My kid is in AAP because he has great hair.

Since he apparently isn't gifted or able to learn quickly, and definitely doesn't think differently, that must be it!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

DC who is in AAP definitely thinks differently. Sibling is more mainstream (said lovingly ) and is not in AAP.

^ to add, we also told DC1 that AAP wasn't about smart, but those who think differently, work more quickly and do better with different challenges.

"Work more quickly" - not sure that's true. Think differently? Not sure that's true for the most part. I have to say that nearly all of these responses are precisely what I don't want to tell my child nor do I want my kid hearing something like this from your kid.

Oh brother. I can see there is no way to acknowledge that out of the 2,000+ kids who apply to the MCPS HGC, the fact that 50 kids got in means nothing about them is special. Otherwise it's bragging, even if it's handled delicately.

My kid is super smart and does really well in school. That's why he was picked for the HGC. Deconstruct that all you want.

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

Well, you don't know many AAP kids, especially some of the really high intelligence kids in the program.

Just because your kid does not think outside of the box does not mean that no other kids do.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid knows people have all different strengths and weaknesses. I don't feel a need to hide from her where she has native talents. I also don't feel a need to hide from her where she has natural deficits.

A kid who is an ace soccer player is going to know she's an ace soccer player. She should still demonstrate humility and be able to interact with mere human soccer players (and understand that native talents only get you so far, hard work is still a requirement). Academic strengths are no different.

I totally disagree. Soccer talent is overt, so it is easily seen by others. Intelligence is like wealth. It shouldn't be openly discussed with others unless you're crass.

Oh please

It's called "AAP" -- or "Advanced Academic Program" --- eventually, the kids in it are going to figure out that they are the "advanced" kids. Yes, they are going to conclude that they are smart. But, for now, I don't need to tell my kid he's smart. I'm the one just telling him there is a school for kids who like more challenges. That keeps the focus on what the school offers rather than focussing on whether a particular child is smarter than any other child.

If necessary, I will eventually tell DS that there are equally "smart" kids at the regular school -- some of them might have decided not to take on more challenges.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My kid knows people have all different strengths and weaknesses. I don't feel a need to hide from her where she has native talents. I also don't feel a need to hide from her where she has natural deficits.

A kid who is an ace soccer player is going to know she's an ace soccer player. She should still demonstrate humility and be able to interact with mere human soccer players (and understand that native talents only get you so far, hard work is still a requirement). Academic strengths are no different.

I totally disagree. Soccer talent is overt, so it is easily seen by others. Intelligence is like wealth. It shouldn't be openly discussed with others unless you're crass.

Many kinds of intelligence, like many kinds of wealth, are also easily observed by people. A kid who never plays soccer could be an ace soccer player and no one knows. A kid who is brilliant but only exhibits that in the shed behind her house can mask her brilliance. But my child notices that Larla is an amazing soccer player. And she notices that Larlo always gets his drawings picked for the student art show, and that Larli is not only published regularly in the little literary magazine the elementary school has but also has won external competitions.

I'm not about to pretend that Larla, Larlo, and Larli don't have particular talents, and I would hope their parents also recognize those talents and celebrate the hard work the children use to grow them.

Anonymous wrote:Please let me know what words you've used to explain AAP to him/her. I struggle with this and am not sure how to word this to my child. My child has said nothing so far and knows nothing as far as I know. I don't want to make a big deal about it but don't know how to word it. What did you say?

why not just stick with Gen. Ed.? No one is forcing you to accept AAP.

Anonymous wrote:DD is in private school, so I told her she was taking a test to help her public school know what class to place her in next year when she attends public school. I think kids in her class have talked about the "test" and "results" because she asked me if I got the results, and I just said that I probably did, but don't remember where it is and don't know how the school will use them (sorry, just a little white lie), and she doesn't know she got in. Regarding the AAP orientation we're attending on Monday, I just told her we're going to an orientation for new 3rd graders at her new school. I really want her to just continue focusing on doing her best and not rely on a perceived status.

Your child will know when she starts school so better for you to have the conversation than allowing her perception to be influenced by friends, etc.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

DC who is in AAP definitely thinks differently. Sibling is more mainstream (said lovingly ) and is not in AAP.

^ to add, we also told DC1 that AAP wasn't about smart, but those who think differently, work more quickly and do better with different challenges.

"Work more quickly" - not sure that's true. Think differently? Not sure that's true for the most part. I have to say that nearly all of these responses are precisely what I don't want to tell my child nor do I want my kid hearing something like this from your kid.

This is what we said to OUR kid. He was told not to discuss with others so he didn't. But we had to explain to him why he was going into a program and didn't want to say something jerky like "because you're so smart, Buddy."

Really, is it that awful?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

DC who is in AAP definitely thinks differently. Sibling is more mainstream (said lovingly ) and is not in AAP.

^ to add, we also told DC1 that AAP wasn't about smart, but those who think differently, work more quickly and do better with different challenges.

"Work more quickly" - not sure that's true. Think differently? Not sure that's true for the most part. I have to say that nearly all of these responses are precisely what I don't want to tell my child nor do I want my kid hearing something like this from your kid.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

DC who is in AAP definitely thinks differently. Sibling is more mainstream (said lovingly ) and is not in AAP.

^ to add, we also told DC1 that AAP wasn't about smart, but those who think differently, work more quickly and do better with different challenges.

Anonymous wrote:I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

DC who is in AAP definitely thinks differently. Sibling is more mainstream (said lovingly ) and is not in AAP.

I think it is b.s. to say that these kids 'think differently.' I honestly don't think they do, including my own kid who will be in AAP next year.

I told my dd that some kids who think differently learn better in an AAP classroom. I made no mention of better, smarter, faster, or gifted. However, it only took a few months there before she had adopted the lingo and was talking about being with the "smart kids."

Anonymous wrote:My kid knows people have all different strengths and weaknesses. I don't feel a need to hide from her where she has native talents. I also don't feel a need to hide from her where she has natural deficits.

A kid who is an ace soccer player is going to know she's an ace soccer player. She should still demonstrate humility and be able to interact with mere human soccer players (and understand that native talents only get you so far, hard work is still a requirement). Academic strengths are no different.

I totally disagree. Soccer talent is overt, so it is easily seen by others. Intelligence is like wealth. It shouldn't be openly discussed with others unless you're crass.