Why there's no such thing as a Gifted child?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have a truly gifted couple of nieces: reading at 3, doing 5th grade math in kindergarten, perfect scores... etc. The parents are in Spotsylvania County and the kids HATE school. When I ask why, they girls mention it's a waste of time, they don't learn anything, the teachers mostly just put them in a corner with books and teach the other kids, while they just... learn on their own.
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My DS is just like your nieces, and he hates school, views it as a waste of time, doesn't learn anything, and is stuck independently reading or doing Dreambox. This is all in AAP. Not all AAP centers, schools, and teachers in FCPS are created equally. My kid's experience is that the teachers are focusing entirely on the 120-ish kids and doing nothing at all to challenge the kids at the top. AAP math and AAP language arts are still only teaching at 1 year above grade level, which is inadequate for the kids who are more than 2 years above grade level.

Not sure what more you expect from a school. We send our dd yo a private school. She could read college material in first grade and finished Algebra in 5th. The teachers at her private school are still more focused on the “120-ish kids”. Even paying for a private school doesn’t get you constant 1:1 instruction. However our dd isn’t bored at school and loves going.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The title seems misleading. The article is talking about how being identified as "gifted" in early childhood isn't the best predictor of adult success and a lot of factors besides raw intellience go into sucess.

Exactly. I get the impression that many posting here haven’t even read the article.

I read the article. One of the reasons I'm skeptical of AAP is that intelligence seems to be much more fluid than people think, and the tests are very imperfect. I'm not convinced that the semi-permanence of the gifted label and services given to children based on their level in 2nd grade is appropriate. Many of those kids will peak early and be somewhat average by high school, while other kids will be late bloomers and flourish later in their careers. I've met so many people who talked about being identified as highly gifted as 6 or 7 year olds, but seemed pretty average as adults. Some of them were in college classes with me, and while they might claim a 160+ IQ measured in their early childhoods, they did not learn particularly quickly or well as adult college students.

This is why I don't think AAP should be based just on test scores. A child who is willing to work hard and understands the material belongs in AAP just as much as the kid who scored a 140 on the CogAT but doesn't make much of an effort.

Overall, I think the biggest problem is that there is no unified curriculum so that the programs are run differently at each school and kids get a very different education. Level III in some schools is more serious, the Teachers differentiate in the classroom while the AART pulls the kids once a week. At other schools the pull outs might be once a month and there is not much done in the classroom.

Every school should have a full time AART. Larger schools should have 2 AARTs. Every school should have Advanced Math that starts in Third. Every school should have local level IV. There should be a unified curriculum with set standards. If kids cannot keep up with the established pace, they should be able to be moved back to Gen Ed and into the appropriate Level III services.

Leave the Centers for the kids who are moving beyond the pace of the AAP program who need the additional challenge. I don't care if those kids are gifted or simply very motivated, if they are out pacing AAP let them come together in one class at the center and move at a pace that makes sense for them. There would be less busing and kids should find the appropriate niche.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have a truly gifted couple of nieces: reading at 3, doing 5th grade math in kindergarten, perfect scores... etc. The parents are in Spotsylvania County and the kids HATE school. When I ask why, they girls mention it's a waste of time, they don't learn anything, the teachers mostly just put them in a corner with books and teach the other kids, while they just... learn on their own.
.

My DS is just like your nieces, and he hates school, views it as a waste of time, doesn't learn anything, and is stuck independently reading or doing Dreambox. This is all in AAP. Not all AAP centers, schools, and teachers in FCPS are created equally. My kid's experience is that the teachers are focusing entirely on the 120-ish kids and doing nothing at all to challenge the kids at the top. AAP math and AAP language arts are still only teaching at 1 year above grade level, which is inadequate for the kids who are more than 2 years above grade level.

Not sure what more you expect from a school. We send our dd yo a private school. She could read college material in first grade and finished Algebra in 5th. The teachers at her private school are still more focused on the “120-ish kids”. Even paying for a private school doesn’t get you constant 1:1 instruction. However our dd isn’t bored at school and loves going.

Which grade is this kid in right now? She will max out Math program in any high school she goes. What is the plan?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
I have a truly gifted couple of nieces: reading at 3, doing 5th grade math in kindergarten, perfect scores... etc. The parents are in Spotsylvania County and the kids HATE school. When I ask why, they girls mention it's a waste of time, they don't learn anything, the teachers mostly just put them in a corner with books and teach the other kids, while they just... learn on their own.
.

My DS is just like your nieces, and he hates school, views it as a waste of time, doesn't learn anything, and is stuck independently reading or doing Dreambox. This is all in AAP. Not all AAP centers, schools, and teachers in FCPS are created equally. My kid's experience is that the teachers are focusing entirely on the 120-ish kids and doing nothing at all to challenge the kids at the top. AAP math and AAP language arts are still only teaching at 1 year above grade level, which is inadequate for the kids who are more than 2 years above grade level.

Not sure what more you expect from a school. We send our dd yo a private school. She could read college material in first grade and finished Algebra in 5th. The teachers at her private school are still more focused on the “120-ish kids”. Even paying for a private school doesn’t get you constant 1:1 instruction. However our dd isn’t bored at school and loves going.

Which grade is this kid in right now? She will max out Math program in any high school she goes. What is the plan?

We are not concerned. There are options when kids runs out of classes in high school. But thinking she will max out a math program is assuming a lot of things.