Comments on: Gifted and Talented

By: Kim/hormone-colored Days

Kim/hormone-colored Days — Sat, 10 Nov 2007 11:32:28 +0000

I say do it. You are lucky that your district has a program and that the teacher approached you about this, rather than you having to beg to serve your son best. Neither of these things happend in my son’s case and we’re shelling out $$$ for private gifted school.

By: Michelle

Michelle — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 13:04:35 +0000

I say that it sounds like a good idea. Except I’m confused (happens easily, I was never in any GaTE program :tongue1_tb:). Would he have to switch schools for ALL his classes, or just get bussed over for his GaTE classes when it was time? Because switching schools in the middle of the year sucks. People in the military who have kids will file for extensions on their assignments so they don’t have to PCS (move) during the year. Or ask to leave early so they can be settled & get their kids in school on time. But yeah, when you’re smart and in “normal” classes, it’s easy to get lazy because everything is easy. And then school isn’t as much fun as it could be either. So switching to more challenging material early is probably a good idea.

By: Lawfrog

Lawfrog — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 08:40:22 +0000

DO IT! It’s best to start kids off early in the GT classes so they will think their workload is “normal” and not get lazy with it. If Harry is smart enough to handle it, which he obviously is, go for it!

By: Not The Mama

Not The Mama — Wed, 07 Nov 2007 16:12:24 +0000

I say, do it. I was put into a GaTe program in second grade and I LOVED LOVED LOVED it. I was super advanced and incredibly bored, though I tended to slip under the radar because I was polite and didn’t act out when I was bored. When they tested me, they talked about skipping a grade or two, but I was already one of the youngest in my class, and my mother (who skipped both kindergarten and 6th grade) was adamantly opposed to any grade skipping. So when we moved to a district with a GaTe program, I found my niche. I lived for the days we got to leave our normal class and do “fun” stuff. In 6th grade we moved to a district where the GT program was full, and they refused to make and exception and let me in. I was miserable all year and was thrilled when I finally hit jr. high and could take the honors-level classes. They were always my favorite, even when I had some slacker days in high school. (And I got into an awesome college — UNC — and loved that too.) I’m all for challenging kids as early and often as possible. Not overloading or overworking them, just giving them lots of opportunities to learn.