Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:NP here.

A gifted child in a traditional classroom is like a Ferrari on roller skate wheels.

Many of the most brilliant minds of our times found their traditional school environments to be tremendously stifling and boring - as examples, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. As for anyone's misguided ideas of gifted children being quiet, studious, well mannered and well behaved little nerds, consider for example MIT's notorious reputation for pranks. Gifted kids are not magical beings, despite their intelligence they are still kids and still need guidance to help them find their way. Otherwise, all of that capability can and often will express itself in often unintended ways, including disruption and mischief.

Statistically speaking, there aren't enough Einsteins or Hawkings to warrant G/T programs. That's the fact. The perceived need of alleged G/T kids (and just because you are white with a relatively high SES doesn't make your child 'gifted') is nothing compared to the real needs of the majority of kids in DC. Your perceived needs are just not that important. Sorry. If you want G/T style classes, work harder to improve your local school for everyone. Then, maybe, the rest of us would get on board with your agenda.

NP, that's already been covered and you are incorrect. Typically the top 3-5% of a statistical sampling of students would test as high-IQ, and with for example a school district like DC where there are 75,000 students in the public school system (including charters) that means there are likely 2,250 to 3,750 students who would qualify. So yes, there are more than enough to warrant a solution.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Some kids get bored because they don't understand, some get bored because they already understand (the gifted kids), some get bored because the teacher is a drone, and some get bored because they can't see why they should care.

I don't think gifted kids are special in this regard, getting bored in class. In fact, I believe, based on experience, that gifted kids probably have more resources than the other three groups to deal with boredom.

If the question on this thread is, should we excuse bad behavior from gifted kids, put me firmly in the "no" camp.

Whether they are bored because they don't understand (and that includes some special needs kids), or are bored because they already understand (and that includes many G&T kids), at least you know why and with some restructuring that boredom could be alleviated and the classroom be made a much more productive experience for all. Schools could do something about it, but instead, the only thing being offered here is "yeah, so what, who cares." I guess that pretty much sums it all up. "Yeah, so what, who cares." Lovely. Hope you aren't part of the educational system with a crappy attitude like that.

Anonymous wrote:Some kids get bored because they don't understand, some get bored because they already understand (the gifted kids), some get bored because the teacher is a drone, and some get bored because they can't see why they should care.

I don't think gifted kids are special in this regard, getting bored in class. In fact, I believe, based on experience, that gifted kids probably have more resources than the other three groups to deal with boredom.

If the question on this thread is, should we excuse bad behavior from gifted kids, put me firmly in the "no" camp.

Anonymous wrote:NP here.

A gifted child in a traditional classroom is like a Ferrari on roller skate wheels.

Many of the most brilliant minds of our times found their traditional school environments to be tremendously stifling and boring - as examples, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. As for anyone's misguided ideas of gifted children being quiet, studious, well mannered and well behaved little nerds, consider for example MIT's notorious reputation for pranks. Gifted kids are not magical beings, despite their intelligence they are still kids and still need guidance to help them find their way. Otherwise, all of that capability can and often will express itself in often unintended ways, including disruption and mischief.

Statistically speaking, there aren't enough Einsteins or Hawkings to warrant G/T programs. That's the fact. The perceived need of alleged G/T kids (and just because you are white with a relatively high SES doesn't make your child 'gifted') is nothing compared to the real needs of the majority of kids in DC. Your perceived needs are just not that important. Sorry. If you want G/T style classes, work harder to improve your local school for everyone. Then, maybe, the rest of us would get on board with your agenda.

A gifted child in a traditional classroom is like a Ferrari on roller skate wheels.

Many of the most brilliant minds of our times found their traditional school environments to be tremendously stifling and boring - as examples, Albert Einstein and Stephen Hawking. As for anyone's misguided ideas of gifted children being quiet, studious, well mannered and well behaved little nerds, consider for example MIT's notorious reputation for pranks. Gifted kids are not magical beings, despite their intelligence they are still kids and still need guidance to help them find their way. Otherwise, all of that capability can and often will express itself in often unintended ways, including disruption and mischief.

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

Anonymous wrote:From high school on, I was in a G&T program with other highly gifted kids, and over the years have known a lot of other high-IQ folks and have compared school experiences with some of them, and can say for sure that yes, high IQ kids do frequently find school lacking much of interest to them that is stimulating or challenging - a lot of it seems tremendously slow and repetetive, and as such do often get bored.

And no, "bored" does not in any way mean "uncreative" or "inimaginative" - the important point there being that it's not a given that gifted kids will entertain themselves with useful or constructive pursuits - they are still kids afterall - instead, they frequently end up entertaining and distracting themselves during school time with outside pursuits like reading, rather than having much focus or interest in the school's academic program. It's a huge lost opportunity for them, school programs end up holding them back.

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.

Anonymous wrote:There's a lot more than just two involved in this thread, but I think there's only one spiteful skeptical disbeliever in the existence of bored G&T kids who's gone into full-blown frothing rant mode with post after post descending further and further into anger and incoherence.

None of that has changed the fact that there are indeed G&T kids who when left to their own devices, do indeed get bored and sometimes disruptive in school due to not being sufficiently challenged and stimulated. And, that this can be alleviated by providing them with more academic rigor and guidance to help them expend that brainpower in more constructive and productive ways. The actual experiences of those of us who know this will never be changed by any amount of frothing rants.