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Does anyone have first hand information on highly gifted children attending another public school district that can offer what gifted children need? My child has recently been tested as HIGHLY gifted and I wonder how parents can meet the needs of gifted children if they don't live in a top school district.
The quick answer is no. Long Island does not have school choice.
Wow. I just looked at the website out of curiousity and it hasn't been updated since July, 2008!!! Also, if they're so "gifted" why couldn't they (or one of their students) create a better website?
Far from being "jealous" or not understanding gifted children, my opinion of those programs is predicated upon experiences that my son had in the Three Village G&T program all the way back in the seventies. I found it to be mediocre at best and at worst it enabled a select group of parents to imagine themselves the sires of future Einsteins and gave them the mistaken notion that they were allowed to mistreat the well-meaning but inexperienced district employees.
You're commenting on a program that your son was in roughly 35 years ago! A lot has changed since then regarding the IG program, and your comments really don't apply to today's program in 2012.
When my kids were in it in the 1990's, I certainly didn't think we had little Einsteins, and other parents didn't act that way. All we were interested in was having our kids taught something every day instead of them sitting around learning absolutely nothing just doing mindless busy work; we didn't want them to waste 3 years; didn't want them to be bored; and wanted them to be challenged and stimulated by the classroom teacher. There's nothing worse for a child who has to go to "school" to sit there and learn nothing at their level while waiting for the rest of the class to catch up over 3 years' time.
Both of my kids in the regular classes, K, 1, and 2, were repeatedly ignored by the classroom teachers who wouldn't let them answer any questions during the school year because they knew without fail the answers to the teacher's questions. Imagine being ignored for 9/10 of the school year by the teacher. That's extremely demoralizing and discouraging - basically the teachers didn't give one damn about them because of accountability for the other kids, and one of their teachers told me "they'd survive" when I asked her to actually teach them something, and she refused. It certainly happened for 3 years straight for both kids. So, the IG program solved all of that.
And while the IG program isn't perfect - what program is? - it took the boredom factor out of going to sit in a classroom every day. My kids actually began to like school, actually were learning things that kept them mentally alive instead of drugging them with boring busy work designed for the average-thinking kids. And they were surrounded by like-minded students they could relate to. Kids who acted and behaved at a more mature level for the most part. Socially, it was a tremendous change in a positive direction.
There's a huge gap between an IQ of 130 and the average IQ of 100. Thirty points. That's big. There's also a 30-point gap between an IQ of 70 and an IQ of 100. Imagine a child with the IQ of 100 being put into a classroom filled with kids with the IQ of 70. They'd be bored to death and disgusted with the school work for an IQ of 70. Well, that's what it's like for a kid with a 130+ IQ stuck in a classroom with average 100 IQ - it can be truly an awful experience filled with boredom and frustration in the lower primary grades for a high end student. If they're lucky the teacher will take the time to actually teach them something, but odds are the teacher will be too busy with the other kids to bother. That's where an enriched program comes in.
You're commenting on a program that your son was in roughly 35 years ago! A lot has changed since then regarding the IG program, and your comments really don't apply to today's program in 2012.
When my kids were in it in the 1990's, I certainly didn't think we had little Einsteins, and other parents didn't act that way. All we were interested in was having our kids taught something every day instead of them sitting around learning absolutely nothing just doing mindless busy work; we didn't want them to waste 3 years; didn't want them to be bored; and wanted them to be challenged and stimulated by the classroom teacher. There's nothing worse for a child who has to go to "school" to sit there and learn nothing at their level while waiting for the rest of the class to catch up over 3 years' time.
Both of my kids in the regular classes, K, 1, and 2, were repeatedly ignored by the classroom teachers who wouldn't let them answer any questions during the school year because they knew without fail the answers to the teacher's questions. Imagine being ignored for 9/10 of the school year by the teacher. That's extremely demoralizing and discouraging - basically the teachers didn't give one damn about them because of accountability for the other kids, and one of their teachers told me "they'd survive" when I asked her to actually teach them something, and she refused. It certainly happened for 3 years straight for both kids. So, the IG program solved all of that.
