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My son in Indianapolis is in the "gifted" class and I do not like what goes on in the school/ Alot of the kids he goes to school with say to him "oh your in the smart class" and none of his special classes such as art, music. recess, etc.... are taught with the current grade, he is with the next grade up. Really bothers me that they can't interact with kids their own age.
Almost every white or Asian native English speaking child in my city is gifted, or at least that is what one would gather after talking to most of the parents. A substantial number of kids are even "twice gifted", or suffer from having both a high IQ and a learning disability. The gifted child is usually identified in preschool -- sensitive temperament, profound insight/statements, irritation to tags in clothing, struggling social skills, perhaps a gluten tolerance, and early reading. Usually they are bored in school, and once they start K or 1st, parents are upset with the public school system b/c there is not enough resources directed towards their very special child. They often become vocal advocates for segregated education, gifted vs non-gifted-identified.
God, hear me *scream*. This kind of parent drives me nuts, and they are everywhere. Public, private, every kind of school in Seattle. Somehow I have even ended up in spontaneous conversations at the vet and grocery store w/ people wanting to let me know that their child is gifted, but school birthday parties are the worst. I dread school functions b/c of the parent population. I appreciate that parents place an emphasis on the importance of education & stay involved w/ their kids' schools, but *please* this is ridiculous. Less than 1% of the U.S. (or world's) population is technically gifted, and they can't possibly all live in Seattle or go to my child's school.
I know that this gifted obsession is a function of having a high concentration of well-educated, successful parents. Parents who focus every moment and dime on their child's learning, including utilizing flash cards, tutors, and all kinds of educational systems from an early age (of COURSE a child reads early when someone takes the time to teach them). From it extends a self-centeredness and sense of entitlement. I have heard that NYC also has this element. Is this type of thing present in your city, too?
I would really like to know which cities (if any) are different. Perhaps we'll consider moving there!
Can't parents be educated and laid-back?
You're describing my sister here.
There was a famous crime in Spain. I think it was in the 1930's or maybe the 1920's. This woman was a fanatical feminist who intended to use her child as a project to show the world what a woman could achieve given the right environment. She was obsessed from her birth to condition her into becoming gifted. Unfortunately destiny played a trick on her and by the time her daughter reached adulthood oit became clear she had what we could call a learning disability. The mother was so disappointed that her gifted child project came out "retarded" that she murdered her. Whenever I see one of those parents I'm reminded of this sad story.
Last edited by Perfect Stranger; 01-26-2012 at 10:12 AM..
I've observed that there is a direct relationship between the number of affluent single child households and the number of gifted children. I have three kids, I don't have time to pretend each one needs special levels of support and self-importance. Likewise, somebody with limited financial means can't afford to have a "gifted" kid, let alone double gifted!
Almost every white or Asian native English speaking child in my city is gifted, or at least that is what one would gather after talking to most of the parents. A substantial number of kids are even "twice gifted", or suffer from having both a high IQ and a learning disability. The gifted child is usually identified in preschool -- sensitive temperament, profound insight/statements, irritation to tags in clothing, struggling social skills, perhaps a gluten tolerance, and early reading. Usually they are bored in school, and once they start K or 1st, parents are upset with the public school system b/c there is not enough resources directed towards their very special child. They often become vocal advocates for segregated education, gifted vs non-gifted-identified.
God, hear me *scream*. This kind of parent drives me nuts, and they are everywhere. Public, private, every kind of school in Seattle. Somehow I have even ended up in spontaneous conversations at the vet and grocery store w/ people wanting to let me know that their child is gifted, but school birthday parties are the worst. I dread school functions b/c of the parent population. I appreciate that parents place an emphasis on the importance of education & stay involved w/ their kids' schools, but *please* this is ridiculous. Less than 1% of the U.S. (or world's) population is technically gifted, and they can't possibly all live in Seattle or go to my child's school.
I know that this gifted obsession is a function of having a high concentration of well-educated, successful parents. Parents who focus every moment and dime on their child's learning, including utilizing flash cards, tutors, and all kinds of educational systems from an early age (of COURSE a child reads early when someone takes the time to teach them). From it extends a self-centeredness and sense of entitlement. I have heard that NYC also has this element. Is this type of thing present in your city, too?
