Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the support and suggestions related to my and DC's stress about accepting the HGC offer. Yes it makes sense to accept and see how it goes through the summer. Making this kind of transition is a hard choice.

It would really help if MCPS gave more information about the HGC in a detailed information packet like the workload, the type of work/curriculum, the philosophy of their gifted ed program, the supports offered, etc. It's like they're saying, "You've made it! Now take what we've got or we will find someone else who will! We don't care if it's a good fit for your child or not." Test scores/recommendations have nothing to do with individual needs and what's best for the child. We have several educational options and I want to know if this program a good fit.

I am a bit perplexed about the amount of homework that is apparently given at HGCs. It makes me wonder if the county actually understands gifted education. Highly gifted kids are still kids, they just learn at a faster pace and on a deeper level. Also, highly gifted kids oftentimes have strong, passionate interests and may or may not be motivated to do work in their areas of non-interest. I hope they address these issues and philosophies at the Open House.

My son went to Pine Crest HGC, then magnets at TPMS and Blair (math). The homework was and continues to be reasonable and doable. The difference was and continues to be content and not volume.

FWIW, he is also plays sports year-round, plays in an outside orchestra, and is involved in our church youth group.

I think claims about homework in the Center are exaggerated. At the very least, they do not match our experience at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the support and suggestions related to my and DC's stress about accepting the HGC offer. Yes it makes sense to accept and see how it goes through the summer. Making this kind of transition is a hard choice.

It would really help if MCPS gave more information about the HGC in a detailed information packet like the workload, the type of work/curriculum, the philosophy of their gifted ed program, the supports offered, etc. It's like they're saying, "You've made it! Now take what we've got or we will find someone else who will! We don't care if it's a good fit for your child or not." Test scores/recommendations have nothing to do with individual needs and what's best for the child. We have several educational options and I want to know if this program a good fit.

I am a bit perplexed about the amount of homework that is apparently given at HGCs. It makes me wonder if the county actually understands gifted education. Highly gifted kids are still kids, they just learn at a faster pace and on a deeper level. Also, highly gifted kids oftentimes have strong, passionate interests and may or may not be motivated to do work in their areas of non-interest. I hope they address these issues and philosophies at the Open House.

My son went to Pine Crest HGC, then magnets at TPMS and Blair (math). The homework was and continues to be reasonable and doable. The difference was and continues to be content and not volume.

FWIW, he is also plays sports year-round, plays in an outside orchestra, and is involved in our church youth group.

I think claims about homework in the Center are exaggerated. At the very least, they do not match our experience at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am so confused about whether to accept or decline this program. Dd is very outgoing and social. I heard that the kids in the program tends to be quiet and not into sports. She loves sports.

You can always drop out, but you can never go if you decline.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else totally stressed out at this decision and cannot WAIT until the Open House to find out more information about the HGC??? I'm am so anxious!! I don't want to make a poor decision. Actually DC's behavior since finding out about the acceptance to HGC has been just awful. Flying off the handle for no apparent reason, getting in arguments with people, and being rude. I finally sat down with DC and talked about the pros and cons of the HGC and that seemed to calm DC. I didn't really expect DC to get accepted so having to make this decision has come as somewhat of a shock.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the support and suggestions related to my and DC's stress about accepting the HGC offer. Yes it makes sense to accept and see how it goes through the summer. Making this kind of transition is a hard choice.

It would really help if MCPS gave more information about the HGC in a detailed information packet like the workload, the type of work/curriculum, the philosophy of their gifted ed program, the supports offered, etc. It's like they're saying, "You've made it! Now take what we've got or we will find someone else who will! We don't care if it's a good fit for your child or not." Test scores/recommendations have nothing to do with individual needs and what's best for the child. We have several educational options and I want to know if this program a good fit.

I am a bit perplexed about the amount of homework that is apparently given at HGCs. It makes me wonder if the county actually understands gifted education. Highly gifted kids are still kids, they just learn at a faster pace and on a deeper level. Also, highly gifted kids oftentimes have strong, passionate interests and may or may not be motivated to do work in their areas of non-interest. I hope they address these issues and philosophies at the Open House.

Anonymous wrote:I am so confused about whether to accept or decline this program. Dd is very outgoing and social. I heard that the kids in the program tends to be quiet and not into sports. She loves sports.

Anonymous wrote:Thanks for the support and suggestions related to my and DC's stress about accepting the HGC offer. Yes it makes sense to accept and see how it goes through the summer. Making this kind of transition is a hard choice.

It would really help if MCPS gave more information about the HGC in a detailed information packet like the workload, the type of work/curriculum, the philosophy of their gifted ed program, the supports offered, etc. It's like they're saying, "You've made it! Now take what we've got or we will find someone else who will! We don't care if it's a good fit for your child or not." Test scores/recommendations have nothing to do with individual needs and what's best for the child. We have several educational options and I want to know if this program a good fit.

I am a bit perplexed about the amount of homework that is apparently given at HGCs. It makes me wonder if the county actually understands gifted education. Highly gifted kids are still kids, they just learn at a faster pace and on a deeper level. Also, highly gifted kids oftentimes have strong, passionate interests and may or may not be motivated to do work in their areas of non-interest. I hope they address these issues and philosophies at the Open House.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids in the program are like any other kids. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some are into sports. Some aren't.

agreed 100% - a diverse group of kids in every sense of the word.

Agreed- there are lots of different types of children with varied interests. What we liked about our child's experience was the lack of cliques. It was a healthy social environment- the children accepted each other without judgement.

I guess it depends on the HGC. In my DC's HGC, there were a few kids that were quite mean, and would call my DC "stupid", and pick on DC and a couple of other kids. DC is not "stupid". DC gets ES on the report card. So, I guess, in that sense, it is like any other school, including bullies and mean kids.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids in the program are like any other kids. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some are into sports. Some aren't.

agreed 100% - a diverse group of kids in every sense of the word.

Agreed- there are lots of different types of children with varied interests. What we liked about our child's experience was the lack of cliques. It was a healthy social environment- the children accepted each other without judgement.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:The kids in the program are like any other kids. Some are quiet. Some are loud. Some are into sports. Some aren't.

agreed 100% - a diverse group of kids in every sense of the word.

Anonymous wrote:Is anyone else totally stressed out at this decision and cannot WAIT until the Open House to find out more information about the HGC??? I'm am so anxious!! I don't want to make a poor decision. Actually DC's behavior since finding out about the acceptance to HGC has been just awful. Flying off the handle for no apparent reason, getting in arguments with people, and being rude. I finally sat down with DC and talked about the pros and cons of the HGC and that seemed to calm DC. I didn't really expect DC to get accepted so having to make this decision has come as somewhat of a shock.