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

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Ok, let me rephrase my anti gifted opinions posted here. I think you are doing kids that are truly geniuses a disservice by putting them in US magnets. They stifle imagination and teach them to learn by repeating. I also disagree with having 1K gifted kids in one school. There are not that many true geniuses in either MoCo, or NoVa. Tests do not measure real possibility of any kid. Each person is "gifted" in a different way. If you shove them all together, you are doing them a disfavor. Imagination is the crux of any creation, you removed the imagination from kids.[/quote]

The funny thing is that I agree on this, but I have also seen it in a different way.

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.

In comparison, my AAP kids love school. They get pullouts for even more advanced math, they have peers that they talk to, they are never ignored.

This being sad: we never tell our kids that they are gifted and we have never heard teachers use that word in conferences. Because the word is loaded. But our nieces are told that they are and it has essentially made them very resentful of their education.

I know that's a weird anecdote, but here is the thing: true genius isn't like this thing that comes from genetics or breast feeding: it is actually a cumulative thing that has to be nurtured. The magnet programs here give kids that could go on to greatness the social guidance they need to see that they are not that special. And that's why it's important: to see that there are peers in that meet or exceed who you are. And of course, there are always one or two kids that are really truly special: but those kids aren't just being educated in the magnet programs: the parents are doing a lot of heavy lifting at home to encourage their kids to do more.

I guess what I am saying is that the magnets are a double edged sword. But they aren't this evil thing and there are so many families outside of our area that would kill for programs like we have here.[/quote]

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