Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP eligibility is not an accomplishment. It is not something worthy of a congratulations or a pat on the back. It is more worthy of a "that's great. I'm sure your kid will do well there."

Kids who are truly "gifted" didn't accquire the ability through hard work. They were just born wired that way. It makes no more sense to congratulate someone on having a gifted kid than it does to congratulate them for having blonde hair.

If people would stop looking at AAP eligibility like TJ admissions or college admissions, all the madness might end.

Sorry, you're wrong. Many AAP eligible kids have worked their butts of in school and have the grades to back it up. I would agree with you if admissions were solely based on a WISC score like some school districts. Then it truly is out of everyone's hands, including the child. But Fairfax goes as much on achievement as ability therefore I have to disagree with you, these students deserve congratulations.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:AAP eligibility is not an accomplishment. It is not something worthy of a congratulations or a pat on the back. It is more worthy of a "that's great. I'm sure your kid will do well there."

Kids who are truly "gifted" didn't accquire the ability through hard work. They were just born wired that way. It makes no more sense to congratulate someone on having a gifted kid than it does to congratulate them for having blonde hair.

If people would stop looking at AAP eligibility like TJ admissions or college admissions, all the madness might end.

Sorry, you're wrong. Many AAP eligible kids have worked their butts of in school and have the grades to back it up. I would agree with you if admissions were solely based on a WISC score like some school districts. Then it truly is out of everyone's hands, including the child. But Fairfax goes as much on achievement as ability therefore I have to disagree with you, these students deserve congratulations.

What 2nd graders have "worked their butts off?"
My AAP eligible kid does about 5 minutes of homework (a math worksheet and a spelling assignment) each night and has the rest of his time free to ride his bike, dig in the dirt, play with his friends, etc.
Report cards are included in the file, but you can see from the admission results that grades have nothing to do with eligibility/ineligibility. Perhaps the committee is looking more at the work habits/behavior section of the report card.

Anonymous wrote:

I think the point is that 20% of Fairfax County kids scored in th top 2% nationally. I think statistically it seems odd.

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. I still believe children should be rewarded for academic excellence. However "easy" it may be or if "they worked their butts off." It sends a message that academic achievement is a high priority at all levels. I'm sorry you guys have a problem with that but yes, I congratulated my son for getting into AAP. He was not coached so don't start. He got 150's and 140's on the subtests. He has attention issues and works hard to stay focused so yes, he works is butt off. I am proud to have a child that applies himself.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. I still believe children should be rewarded for academic excellence. However "easy" it may be or if "they worked their butts off." It sends a message that academic achievement is a high priority at all levels. I'm sorry you guys have a problem with that but yes, I congratulated my son for getting into AAP. He was not coached so don't start. He got 150's and 140's on the subtests. He has attention issues and works hard to stay focused so yes, he works is butt off. I am proud to have a child that applies himself.

But I don't think of AAP as being a reward for academic excellence. I see it as providing educational services for children whose needs are not met in the regular classroom, as helping children to learn to their best of their ability. The process is meant to identify children in need of special services and to provide the education that best suits their needs.

Anonymous wrote:Actually, identification is based on test scores plus teacher observations of gifted behaviors exhibited by the students. Grades are not mentioned as being considered in the identification process. Kids who need the services provided by an AAP classroom don't always necessarily have across the board high grades.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. I still believe children should be rewarded for academic excellence. However "easy" it may be or if "they worked their butts off." It sends a message that academic achievement is a high priority at all levels. I'm sorry you guys have a problem with that but yes, I congratulated my son for getting into AAP. He was not coached so don't start. He got 150's and 140's on the subtests. He has attention issues and works hard to stay focused so yes, he works is butt off. I am proud to have a child that applies himself.

But I don't think of AAP as being a reward for academic excellence. I see it as providing educational services for children whose needs are not met in the regular classroom, as helping children to learn to their best of their ability. The process is meant to identify children in need of special services and to provide the education that best suits their needs.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Whatever. I still believe children should be rewarded for academic excellence. However "easy" it may be or if "they worked their butts off." It sends a message that academic achievement is a high priority at all levels. I'm sorry you guys have a problem with that but yes, I congratulated my son for getting into AAP. He was not coached so don't start. He got 150's and 140's on the subtests. He has attention issues and works hard to stay focused so yes, he works is butt off. I am proud to have a child that applies himself.

But I don't think of AAP as being a reward for academic excellence. I see it as providing educational services for children whose needs are not met in the regular classroom, as helping children to learn to their best of their ability. The process is meant to identify children in need of special services and to provide the education that best suits their needs.

I have a friend who is a special education teacher in Fairfax, and she says that Giftedness is something like a learning disability. The kids just learn differently. That is what my son's teacher told them the first day of class in third grade too. They aren't smarter than General Ed, they just learn in a different way. He has been in the program three years, and still will tell anyone that, if someone says he must be very smart.

Anonymous wrote:A better way to look at it is every has strengths and weaknesses. Some people are musically gifted, some people are wonderful athletes, and some people are brilliant.

The schools have programs for the athletes (Football, Basketball, Baseball for boys). They also have programs for the smart kids (AAP).

Being smart does not make the kid better or more valuable.