CRCT results came in last weekend. Any comments? (Atlanta: spring break, home)

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by kaday

Good luck with that. I've fallen under criticism for not putting my kids in any academic or other camps for the summer. I try to give myself a break from the getting sucked in part in the summer, college is gong to be a whole other ballgame here in East Cobb.

If anyone ever criticized me for not having my kids in academic camps during the summer, I'd tell them to get bent.

What "academic camps" did we have when we were kids? We spent our summers playing "army" in the woods and hanging out in the backyard, and somehow I still managed to be in the gifted program from 3rd-12th grades, and graduate with a 4.0 in my major, and a 3.97 overall.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Guess what?

Gifted and high achieving are very different things but unfortunately in GA they have come to mean the same thing.

I went to college with Michael Dell-- (well the one year he attended)... Gifted-- absolutely -- high achieving in the academic sense-- absolutely not.

Many smart kids realize they can game the system and do the minimum which is needed to get by. Doing unnecessary work is ... arguably ... not smart.

I've always thought, for example, that computer programmers like myself are inherently lazy, and that an intelligent computer programmer is one who can get the work done by writing something else to the work for him/her.

[rcsteiner]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

If anyone ever criticized me for not having my kids in academic camps during the summer, I'd tell them to get bent.

What "academic camps" did we have when we were kids? We spent our summers playing "army" in the woods and hanging out in the backyard, and somehow I still managed to be in the gifted program from 3rd-12th grades, and graduate with a 4.0 in my major, and a 3.97 overall.

Constant exposure to academics could result in burn-out. It's obviously good to try and develop broad academic interests and good study habits in kids, but I question the need for 24x7 exposure 12 months a year.

Down time is important, and I think it should also be appreciated.

Working now at an international company with clients all over the world (and teammates on three continents), I'm constantly amazed at how lax other parts of the world are w.r.t. working hours. Many of the folks I know in Europe and Australia get 6 or 7 weeks a year off, and for some of them the day is over (and the current problem dropped) when the clock says it's time to go home. Sometimes I wonder if working so hard really brings benefits, or if the US sometimes has the wrong attitude towards life...?

[BobKovacs]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Working now at an international company with clients all over the world (and teammates on three continents), I'm constantly amazed at how lax other parts of the world are w.r.t. working hours. Many of the folks I know in Europe and Australia get 6 or 7 weeks a year off, and for some of them the day is over (and the current problem dropped) when the clock says it's time to go home. Sometimes I wonder if working so hard really brings benefits, or if the US sometimes has the wrong attitude towards life...?

Sounds kinda like the difference between what I left in NJ, and what I've experienced here in GA- especially the bolded part. And trust me- I'm not complaining- I love the new way......lol

[RainyRainyDay]

Originally Posted by rcsteiner

Working now at an international company with clients all over the world (and teammates on three continents), I'm constantly amazed at how lax other parts of the world are w.r.t. working hours. Many of the folks I know in Europe and Australia get 6 or 7 weeks a year off, and for some of them the day is over (and the current problem dropped) when the clock says it's time to go home.

Yep, we're currently in our annual flurry to cope with the fact that our team members in the UK and France are about to disappear en masse for 4-6 weeks apiece.

Signed, also-in-the-global-software-industry

[kaday]

Originally Posted by BobKovacs

Sounds kinda like the difference between what I left in NJ, and what I've experienced here in GA- especially the bolded part. And trust me- I'm not complaining- I love the new way......lol

When my spouse left his job in NYC and we moved to Western MA my daughter who was just 4 at the time asked how come Daddy lives with us now? It was so heartbreaking.........all that time he worked at the big job in NYC she thought he lived somewhere else and just visited. Talk about confirmation that we had made the right decision.................

[gumboula]

Originally Posted by lastminutemom

Guess what?

Gifted and high achieving are very different things but unfortunately in GA they have come to mean the same thing.

Absolutely, lastminutemom! Both gifted kids AND high achieving kids are SMART kids. But gifted kids are not always able to be high achieving in the traditional sense without some educational intervention. I went through the gifted program MANY years ago in its early days. I was tested not because my teacher thought I was the "best" student in the class, but because I was the student most frustrated with the class. I could do the work easily, I simply hated the work. I loathe to think where I may have ended up if that teacher had labeled me as lazy or uncooperative and not recommended I be tested. IMO it is a terrible shame that Target/Challenge/etc. programs have become the pinacle of some academic hierarchy because I suspect that means many of the smart screen door kickers out there are left out of a program they really need.

[kaday]

Originally Posted by gumboula

Absolutely, lastminutemom! Both gifted kids AND high achieving kids are SMART kids. But gifted kids are not always able to be high achieving in the traditional sense without some educational intervention. I went through the gifted program MANY years ago in its early days. I was tested not because my teacher thought I was the "best" student in the class, but because I was the student most frustrated with the class. I could do the work easily, I simply hated the work. I loathe to think where I may have ended up if that teacher had labeled me as lazy or uncooperative and not recommended I be tested. IMO it is a terrible shame that Target/Challenge/etc. programs have become the pinacle of some academic hierarchy because I suspect that means many of the smart screen door kickers out there are left out of a program they really need.

I think that is why creativity is part of the testing. Unfortunately it isn't enough.

[CityFan]

Keep it in mind that public education system can only do that much. Anything beyond is left up to parents. It comes down to the comittment of parents to education. If the kid is lucky enough to have proeducation parents, it doesn't matter if he/she is recognized as gifted or not, he/she will get best education possible. We really don't have to worry about the gifted test, all we need to concern about is how we work with kids to reach their full potential.

[CMMom]

As far as schools accepting independent testing results, it depends on the county. I have seen results accepted in Fulton, DeKalb, and Gwinnett, but some schools are definitely pickier than others. So, I would call your specific school to check before spending the money for an indepdent assessment.