Best school for highly gifted and talented, "quirky" kid?

[Anonymous]

Kids who are "gifted" bring a lot to the table, it's just that they are all rather uniform in their intellectual level. Beyond that they may be musicians or poets or great athletes or leaders or artists or super interested in engineering etc. etc. etc. My "gifted" little person has so many varied interests that we can't keep up, but it's fun to watch. Good at school, pretty much a given. Good at so many other things, too, though. Also, he's on track to do Algebra way early, but when I spoke to a math teacher about that possibility (just out of curiosity for the future), he said he just doesn't get the push ahead in math. He said a good math class would challenge all the kids in the class and make sure that all pre-pre Algebra concepts were thoroughly covered and understood and then pre-Algebra was really taken care of, etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Algebra 1 in the magnet middle school (Takoma Park Middle School) is not pretend Algebra.

Could others please explain what you mean by "pretend" and "real" algebra?

x+4=7
4x-24=16
4x+3y=7
3(x+3)=13
(x+4)(x-8)=100

Are each of these levels "real" or not?

[Anonymous]

The kids who took IM7 (in 5th grade) at the ES magnets and then go to TPMS take Algebra in sixth if they are strong.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The consistent and habitual high performance of these students in Mathcounts, AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12 and AIME year in and year out suggest that this is not the case. Interestingly, middle school students from the D.C. area privates are no where to be found in these national and international competitions. Where are they?

I'm not sure why you're gratuitously poking at the private schools here. Here is one AMC report I pulled quickly: http://www.unl.edu/amc/d-publication/d1-pubarchive/2006-7pub/2007-1012Summary.pdf. I see several DC private school students congratulated there (along with many public magnet students).
I'm sympathetic with both sides of this little spat. The kids at magnets are self-selecting in math and science, and the schools emphasize these subjects (and CS). They do tend to dominate these competitions, and train extensively for them (why TPMS dominates mathcounts, for example), in addition to having a deeper pool. But to imply that kids in privates are stupid in math is also wrong, as the AMC report link makes clear. Last year, the top freshman in math in the whole country is from a DC private school, and others just below are from public non-magnet. Blair's showing was pretty weak. TJ's was strong. but we're talking about a *small* group of students - the same 5-8 names keep showing up. So don't just assume that because your kid goes to a magnet they are in this elite - that is riding the coattails of some other amazing talent, and often the reason these kids end up at the top is because of what they do outside of math classes at school.

[Anonymous]

But to imply that kids in privates are stupid in math is also wrong, as the AMC report link makes clear. Last year, the top freshman in math in the whole country is from a DC private school, and others just below

Too defensive here. No one wrote this or implied this but you. The facts remain the facts.

[Anonymous]

it's just that they are all rather uniform in their intellectual level.... Good at school, pretty much a given.

This is absolutely not true. Many children are gifted in one area, but not another. Or they may also have a learning/emotional disability that prevents them from reaching their full potential in a traditional classroom situation. A GT classroom is not some magic place where kids are all at one level and GT placement does not guarantee that your child will thrive in the "GT classroom". Sweeping generalizations about what GT kids are like does not do them any favors. A good teacher and a good school will recognize this.

I think the OP is very wise to explore options. It is hard to know what is the best thing to do for your child when a particular school situation may be right for them in one way, but not another.

[Anonymous]

The term "gifted" is used a lot in public schools. It is often code for "let's get our kid out of this class with the black/hispanic students". You'll rarely see the term "gifted" used in the private schools since it is presumed the majority of students have to be "gifted" to pass the entrance tests. The NYT did a good story in the last few dayson how everyone wants their kids in all of these honor societies. But since there are so many -- most don't carry much weight.

[Anonymous]

The term "gifted" is used a lot in public schools. It is often code for "let's get our kid out of this class with the black/hispanic students". You'll rarely see the term "gifted" used in the private schools since it is presumed the majority of students have to be "gifted" to pass the entrance tests. The NYT did a good story in the last few dayson how everyone wants their kids in all of these honor societies. But since there are so many -- most don't carry much weight.

For some folk this strategy will backfire as they will once again encounter my black child in their classroom.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Too defensive here. No one wrote this or implied this but you. The facts remain the facts.

OK, now I'll be just as bitchy back. To which facts are you referring? Read carefully and you'll see that there are a lot of facts here, and it doesn't create a black and white picture that says "magnets are clearly the best." Indeed, the magnets suck when it comes to other subjects, such as languages, humanities, etc.

[Anonymous]

But to imply that kids in privates are stupid in math is also wrong,

Who wrote or implied the above but you. Can you reference where this is implied?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But to imply that kids in privates are stupid in math is also wrong,

Who wrote or implied the above but you. Can you reference where this is implied?

By implication, pointing out AMC, AIME scores, USAMO, IMO, blah blah blah, and how dominated by magnets. And the question back, unanswered, is about "facts."

[Anonymous]

Many Field Prize winners (Nobel Prize for Math) did not participate in these contests. Many area private school kids I know are majoring in Math and Physics in College. They certainly are not stupid in Math. You are making that inference from my post. My post in no way implies, as you assert, private school kids are stupid in Math. This is your claim and assertion!

[Anonymous]

By implication, pointing out AMC, AIME scores, USAMO, IMO, blah blah blah, and how dominated by magnets. And the question back, unanswered, is about "facts."

What do you mean by this diarrheal hallucinogen?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
Algebra 1 in the magnet middle school (Takoma Park Middle School) is not pretend Algebra. The consistent and habitual high performance of these students in Mathcounts, AMC 8, AMC 10, AMC 12 and AIME year in and year out suggest that this is not the case. Interestingly, middle school students from the D.C. area privates are no where to be found in these national and international competitions. Where are they? Takoma Park Middle School Magnet is part of the Montgomery County Public School System.

If your child is talented in Math there is no other D.C. area private middle school setting remotely comparable.

Note that mathcounts, and even many of the other levels of competition, are not dependent upon Algebra. They are "problem solving." To say that TPMS dominates is more a reflection of those kids at the school, who are strong, and the fact of a coach who works hard to prep them every year, rather than the quality of school teaching. The Algebra course is very rigorous, but that is a different ball of wax.
The privates don't do much w/ Mathcounts. At the State Competitions in Maryland, for example, some privates do OK (e.g., Norwood has done well), but many don't field teams. AMC 8 - at our DC private this is the first year it was offered. So if most kids at DC privates don't take it, and it is a huge deal at TPMS, well then that reflects the culture of the school, and may be related to the strength of the programs, but the connection is not automatic.
To throw out another little hand-grenade, note that the kids who dominate the programs tend to be of East and South Aasian descent. These kids tend to target the magnets as the place for an excellent free education. So does that make the TPMS domination (at the local level) of these contests a testament to the schools or to family background?

[Anonymous]

Good point pp. In fact -- go any where in the country and you'll see tons of kids of East Asians and Souteast Asian heritage.