I would really like to know which cities (if any) are different. Perhaps we'll consider moving there!
Can't parents be educated and laid-back?
This describes a child with a learning disability or a neurological disorder of some kind. these kids can be "gifted" in addition, but I wouldn't classify someone who is irritated by clothing tags as gifted. Also, the gifted test is given in the public schools at the end of 2nd grade here, so I've never heard of a child being labeled as such any earlier than that.
I only know one set of parents like you describe. They had their kid take the test almost a year early, then moved him to the special gifted school. Other than that, there are the parents who think regular public schools aren't good enough, so they send their kids to public charter schools. There is a lot of that around here, but not so much the "gifted" thing.
I would guess that a parent bragging about a "gifted" preschooler is trying to compensate for something.
Is goes on everywhere I suspect. We live in SE PA and it is rampant here.
Parents thinking their kids should be getting special attention because they are "gifted" and pushing and pushing their kids to do 1000 different activities, getting them into every imaginable sport they can in hopes of them gaining a scholarship 12 years down the road,etc....
It is makes me ill.
Oh and btw... Both of my children are Asian .... ( not that I think it means anything, but it was stated info in the op)... I have one that is doing at grade level work and one who in 1st grade is reading at a 3rd grade level.... I by no means would say she is gifted.
She is doing well in school, but I certainly don't expect the school to be testing her for any gifted program.
I know several of the kids in the so calld gifted program and honestly, they may be gifted academically, but their social skills need to be worked on ( they are mainly the "mean" girls). Mommy & daddy have them involved in cheer,dance,soccer,field hockey,swimming,piano lessons, you name it, they do it....
I guess if it works for them that is fine, I would be curious to know what gifted really means?
I totally agree. There has to be objective evidence that a child is gifted. If it turns that your child really is average, then that has nothing to do with the school system. You just have to adjust your expectations accordingly.
I don't know where one can get into a gifted program based on the parents' demands. Around here you cannot get an IEP without an evaluation whose main goal seems to be keeping the kid WITHOUT extra services since they cost money and time.
The process is not simple. And the result is a reasonably difficult to dispute IQ score.
LOL, I don't call that the "gifted" epidemic. I call it the "baby angel snowflake" epidemic.
MY CHILD IS SOOOO SPECIAL. I NEED SPECIAL RULES AND SPECIAL ATTENTION FOR MY CHILD!!!
Nope. No they're not. There are tens of thousands of children just like yours. All across the country. But I'm glad that the extra special attention that mommy and daddy constantly give them will ensure that they grow up socially inept and completely incapable of functioning in society.
I don't know where one can get into a gifted program based on the parents' demands. Around here you cannot get an IEP without an evaluation whose main goal seems to be keeping the kid WITHOUT extra services since they cost money and time.
The process is not simple. And the result is a reasonably difficult to dispute IQ score.
Yes, I agree, a child here also cannot just get in... I think that for us, we just see/hear so many parents complaining that their child SHOUlD get into the program, and they are so bored ,etc....
Their child should be in an advanced reading group or better yet, asking which children are in another chikd's reading group so that they can then determine what level their child is at... It just seems like one big competition.
Yes, I agree, a child here also cannot just get in... I think that for us, we just see/hear so many parents complaining that their child SHOUlD get into the program, and they are so bored ,etc....
Well let's be real. The gifted program is not the answer. Better education all around is the answer. School is boring, even more so now than when I was a kid. There are SO many assessment, I wonder when they have time to do any learning activities.
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Their child should be in an advanced reading group or better yet, asking which children are in another chikd's reading group so that they can then determine what level their child is at... It just seems like one big competition.
If we did not arrange instructional groups by age, but by where they were in learning, we would not have to have "special" instructional groups in either the gifted or disabled directions. You would still have the extremes. But you would not need to use the avenues intended for the extremes to handle regular individual variance.
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This describes a child with a learning disability or a neurological disorder of some kind. these kids can be "gifted" in addition, but I wouldn't classify someone who is irritated by clothing tags as gifted. Also, the gifted test is given in the public schools at the end of 2nd grade here, so I've never heard of a child being labeled as such any earlier than that. 
