Its not an unfair advantage.
You know you can get Princeton Review materials for free at the public library.

Its that some people will put forth additional effort to help ensure that they perform at their best. That is not unfair.

Do people berate athletes for training up for a big competition? No, we celebrate it. We admire the fact that they dedicate their free time to spend the extra time and effort.

Where there is a will, there is a way.

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster and I must say that I am truly disgusted by these responses. I thought that I may receive some book suggestions or a kind word about my son developing at his own pace, but with the exception of the first post, it was more mean spirited than I thought possible. I feel that these responses speak to our inability to support each other in raising the best children that we can. I was the first child in my entire family to attend college, and had to find mentors outside of my family to achieve my goals. I worked hard and have a M.D. from Hopkins. I work with high school students every summer to help others reach their goals. So to have this type of response, I am shocked. I feel that we need to raise the level of discourse and find a way to support each other in making the world a place where our children can reach their potential. I may not be the best parent or the most gifted person, but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

I realize you say you're not checking back, but...I came from a similar background. My mother had no money, knowledge of, or, frankly, interest in the GT system. The only test prep I ever got was a couple hours of in-class instruction on the SAT in high school. In those days, there were some wealthy kids who went Princeton Review and the like, and I really resented the advantages they would gain because Daddy could write a big check. (Despite this, I did well, went to college, got a good job, etc., and am now gratefully a member of the upper-middle class just like you.)

So, please tell me--how are you supporting other people by prepping your child so that s/he has a potential unfair advantage? Especially against children whose background is similar to yours?

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster and I must say that I am truly disgusted by these responses. I thought that I may receive some book suggestions or a kind word about my son developing at his own pace, but with the exception of the first post, it was more mean spirited than I thought possible. I feel that these responses speak to our inability to support each other in raising the best children that we can. I was the first child in my entire family to attend college, and had to find mentors outside of my family to achieve my goals. I worked hard and have a M.D. from Hopkins. I work with high school students every summer to help others reach their goals. So to have this type of response, I am shocked. I feel that we need to raise the level of discourse and find a way to support each other in making the world a place where our children can reach their potential. I may not be the best parent or the most gifted person, but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

Oh, screw your indignance. Seriously. Your first post came off highly entitled and was patently offensive.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'm just blown away that there are classes to prep rising first grader!

Me, too. I guess it's a "based on demand" thing.

not too different from sending U7 kids to soccer academy to prep for travel soccer

Anonymous wrote:I'm just blown away that there are classes to prep rising first grader!

Me, too. I guess it's a "based on demand" thing.

I'm just blown away that there are classes to prep rising first grader!

Anonymous wrote:1. An MD should know a bit about ethics

What is unethical about preparing a child to be ready and comfortable to take a test?

Where was "thou shalt not prep" written?
I am serious about questioning why people feel that it isn't ethical.

What if I continue to send my kid to prep classes after 2nd grade (even though there is no test to prep for). It would just be additional academic work which will give the kid a boost in 3rd grade. Is this considered unethical also?

You're correct about the nastiness...the perils of an anonymous board. Sad.

CogAT is a problem solving test. There's plenty of practice tests available but the most useful, i think, are mental games like puzzles, cubes, leggos, etc. Learning to apply deductive reasoning will improve their scores and have tremendous real world benefits as well.

Just ignore the haters and help your kid.

Thanks for the support and I did not mean to say that preparing my children is changing the world, but instead the work I do with other children in my volunteer and professional career. I try to make a choice every day to help others and to teach my children the same. So if I come into contact with your children I hope that this spirit will overwhelm the negativity and competetive nature present in this dialouge. Best wishes to you all, and due to the negativity of this string I will not be checking back in. Thanks again.

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster and I must say that I am truly disgusted by these responses. I thought that I may receive some book suggestions or a kind word about my son developing at his own pace, but with the exception of the first post, it was more mean spirited than I thought possible. I feel that these responses speak to our inability to support each other in raising the best children that we can. I was the first child in my entire family to attend college, and had to find mentors outside of my family to achieve my goals. I worked hard and have a M.D. from Hopkins. I work with high school students every summer to help others reach their goals. So to have this type of response, I am shocked. I feel that we need to raise the level of discourse and find a way to support each other in making the world a place where our children can reach their potential. I may not be the best parent or the most gifted person, but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

Dear OP, I understand your disappointment with the responses. Unfortunately, since this is an anonymous forum, posters feel the freedom to behave in ways they would not face to face..they forget all of their manners. To the PP who said OP was trying to change the world by prepping OP's DC - OP is simply calling for kinder, more helpful discourse is all.

Anyway, as you can see, OP, there are some who hold the point of of view that children should in no way, shape or form prepare for the NNAT or CoGAT, because they consider it "cheating", an unfair advantage, a false result, etc.

There is another camp that believes that you should absolutely prepare your child if you think the AAP program would benefit them and if you think prepping would improve DC's scores. Levels of "prepping" can range from ordering some practice tests (look online), buying preparation materials (again online) or even taking courses (summer enrichment classes.) If you are concerned about anxiety - I would just assure DC to try his best and answer all the questions.

Both camps apparently feel very strongly about their respective positions, so a seemingly innocent inquiry can inflame the thread.

1. An MD should know a bit about ethics

2. Your speech was a bit overzealous. You're not going to "change the world" by prepping your kid into the AAP program

Anonymous wrote:I am the original poster and I must say that I am truly disgusted by these responses. I thought that I may receive some book suggestions or a kind word about my son developing at his own pace, but with the exception of the first post, it was more mean spirited than I thought possible. I feel that these responses speak to our inability to support each other in raising the best children that we can. I was the first child in my entire family to attend college, and had to find mentors outside of my family to achieve my goals. I worked hard and have a M.D. from Hopkins. I work with high school students every summer to help others reach their goals. So to have this type of response, I am shocked. I feel that we need to raise the level of discourse and find a way to support each other in making the world a place where our children can reach their potential. I may not be the best parent or the most gifted person, but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

Good God - your writing is terrible. Are you sure you went to Med school?

Anonymous wrote:but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

Good for you! Then don't stress your son out by "prepping" for GT testing. The best test prep is a good night's sleep the night before the test and a good breakfast.

If you want to "prep" your son for school in general, then read to him, take him to museums and the library, expose him to music/the arts.

Good luck!

I am the original poster and I must say that I am truly disgusted by these responses. I thought that I may receive some book suggestions or a kind word about my son developing at his own pace, but with the exception of the first post, it was more mean spirited than I thought possible. I feel that these responses speak to our inability to support each other in raising the best children that we can. I was the first child in my entire family to attend college, and had to find mentors outside of my family to achieve my goals. I worked hard and have a M.D. from Hopkins. I work with high school students every summer to help others reach their goals. So to have this type of response, I am shocked. I feel that we need to raise the level of discourse and find a way to support each other in making the world a place where our children can reach their potential. I may not be the best parent or the most gifted person, but I seek to improve this world through my actions and I hope that anyone who reads this post is challenged to take actions to do the same.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:What's the difference between smarter and gifted?

http://www.tag-tenn.org/comparison.html

http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/a/gifted_response.htm