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Parents of children with super high IQ scores - where are your children in school?
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Anonymous
| OP I think a number of posters have given excellent examples of how important it is to be on the same page with a schools educational emphasis/teaching style. Our DC is in a good place now, but getting here was bumpy at times. If you def. want to send your child to an independent school, I can't stress enough that you should make every effort to find a school that you believe in as-is - I'd be wary of any school that that appeals to you because of strings attached. Over the years I've seen too many parents lose sight of the big picture completely - i.e. becoming frustrated when a school is not teaching to each and every ability that their child is capable of, or pushing for special accommodations that really don't make sense. My child is entering 6th grade and is in the 99.999 percentile. When he entered K in public he had not been tested, but he could do all sorts of things that were extraordinary for a child his age. His unusual interests and abilities made him stand out to a certain degree, but for the most part, he was just a happy and enthusiastic typical kid. During his time at public school he met kids that shared his passion and knowledge for history, others reading at his level or close, and still others that were even better in math. In 4th grade we moved him to a private school because were were really disillusioned by the focus on SOL testing. Our decision to move him to a less structured learning environment was the best thing we ever did for him (the most important difference being our new school's emphasis on ideas and exploration vs. right answers, "ability to keep up with the work" and "rigor"). DCs new school has taken his educational experience to the next level, and we could not be happier with the decision. Even so, I know that some view our school as "loose" and "unstructured" compared to other schools they view as "harder" or "more academically rigorous" and/ or "challenging". Our child has a natural love of learning, so we have never had to push him or motivate him to learn. Therefore, he has thrived in this atmosphere because he is so self directed and curious. DC has done very well at his school and gets close to all As. I'm a glass half full type, so I'd say this means he is thriving. Were I the glass half empty type, I may think he could be challenged more. As it is, I think the level of work he is producing is extraordinary....and better than the grades is his overall attitude and happiness. I hope you are able to find the right fit for your child - the key is not one particular school - it is keeping an open mind and never losing sight of the big picture. Good luck. |
Anonymous
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To the recent GDS parent and PP, thanks for actually talking about education. So much in this forum is about "how to get in" rather than what we need for our children for the long haul.
BTW, was in the Burgundy Farm library recently, and saw a similar shadow measuring activity going on outside (and comparison with previous measurements, it seemed, they had tables in their note books). It wasn't my child's class, so I don't have the details. As you said though, it's just the kind of thing I was looking for. |
Anonymous
your the reason I won't send my kid to public school...... enjoy your mediocrity....... I'll enjoy my "strange" family that embraces intellect |
Anonymous
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ok-we can do away with the gifted programs right after the varsity sports teams......... we don't want anyone to feel bad b/c they can't make the team do we??????? |
Anonymous
| Thank you both for this mannerly and intellectual exchange. Makes it so difficult for the rest of us to keep up! |
Anonymous
Perhaps your own lack of command of how to use English properly, is another reason why maybe YOU shouldn't be home schooling. Just in case it's over your head, it should be "You're (as in 'you are') the reason..blah, blah, blah 
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Anonymous
| Not to burst anyone's bubble but the AD at my DC's "Top three" private school recently told me that most kids who come in with super high WPPSI scores, reading by three, etc. tend to "level out by 2nd grade." |
Anonymous
| Sounds like your school is not the place for certain types of learners to strive - which was exactly the point of some of the previous posts. |
Anonymous
I agree that this may say more about the school's attitude (which one was it, by the way?!) than about the kids. From Hoagies' Gifted Education Page (excellent resource for those of you who don't know about it): "there is truth to the oft-heard statement that "kids level out by 3rd grade." No, gifted kids don't level out, they continue to learn faster, and gain quicker, getting further ahead of their age-peers. But... Those kids who are "hot-housed," attend the most academic pre-school, are taught at home, flash carded (no, not those gifted parents who's kids *demand* flashcards, the other kind), and generally reach school already reading some sight words, perhaps even reading, doing some math... those kids often do fall back to "average" by 3rd grade, when the other kids have also learned to read. Problem is, some gifted kids *also* appear to have fallen back, thanks to their development of social-self - they realize that they are different, perhaps think different is bad, or find different to be less socially acceptable in school, so they go into hiding. For some (more often girls) this is a permanent condition; others can't take the hiding any more at some point in later schooling, and explode in frustration." http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/why_test.htm |
Anonymous
Thanks so much for posting this! The condition described is *just* what happened to my DD in 2nd grade in our public school in Fairfax County. Our school has Local Level IV services but only 2 kids are GT Center-eligible, so she is going to the GT center in the fall for 3rd grade. |
Anonymous
That statement is actually woefully misinformed (see any research on the gifted) and says it all as to why those schools may not be a good fit for the highly gifted. When we were looking for schools, we didn't even apply to Sidwell, for example, because we were told (direct quote) that "all our students are gifted" and that zero subject acceleration was done in the lower school (another direct quote). Needless to say, we crossed them off our list in a hurry! |
Anonymous
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It's true that, in many cases, early-reading kids with high WPPSI scores don't turn out to be highly gifted. But OP and a number of other posters have described kids that fit the profile independently of their WPPSI scores.
And the benefits of the type of school/education being described don't depend on students being gifted (or accurately identified as such at an early age). A wide and deep curriculum (rather than a straight and narrow one where the emphasis is on how fast you move down it), a solid floor but no ceiling (rather than anything goes OR one right answer), and an emphasis on kids as thinkers rather than receptacles for existing knowledge are good things for any kid who is a voracious learner. |
Anonymous
| To answer op, my child had super high iq scores and is beginning at Beauvoir next year. |
Anonymous
| OP here - I just wanted to say that I am reading this thread and I really appreciate all of the thoughtful answers from those who are responding. Your posts are giving me a lot of great information and new ways to approach how I think about our child's education going forward. Thank you so much! |
Anonymous
| 9:02 you sound suspiciously like the voice of reason and intellect that has made several earlier posts. |