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They start earlier. My granddaughter's k-4 school just got its certification. They were a candidate school for her first few years which was just as good because they were doing the program.
The thing is that they cannot get rid of art, music, etc. She has a science lab every week. They have a big emphasis on problem solving and not a lot of homework at this level so even though they still have to practice for the state tests, it is not excessive.
Well...trouble is such IB programs are few and far between and most are private schools.
We did not move to an "all that" area to end up paying for private school in the elementary years.
Even for middle school, if the school is too far from where we live - I just don't think it is doable.
I'd much rather have the kids in the GT program at their local public elementary school. But then again, this is what happens when you rely on some form of public/someone else's money: you are either phenomenal to make the cut and grab the spot or you fall through the cracks.
Well...trouble is such IB programs are few and far between and most are private schools.
We did not move to an "all that" area to end up paying for private school in the elementary years.
Even for middle school, if the school is too far from where we live - I just don't think it is doable.
I'd much rather have the kids in the GT program at their local public elementary school. But then again, this is what happens when you rely on some form of public/someone else's money: you are either phenomenal to make the cut and grab the spot or you fall through the cracks.
I do understand that because our district was supposed to go all IB, then didn't and just started up a GT academy (my granddaugther will probably not make the cut for that). The middle school is not bad, but I doubt if it will provide the amount of problem solving and critical thinking I was hoping for. It will probably have a big homework load too as the focus will be on State Tests more.
I do understand that because our district was supposed to go all IB, then didn't and just started up a GT academy (my granddaugther will probably not make the cut for that). The middle school is not bad, but I doubt if it will provide the amount of problem solving and critical thinking I was hoping for. It will probably have a big homework load too as the focus will be on State Tests more.
We decided we will go private starting middle school anyway - but I would still like them challenged and in a good program in elementary school.
Middle school is the age when kids' minds get perverted, a lot of cliquishness and bullying start to bloom, etc. I will not take such chances with my kids, neither of whom are the social butterflies, popular kids of the century.
They both tend to be more introspective and reserved - social observers rather than life-of-the-party participants. For these reasons only I think going private in middle school will be worth it. But when you also add the curriculum, it all falls into place.
I just wish we didn't have to pay so much money to get these kids through a decent k-12 education.
BTW, does anyone know about how much time the test administrator allows for the children to think about the answer to the question and bubble in the answer before proceeding onto the next question?
I do know that they are not normally supposed to repeat the instructions or the question. If a child asks to hear the question again, do they repeat it or is the child told "no"?
I would be a complete hypocrite to say that I don't care one way or the other whether my child will get into the gifted program or not. The reason why I do care is because I have reviewed samples of GT curricula and I understood that in this type of program children are encouraged to tune in to more sophisticated approaches to learning, including vocabulary, higher-order thinking skills, more insightful/contemplative questions, etc.
I also know my son would 100% enjoy, benefit from and be perfectly capable of handling such a curriculum - yet I doubt he will make the overall 96% cut-off.
I may or may not be right, but I, for one, feel uncomfortable with the way the system is set up. Some children are allowed the privilege to be exposed to a type of curriculum based on higher-order thinking, more creativity, more stimulating discussions etc. simply because they made it through a very high cut-off. Those who didn't quite make it don't even get the chance to be exposed to such curriculum in the first place. They stay largely with "rote".
While I have nothing against rote and I believe that acquiring a good foundation involves quite a bit of rote learning - I also strongly believe that ALL children should be exposed to the COMPLETE range of difficulty levels when it comes to schooling. From basic rote to very sophisticated, gifted-worthy approaches - everyone should have a right to AT LEAST BE EXPOSED to all levels of learning.
As a first grade teacher who spends hours upon hours of planning and preparing lessons to meet the needs of all my learners, I personally become frustrated that people may think all I do in a regular education class is teach rote memorization. How disappointing that that is the view of the teaching/learning that goes on in a non GT class. All of my students, whether they are still learning their letters or reading a grade level above, have access to higher-order thinking and opportunities to be more creative. In fact, this is expected.
My students aren't repeating things back to me and reciting things from memory. They are thinking, reasoning and proving. I'm not going to go into all that goes on in my classroom, but I bet in many, many regular education classrooms across the country you will find exactly what you described as GT methods. I feel you are making a judgement about something you haven't yet experienced. I'm not saying there aren't plenty of classrooms that rely on rote learning in the lower grades, but if that is the case, then find another public school that will meet your child's needs better. They don't necessarily need to be accepted into a GT program to have access to higher level curriculum.
The gifted program at my school and in other districts in which I have experience are merely accelerated programs where the students work a grade level above. They aren't necessarily having deep discussions and being more creative. They are simply bumped to the next grade level. I feel it's a shame to call this a gifted program.
My purpose in writing this is merely to let you know there is a possibility that some great teaching and learning can happen in a regular education classroom. I hope you are able to find a place that meets your needs and the needs of your child. Sorry I can't offer any help on the timing of the testing questions.
They aren't necessarily having deep discussions and being more creative. They are simply bumped to the next grade level. I feel it's a shame to call this a gifted program.
I am not arguing with you - it could be like that in some schools.
But the GT curriculum I have seen did seem to be characterized by more in-depth, higher-order thinking approaches than the simpler, more basic standards of the regular class.
If everything the GT program does would be done by all other kids only a grade later I would have ZERO problems with the entire arrangement; but this is not what I deduced from researching and inquiring about the GT program in our district.
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