, no amount of training will turn someone with average intellect into a genious. Nor will I ever be able to play baseball like Bryce Harper.

Prepping for the CogAT or NNAT will not improve your childs intellectual ability. It may improve the test score. If you want to improve your childs intellectual ability, on on a walk out side, get the child to observe nature, and understand what they are seeing: why are streams at the bottom of the hill? why does moss grow on the north side of trees? Take them to museums. Teach them that it is ok to wonder why, and try to teach the how to answer the why.

Spend your summer studing for a test, and it is a lost summer.

Well said.

Well said by the bible clutching preacher!

I wonder why children and young adults spend hours upon hours in the pool, baskeball court and track trying to become the next Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant (Michael Jordan)or Usain Bolt (note all the latter athletes spent an inordinate amount of time as children honing their craft). I doubt any of them knew, at such a young age, this intense training and preparation would bring global stardom. Did you PP?

How do you measure a child's or fully mature adult's intellectual ability?

You can't and you don't know who will be smart and reap the rewards of global intellectual stardom. Mental exercise (training and preparation) will at least give you a sporting shot ... just like it did for Phelps, Jordan and Bolt. Without this training and preparation each would have amounted to a hill of beans in their respective sports!!!

Constant reach for and intensely clutching the remote and the TV at your peril. This will most definetely decrease your intellect. You can take that to the bank.

I didn't see any Bible references here.

The highly accomplished athletes you mention were all born with extremely high athletic ability. That combined with hard work is what got them to where they are. A person could swim all day but without the underlying ability and correct body type, that person is not going to transform into a Michael Phelps. One can be a pretty good swimmer, but not a Michael Phelps. And from reading bios of Olympic athletes, it appears many of them were identified by coaches as extremely talented at an early age and put into select training programs. Kids still join swim teams even though they know they can't be Michael Phelps because swimming is a healthy activity that helps a child to be fit and also learn a lot about discipline and persistence.

It is good to read extensively and explore academic interests because we can be learning new things our entire lives even without being a "global intellectual star." Some people learn more quickly and more easily than others, just as some people swim or run faster than others.

Athletes practice a whole range of skills needed for their sport, not just one. An athlete who is really, really good at only one aspect of a sport will not be successful in the long run. A young student needs to engage in many different types of learning to be successful in the long run. A student who spends all his or her time on standardized test prep will become very good at taking standardized tests, but won't necessarily be successful at other types of academic endeavors. Why not spend some of that time reading extensively, going to a concert or a play, walking through a park, or gazing up at the night sky with a good pair of binoculars? Pick up a flyer at your local library and see all the programs and events they have available.

There are lots of choices on the continuum in between practicing standardized test questions and "clutching a remote." No need for expensive test prep books or courses that are limited to a particular set of test taking skills. There are so many free things that can be done with children to engage and encourage their love of learning.

[Anonymous]

I didn't see any Bible references here.

The highly accomplished athletes you mention were all born with extremely high athletic ability. That combined with hard work is what got them to where they are. A person could swim all day but without the underlying ability and correct body type, that person is not going to transform into a Michael Phelps. One can be a pretty good swimmer, but not a Michael Phelps. And from reading bios of Olympic athletes, it appears many of them were identified by coaches as extremely talented at an early age and put into select training programs. Kids still join swim teams even though they know they can't be Michael Phelps because swimming is a healthy activity that helps a child to be fit and also learn a lot about discipline and persistence.

It is good to read extensively and explore academic interests because we can be learning new things our entire lives even without being a "global intellectual star." Some people learn more quickly and more easily than others, just as some people swim or run faster than others.

Athletes practice a whole range of skills needed for their sport, not just one. An athlete who is really, really good at only one aspect of a sport will not be successful in the long run. A young student needs to engage in many different types of learning to be successful in the long run. A student who spends all his or her time on standardized test prep will become very good at taking standardized tests, but won't necessarily be successful at other types of academic endeavors. Why not spend some of that time reading extensively, going to a concert or a play, walking through a park, or gazing up at the night sky with a good pair of binoculars? Pick up a flyer at your local library and see all the programs and events they have available.

There are lots of choices on the continuum in between practicing standardized test questions and "clutching a remote." No need for expensive test prep books or courses that are limited to a particular set of test taking skills. There are so many free things that can be done with children to engage and encourage their love of learning.

Absolute nonsense. Where did you get this information from? Or are you playing armchair quarterback through the retrospectoscope? Michael Jordan even failed to make his High School basketball team. How it is so easy to talk about brilliance, intellect and extremely high intellectual ability -- well after the Nobel and Olympic prizes?

My dear, standardized tests and their preparation are but a small facet of mental exercising and training leading to increased intellectual ability. But, you had better believe it's a form of mental training and exercise. Try it some day, before it's too late. Given their "innate supreme ability you clearly diagnosed and knew about" when these athletes were mere children it would have been performance suicide if these athletics had not intensely prepared, trained, repetitively for many hours/day, days/week and years to get to where we all acknowledge they are. The scores do matter as did all those ribbons as a child by these athletes.

Yes, intellectual, mental and academic scores do matter just as the ribbons, club and team trophies mattered before the Nobels and Olympic Golds! They certainly mattered to the athletes and matter to some of our brightest!!

[Anonymous]

reading, gazing into the sky, going for a walk are all great. But it was extensive test prep that got DC a high enough score to get into TJ. Not the world I would make, but there it is.