Reply to MoCo - Emotional Support for Gifted Students?

Forum Index » Montgomery County Public Schools (MCPS)

Reply to "MoCo - Emotional Support for Gifted Students?"

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]OP here. To be clear, DD does not have a learning disability, does not have anxiety, and does not have a low processing speed. Those were just examples I used in response to various questions such as to what I meant by "emotional support" for gifted kids. DD does tend to be a perfectionist who sometimes avoids doing (or turning in) work because of a fear of making a mistake. So, yes, it would be great if she had some teachers who "got this," as opposed to teachers who just assume she isn't capable . . . . In terms of privates, my understanding of most privates is that they also don't want to teach beyond the norm - that they want kids who are all pretty similar and don't want gifted kids unless those kids are also highly focused on academic achievement (and thus have a good chance of getting into an impressive undergrad program, thereby bolstering the private's reputation).  I guess I'm really cynical at this point.[/quote]
So you are just saying all her issues are due to the fact that she's "gifted"? I have to roll my eyes at you. Sorry.[/quote]

My non-gifted kid is also a perfectionist who fears making a mistake.  This is not just a gifted phenomenon.   I assume teachers are aware some kids are like this.  If not - why don't you talk to her teacher to make sure she is aware of it.  It doesn't sound like you need any special treatment if this is the only issue.[/quote]

There is a lot of research showing that gifted children are more likely to have "perfectionist" tendencies.  It is not "just" a gifted phenomenon but it does tend to be more prevalent in the gifted population and so you would hope the teaching staff in HGCs etc. would have the training and experience to deal with this especially since the work load and expectations at magnet programs is higher.  
OP I am afraid I do not have a good answer for you.  I think it depends on the individual teacher but I would say that on the whole the more experienced teachers in particular are able to understand the issues your gifted child is dealing with.  All gifted children need a deeper curriculum and a faster pace of instruction but there are different kinds of children in this population - some are motivated by academic achievement and others are not or they have perfectionist tendencies or executive functioning problems that make it challenging for them to do the work successfully.  In our experience there are more kids like this in the HGCs in part because the screening in 3rd grade is more rough and ready.  In the MS magnets and HS magnet application process  there is much more emphasis on report cards and on teacher recs. so many kids who might have trouble in this area are screened out.  There are also kids who make it into these programs despite these issues and it is harder for them.  The MS and HS programs are not designed for them- they are designed for gifted kids who are academic achievers .  You just have to go in knowing you will have to support your child fully and hope you get experienced teachers. If your child is likely to get sad about poor grades then it is probably not a good fit.  If they are excited to learn interesting material and be with interesting peers that might be enough to make it a positive experience.
The Nysmith school in Virginia which was written up in the Washington Post might be a good fit but it is in Herndon and it is expensive.
Perhaps call them and ask them if they have a recommendation for MoCo?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/how-a-small-school-for-gifted-kids-in-the-dc-exurbs-gets-big-results/2016/02/24/0af4a2a8-b889-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html
http://www.nysmith.com/[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics