OP, it's your job to advocate for your child and to make the best decisions for him. Don't give any weight to the opinions of a bunch of internet randos. If your ds happens to get in to a program, focus on helping him and to hell with what other people think.

OP, you sound really selfish. Hope I'm wrong.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. It's interesting to me that so many posters are calling my child disruptive or implying that he's not motivated in anything. He's never been disruptive. He's a very calm and quiet kid. He regularly earns character awards at school. His teacher tells me that group work hasn't been an issue -- it's the turning in mediocre worksheets which rightly impacts his grades. He often chooses to read at recess. He's highly motivated in afterschool science clubs, etc.

OP I get it. My son is similar - 99 %ile on the MAPs as well as the InView. He is great at math always and good at writing when he puts his heart in it - if he is not interested he rushes (usually to go play on the Chromebook) or he can be careless. Unlike your kid, he likes school a lot, but he is bored out of his mind frequently because even the higher groups in 3rd grade repeat and repeat and repeat at a pace that is too slow for him and he zones out.

His 2nd grade teachers (there were 2 because they split for math) both told me they were recommending him for HGC, whatever that means, however they do that, if that even counts anymore.

So I think the answer is YES - if your kid is very capable and would benefit from an accelerated, more in-depth, more complex learning environment then they are a good candidate. Candidates could look like your son, my son, or a boy or girl who is good at LA and/or math who puts oodles of effort and detail into everything with good grades but who doesn't score quite as high on standardized tests. The parents telling you otherwise are letting ugly competitive feelings get the better of them. I welcome your kid "competing" against mine - it's open to all students who may benefit.

Um. no.. I'm one of those PP's, and my DC is now in 7th grade, so I could care less if OP's or your PP's DC goes to HGC. Anyone can try for HGC. No one can stop a parent from applying to one. My point really was that there is such a limited space, and tons of more motivated "gifted" kids. So why not reserve it for those kids. Those kids are the ones who would suffer by not going to HGC. OP's kid is doing "fine" at the home school.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. It's interesting to me that so many posters are calling my child disruptive or implying that he's not motivated in anything. He's never been disruptive. He's a very calm and quiet kid. He regularly earns character awards at school. His teacher tells me that group work hasn't been an issue -- it's the turning in mediocre worksheets which rightly impacts his grades. He often chooses to read at recess. He's highly motivated in afterschool science clubs, etc.

OP I get it. My son is similar - 99 %ile on the MAPs as well as the InView. He is great at math always and good at writing when he puts his heart in it - if he is not interested he rushes (usually to go play on the Chromebook) or he can be careless. Unlike your kid, he likes school a lot, but he is bored out of his mind frequently because even the higher groups in 3rd grade repeat and repeat and repeat at a pace that is too slow for him and he zones out.

His 2nd grade teachers (there were 2 because they split for math) both told me they were recommending him for HGC, whatever that means, however they do that, if that even counts anymore.

So I think the answer is YES - if your kid is very capable and would benefit from an accelerated, more in-depth, more complex learning environment then they are a good candidate. Candidates could look like your son, my son, or a boy or girl who is good at LA and/or math who puts oodles of effort and detail into everything with good grades but who doesn't score quite as high on standardized tests. The parents telling you otherwise are letting ugly competitive feelings get the better of them. I welcome your kid "competing" against mine - it's open to all students who may benefit.

OP here. It's interesting to me that so many posters are calling my child disruptive or implying that he's not motivated in anything. He's never been disruptive. He's a very calm and quiet kid. He regularly earns character awards at school. His teacher tells me that group work hasn't been an issue -- it's the turning in mediocre worksheets which rightly impacts his grades. He often chooses to read at recess. He's highly motivated in afterschool science clubs, etc.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was merely asking if HGC was a possibility for a kid like him. It's frustrating being the parent of an unmotivated kid, but it's still my job to find him the best and most appropriate education. I can appreciate that other posters are trying to do the exact same for their motivated children. That said, there are unmotivated people in all walks of life... elite colleges, companies, etc. Your kids will have to work with or around them in many other settings. My hope is that he finds his motivation. He is enrolled in other enrichment activities and is very motivated there, but of course no one can predict whether an HGC would solve the problem. And again, my question was whether kids like this ever get into an HGC. I'm not saying I'm sending him or that he deserves a spot more than any other child. I assure you that no one who knows him thinks he's a "ratty snot".

Just ignore those nasty posts. The short answer to your questions is Yes. I know this because my own kid was like that. He was unmotivated and disorganized when he was in elementary and middle schools (both magnet). He would just spend the amount of effort to meet the basic requirement. As a result, his work and grades were pretty average. He started to show some strong motivation in one subject in 9th grade (magnet) and would often do much more work beyond the assignment requirement. I think HGC is great for kids like yours because the bar is higher and although they are not the star students, they are rarely the worst. Plus, at this age, it's hard to tell what a kid is really motivated for. Maybe your son just don't care about grades or the teacher's approval that much.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was merely asking if HGC was a possibility for a kid like him. It's frustrating being the parent of an unmotivated kid, but it's still my job to find him the best and most appropriate education. I can appreciate that other posters are trying to do the exact same for their motivated children. That said, there are unmotivated people in all walks of life... elite colleges, companies, etc. Your kids will have to work with or around them in many other settings. My hope is that he finds his motivation. He is enrolled in other enrichment activities and is very motivated there, but of course no one can predict whether an HGC would solve the problem. And again, my question was whether kids like this ever get into an HGC. I'm not saying I'm sending him or that he deserves a spot more than any other child. I assure you that no one who knows him thinks he's a "ratty snot".

Maybe try to work on getting him more motivated?

Yes there are unmotivated people in all walks of life and I think some of the PPs are expressing the frustration that they feel when they are stuck working with one of those unmotivated people. Do you like working with other adults who don’t contribute? Why would it be any different for kids?

Anonymous wrote:The HGCs are no place for a disrputive, unmotivated student who will ruin the experience for other children.

It's not the Center for Highly Well-Behaved Children, either.

Anonymous wrote:

Oh please. Quit your pearl clutching. I’m sure that at some point you’ll come across one of those bratty kids and you’ll think the very same thing. Doesn’t mean the kid will end up a bratty adult. Or a terrible person. But when your kid comes home complaining about the non-motivated kid in his group who not only does not contribute, but actively disrupts the rest of the group.... you’ll think the same thing.

This happened to me, and I thought (and said), "Well, Kid, you're going to have to learn how to deal with this, and better sooner than later."

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Is he stronger at math or language arts? The HGC program favors kids who are strong in LA

I would disagree. My kid is awesome at math, but a terrible writer. The HGC helped him a ton last year with his writing. And, there were a good number of other kids who were also great at math.

I was just repeating what they said at the information session in the spring. I'm glad to hear that! I thought it was quite unfair to favor one academic strength over the other.

I’m the PP that responded. There is definitely a lot of writing but all the kids are in Compacted Math and DD says that most of them are quite strong in math.

Interesting that they said that at the info session. And I agree that it seems unfair to focus on language arts over other strengths.

The HGCs are no place for a disrputive, unmotivated student who will ruin the experience for other children.

Anonymous wrote:I'd say give it a shot regardless. It might be that a challenging workload might be all the motivation necessary.

That being said, I was talking with another parent at the open house and she said her son was having a tough go at it because he tends to procrastinate and the pace the class moves at is more than he is used to. If kids get behind on homework they can stay in at recess to complete it, but she said the effect is starting to snowball and her son is getting more and more frustrated. Which, of course, isn't helping his procrastination.

THis is true at our HGC. Kids stay in for recess and some of them do get stressed out at the amount of work. So if your kid is not motivated he may not enjoy it at all.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I'll be damned if some unmotivated, ratty snot gets a spot when there are other kids who would love to go. OP, keep your kid at your home school and leave the magnets for motivated students.

PP, you do realize you are talking about an actual 7-8 year old child, right? This forum isn't supposed to be a thereapeutic session for you to get out your innermost, secret thoughts that are unworthy of being spoken aloud by a fellow mother and decent human being.

OP, I'm the mother of an on-task HGC kid, and I would say you should try for acceptance and see what happens. Right now is the time for you to explore all different options for what works best for your kid.

I'm not the PP, but if she can't say it here, where do you want her to say it? I think lots of parents feel that way.

It's unfortunate, but MCPS doesn't provide enough opportunities for motivated, bright kids. Maybe if they could meet the needs of those kids better, then parents wouldn't feel so frustrated.

Being frustrated is very different than hurling insults at a child. Other posters expressed similar sentiments, but in an appropriate manner. I was shocked at the vitriol.

Oh please. Quit your pearl clutching. I’m sure that at some point you’ll come across one of those bratty kids and you’ll think the very same thing. Doesn’t mean the kid will end up a bratty adult. Or a terrible person. But when your kid comes home complaining about the non-motivated kid in his group who not only does not contribute, but actively disrupts the rest of the group.... you’ll think the same thing.

Anonymous wrote:OP here. I was merely asking if HGC was a possibility for a kid like him. It's frustrating being the parent of an unmotivated kid, but it's still my job to find him the best and most appropriate education. I can appreciate that other posters are trying to do the exact same for their motivated children. That said, there are unmotivated people in all walks of life... elite colleges, companies, etc. Your kids will have to work with or around them in many other settings. My hope is that he finds his motivation. He is enrolled in other enrichment activities and is very motivated there, but of course no one can predict whether an HGC would solve the problem. And again, my question was whether kids like this ever get into an HGC. I'm not saying I'm sending him or that he deserves a spot more than any other child. I assure you that no one who knows him thinks he's a "ratty snot".

They get in - and disregard the haters. Good luck to him, and I hope he finds his path.

Anonymous wrote:I think unmovitated kids should stay out of hgc. My DC went, and when they had to work in groups, which was a lot, DC hated working with the unmotivated kids. Why accept an unmotivated child when there are so many who are motivated?

Also, admittance is not based purely on test scores.

Of course, the reason the child may be unmotivated is because the work is so damn boring - perhaps an HGC is exactly where he needs to be to engage and start enjoying learning.