Is anyone else not concerned their child isn't in the G&T program?

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I read the posts on this site and think I must be the only parent with intelligent children (not off the chart) who are doing well day-to-day and that is okay? Sometimes I think I'm the freak as it seems like everyone else who posts has children who are Einstein's and are going to solve the problems in the mideast at any minute.

Am I alone? Are there other average families out there?

[Anonymous]

Well, right now it is "GT season" in FCPS. So there are lots of posts about it. And if your child's academic needs are not being adequately met in the traditional classroom, then it it is important to you that they get in. If your kids are happy and their needs are being met, then it isn't a big deal.

It doesn't help that FCPS makes the whole process a bit mysterious and arcane as to who qualifies and who doesn't.

[Anonymous]

I'm one on the other thread waiting for scores. I don't expect DD to qualify. I think she's bright (and a lot of people say she is, she comes out with some fascinating comments on sophisticated things, etc.), but she's not "advanced" in school and there's nothing to believe she is some sort of latent genius. She has two parents with a collection of graduate degrees between them, so I suppose she "should" be smart, but she is who she is-- and I LOVE who she is. She's bright, funny, kind, and loving. She has a great personality. I know she can and will do whatever she wants. Whether she is in the AAP program in third grade (for which she'd have to change schools) is not really going to matter in the grand scheme of her life. For some kids, it does matter because it helps them like school. She likes school right now, so she doesn't need it for that.

I guess the bottom line is that is she is eligible, we'll consider whether it's the right move for her. If she's not, we won't look back.

[Anonymous]

You're not alone, OP! I don't care one way or another if my kids go to a G&T program. There are many ways to challenge a child and I think the truly gifted are as few as those who truly need special education (of course, G&T is a special ed program). My kids are going to be successful whether they're in G&T or not. I'm not going to buy into the madness that's so common in this area. I'd rather they have more time to play, hang out or explore other interests.

[Anonymous]

I'm the OP. Like one of the PP's we would have to change schools and our child (and us too) really like our school and the teachers/staff. Plus we have a lot of kids in our neighborhood and I don't think our child would be happy to move to another school.

No matter what, the Fairfax schools are good.

[Anonymous]

18:58. We are fortunate that our base school offers a GT classroom. We had the choice of the GT center, but because my DD has some anxiety issues, we did not want to move schools. So we have been able to get her the more accelerated work she needed while still being able to stay in our neighborhood school. For us it's been a good solution to what was a problem in prior years.

[Anonymous]

No you're not alone. I wasn't surprised when we got our daughter's scores -- she's bright but scores were not adequate for the GT program. I confess after reading so many of the posts here I was starting to feel anxious about the whole thing. I have to admit there's a part of me that would love my kid to at least have the choice. But once I got away from here I reminded myself that all I really want for her to be is happy and the reality is that she already goes to a great school and she is happy. I'll say this, sometimes I really wish we lived in an area that wasn't so hyper competitive.

[Anonymous]

To the 12:36 poster (I'm the OP), you expressed my feelings exactly.

[Anonymous]

The Washington Post says 15 percent of FCPS kids are offered a spot in the level 4 centers. So that leaves the 85 percent!

Most families do not even think about it. But in the "season" it's hard not to get sucked in.

But most of us are running our own race. We'll all get there in our own way.

[Anonymous]

My son is very bright. I don't think he's gifted, but then, I don't think most of the kids id as such are gifted either. He will be fine. He might even grow up without that snotty precociousness that is tolerated in the "gifted."

My son will be fine. So will your child.

[Anonymous]

My son wasn't doing fine last year. He was identified as gifted and is in a center school this year, and the change in him has been amazing. There was nothing wrong with his teacher and school last yearthat I could tell, and a lot of kids seemed happy with the school. But my goodness, this year has been like a breath of fresh air for my son. I don't know that all students would respond to the types of assignments he has been getting in such a positive way. The assignments are so open ended. I have another child who is a year younger. I don't know that I see this child doing so well in the G&T program. She's already doing fine where she is. She's a teacher pleaser, and she likes assignments where she knows what is expected and she can meet those expectations. She's a great student. But I'm not sure she needs a center program, just good high expectatins and good teaching.