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One thing often left out of this discussion is that gifted students often do not do well in regular programming. I was placed in the gifted program after third

by retrac 5y ago

One thing often left out of this discussion is that gifted students often do not do well in regular programming. I was placed in the gifted program after third grade when I failed everything. I was bored out of my mind. I am pretty sure I would have become a delinquent without it. I still flunked out of high school when I was 17 but I kept going as long as I did because the teachers were interesting and the coursework challenging (even if I never did much of it). Not all intelligent kids are studious by nature.

rootsudo 5y ago
Same, but I just dropped out and did my GED at 16. Worthless to waste my time in a place I did not want to be, had to wake up at 5AM and had to play along. Best decision I made. I would never put my children to any USA public school, private or entirely outside the USA.
- skyde 5y ago
  As the father of a gifted kid I feel the same. But i have 0 experience with private school because I grew up in Canada where they are extremely rare. How do you suggest I proceed to find which private school are actually better and not just religion oriented?
  - rootsudo 5y ago
    It's a hard question, I was lucky to have some private school but for my high school years it was public and a complete waste. Religion for the schools I went too weren't that enforced, but I would say ask other parents, there should be a good tour of the school included, and then check out the clubs they offer. "Better" though, is hard. I would just review how they teach STEM - interview the teachers with open ended questions and see how they respond. One big PLUS though is the networking, private school, the peers/kids are usually from "better*" (for lack of a better word.) off families so that could mean better success, even if religious. It's hard to quantify it, but the friends I made from my private school days helped me tremendously learn so many different things - how life is different for the truly well off, to community, and "success". It sounds odd writing it like this, but in the USA many kids in school are there because it is compulsory and it is not a profit center, it is a cost center, bigger classrooms per teacher, smaller campuses, food not healthy, and draconian rules like no water bottles in class or other. Of course it does depend per school, but those pain points about public school, can be taken to see if you can find a proper private school. And if you do, I would get the most of your dollar and do the parent events too - meet the other parents and strike bonds that may really last your childs lifetime.
  - curryst 5y ago
    Most of them should offer tours and the like. One of the biggest things to pay attention to is teacher to student ratios. Most of my classes had 6 or so students in elementary school. Education is another one. Private school teachers are usually very well qualified. I would ask what kind of professionals they have on site. I.e. there should be at least one person specifically versed in childhood development, preferably several. It's not uncommon for them to have dual degrees in childhood development, and teaching in some specific field.
skyde 5y ago
100% agree with you. Gifted student should not be ignored! Gifted student when put in normal class will be so bored they will start getting awful grade.
giftedprgrmthrw 5y ago
This topic has shown up in enough threads and I've held my tongue but want to add on I was a student in largely remedial classes at my initial kindergarten/elementary school, regularly suspended and sent to detention for misbehavior, usually being distracted in class, and for years the school pressured my parents to apply heavy medication. just before middle school I was finally kicked out, but this ended up being the single best thing to happen to me, as I ended up at a school that had a gifted program. Within the first few weeks my math teacher had contacted my parents about it (entertainingly, this was her response to my being distracted in her class rather than just suspending me, I'm forever grateful to her for this.) and I was rapidly moved into a different track. It is not exaggeration to say this likely saved my life. I was bullied HEAVILY as the new and nerdy kid who was literally always reading a book, and had a ton of trouble fitting in, and this gave me something that I felt competent at, a place away from the normal class behavior that involved far more fights than learning, as well as friends and a path forward. I say this final part not to brag but to be clear about where this ended up: I graduated a national merit finalist and went to an ivy and then into research. The efforts to gut gifted programs makes the pit of my stomach drop, and I have no skin in the game. It makes me think of where I'd have been without that outlet, and what students in the future will not have access to, and it makes me truly sad.

by retrac 5y ago

rootsudo 5y ago

Same, but I just dropped out and did my GED at 16. Worthless to waste my time in a place I did not want to be, had to wake up at 5AM and had to play along. Best decision I made. I would never put my children to any USA public school, private or entirely outside the USA.

skyde 5y ago
As the father of a gifted kid I feel the same. But i have 0 experience with private school because I grew up in Canada where they are extremely rare. How do you suggest I proceed to find which private school are actually better and not just religion oriented?
- rootsudo 5y ago
  It's a hard question, I was lucky to have some private school but for my high school years it was public and a complete waste. Religion for the schools I went too weren't that enforced, but I would say ask other parents, there should be a good tour of the school included, and then check out the clubs they offer. "Better" though, is hard. I would just review how they teach STEM - interview the teachers with open ended questions and see how they respond. One big PLUS though is the networking, private school, the peers/kids are usually from "better*" (for lack of a better word.) off families so that could mean better success, even if religious. It's hard to quantify it, but the friends I made from my private school days helped me tremendously learn so many different things - how life is different for the truly well off, to community, and "success". It sounds odd writing it like this, but in the USA many kids in school are there because it is compulsory and it is not a profit center, it is a cost center, bigger classrooms per teacher, smaller campuses, food not healthy, and draconian rules like no water bottles in class or other. Of course it does depend per school, but those pain points about public school, can be taken to see if you can find a proper private school. And if you do, I would get the most of your dollar and do the parent events too - meet the other parents and strike bonds that may really last your childs lifetime.
- curryst 5y ago
  Most of them should offer tours and the like. One of the biggest things to pay attention to is teacher to student ratios. Most of my classes had 6 or so students in elementary school. Education is another one. Private school teachers are usually very well qualified. I would ask what kind of professionals they have on site. I.e. there should be at least one person specifically versed in childhood development, preferably several. It's not uncommon for them to have dual degrees in childhood development, and teaching in some specific field.

skyde 5y ago

100% agree with you. Gifted student should not be ignored! Gifted student when put in normal class will be so bored they will start getting awful grade.

giftedprgrmthrw 5y ago

This topic has shown up in enough threads and I've held my tongue but want to add on I was a student in largely remedial classes at my initial kindergarten/elementary school, regularly suspended and sent to detention for misbehavior, usually being distracted in class, and for years the school pressured my parents to apply heavy medication. just before middle school I was finally kicked out, but this ended up being the single best thing to happen to me, as I ended up at a school that had a gifted program. Within the first few weeks my math teacher had contacted my parents about it (entertainingly, this was her response to my being distracted in her class rather than just suspending me, I'm forever grateful to her for this.) and I was rapidly moved into a different track. It is not exaggeration to say this likely saved my life. I was bullied HEAVILY as the new and nerdy kid who was literally always reading a book, and had a ton of trouble fitting in, and this gave me something that I felt competent at, a place away from the normal class behavior that involved far more fights than learning, as well as friends and a path forward. I say this final part not to brag but to be clear about where this ended up: I graduated a national merit finalist and went to an ivy and then into research. The efforts to gut gifted programs makes the pit of my stomach drop, and I have no skin in the game. It makes me think of where I'd have been without that outlet, and what students in the future will not have access to, and it makes me truly sad.