Why obsess over getting into gifted program?

[Anonymous]

same here. i would not have got to zones if not for intensive swim prep. blair magnet and mit were the same. i do also enjoy walking under the moon light!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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!!

This sounds like an advertisement for an expensive test prep program. Did you even read the whole post you quoted? No one says scores don't matter, but that there are narrow methods and broad methods to get there. The broader methods will get you a better educated adult. And in the very long run, it's not the score that matters, but what lies behind the score that matters.

I agree wholeheartedly that

standardized tests and their preparation are but a small facet of mental exercising and training leading to increased intellectual ability.

and that is why my children's education has focused on reading and writing and exploring. My older children are at college or have graduated and a younger one is at TJ now, so, so far, so good.

[Anonymous]

It's highly amusing how some Americans (dating back to the Puritans, Colonialists, and post Independents) boast about free enterprise, toil, hard work and competition (e.g., Romney, Ryan and Shanahan) but when it comes to academics and intellect they become psychotic, hypocritic and apoplectic. Isn't hard work, preparation and competition the American way?

[Anonymous]

Obseesion comes from parents with borderline kids.
So they prep hard and obssessed with it.
No need of obssesion for parents with real smart kids.

[Anonymous]

Entitlement has a way of minimizing hard work, preparation and obsession.

[Anonymous]

AAP to TJ to UVA. Once heard it was akin to winning the lottery.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:AAP to TJ to UVA. Once heard it was akin to winning the lottery.[/quote

Only UVA? I heard that's basically backup plan for TJ students.

[Anonymous]

and that is why my children's education has focused on reading and writing and exploring. My older children are at college or have graduated and a younger one is at TJ now, so, so far, so good.

I forgot...reading and writing is no longer classified as academic and/or intellectual preparation. Forceful rape vs rape argument I presuppose.

[Anonymous]

Why obsess over getting into gifted program?

For the same reason some of our kids and their parents want to get on the team. Some children, students, and parents prefer the varsity to JV or club --- pure and simple.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Entitlement has a way of minimizing hard work, preparation and obsession.

I'm the 19:00 poster. No entitlement here. I had a poor backgroundt and went to college on scholarship. We just emphasize education and hard work in our family.

[Anonymous]

This sounds like an advertisement for an expensive test prep program. Did you even read the whole post you quoted? No one says scores don't matter, but that there are narrow methods and broad methods to get there. The broader methods will get you a better educated adult. And in the very long run, it's not the score that matters, but what lies behind the score that matters.

Well, you must be kidding. Your argument smacks of the difference between narrow and broad rape.
The scare DOES matter in America.
Sports is a mega multi-billion dollar industry (see Penn State) and American adults, parents and their kids provide all the evidence the SCORE does matter. And to the exemplary athletes you mention (jordan, kobe, phelps, federer, serena, lance amstrong, babe ruth, larry bird) the SCORE does matter. I suggest you descend from your throne and smell the roses. The score matters to the athletes and the hero whorshipping spectators who are largely American like yourself. The proof is all around you. Open your eyes and ears. Are you then surprised Americans are counting National MeritFfinalists like summer olympic medals?

[Anonymous]

...sounds like good old American rugged Puritan competition to me commissioned by the framers of our constitution. Afterall,wasn't this the intent of our founders ....as leaders of our Supreme Court contend?

[Anonymous]

Yep, if the Junior Varsity doesn't satisfy one why not work hard as hell and make that varsity team. Who cares if it is the gifted program? The only ones who do are those that don't make the team.

[Anonymous]

AAP to TJ to UVA. Once heard it was akin to winning the lottery.

Only UVA? I heard that's basically backup plan for TJ students.

Well, if you want your kid to graduate from a top tier college with zero or near zero debt, this is a hope/prayer/plan for our kids for lots of us in NVa.

[Anonymous]

AAP to TJ to UVA. Once heard it was akin to winning the lottery.

Only UVA? I heard that's basically backup plan for TJ students.
Well, if you want your kid to graduate from a top tier college with zero or near zero debt, this is a hope/prayer/plan for our kids for lots of us in NVa.

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