And while the IG program isn't perfect - what program is? - it took the boredom factor out of going to sit in a classroom every day. My kids actually began to like school, actually were learning things that kept them mentally alive instead of drugging them with boring busy work designed for the average-thinking kids. And they were surrounded by like-minded students they could relate to. Kids who acted and behaved at a more mature level for the most part. Socially, it was a tremendous change in a positive direction.
There's a huge gap between an IQ of 130 and the average IQ of 100. Thirty points. That's big. There's also a 30-point gap between an IQ of 70 and an IQ of 100. Imagine a child with the IQ of 100 being put into a classroom filled with kids with the IQ of 70. They'd be bored to death and disgusted with the school work for an IQ of 70. Well, that's what it's like for a kid with a 130+ IQ stuck in a classroom with average 100 IQ - it can be truly an awful experience filled with boredom and frustration in the lower primary grades for a high end student. If they're lucky the teacher will take the time to actually teach them something, but odds are the teacher will be too busy with the other kids to bother. That's where an enriched program comes in.
FFWD to today:
The parents whose children are 3V IG might not appear to believe they have the next generation of Einsteins, but they have children who believe it -- sadly many will not associate with their former non IG friends.
Would you have gone so far as to prevent your children from associating with children who weren't IG?
It is sad that schools have inclusion to help the students on the lower end of the academic ladder, but will allow segregation at the top end.
The reason for "segregation" at the high end is because gifted children don't have an assistant teacher in the room to help them throughout the day.
The segregation I refer to is at the Jr high and HS levels as well.
Students who are not 'special ed' do not have a teacher's aide or assistant teacher. The aide is specifically for the inclusion student in the elementary setting.
The irony I was pointing out is that the very thing that IG parents wish to avoid -- their children being bored or slowed down in a classroom with average students, they find acceptable for average students to sit in a class slowed down by an inclusion student as long as their children are removed from the situation.
The segregation I refer to is at the Jr high and HS levels as well.
Students who are not 'special ed' do not have a teacher's aide or assistant teacher. The aide is specifically for the inclusion student in the elementary setting.
The irony I was pointing out is that the very thing that IG parents wish to avoid -- their children being bored or slowed down in a classroom with average students, they find acceptable for average students to sit in a class slowed down by an inclusion student as long as their children are removed from the situation.
Sorry, I was referring to inclusion and IG in the elementary setting. My kids are young, and my own experience with IG growing up was in elementary school. After that point, it was honors and AP classes...which do not really address some of the unique educational challenges that come with giftedness.
As far as inclusion goes, my gifted child will be in an inclusion class this year. Doesn't bother me, but maybe I'm naive.
Wow. I just looked at the website out of curiousity and it hasn't been updated since July, 2008!!! Also, if they're so "gifted" why couldn't they (or one of their students) create a better website?
I wasn't "advocating" the particular school, merely providing a link to a private school option on Long Island for the OP.
Sorry, I was referring to inclusion and IG in the elementary setting. My kids are young, and my own experience with IG growing up was in elementary school. After that point, it was honors and AP classes...which do not really address some of the unique educational challenges that come with giftedness.
As far as inclusion goes, my gifted child will be in an inclusion class this year. Doesn't bother me, but maybe I'm naive.
The inclusion classes we've experienced varied greatly. Some years the child in need of services was disruptive and as much as the aide tried to assist, the child was disruptive to the class and the teacher had difficulty getting the class back to the lesson. This could be very bad for an easily bored, extremely intelligent child. That was our worst case. AndreaII might know the teacher who was placed in that situation. The parents of that student fought to have their son in the inclusion setting. I hate to sound cruel, but this child required more than a public school could offer and as a result of their strong-arming the school, cost many students hundreds of hours of valuable instruction time through his public school career.
More often than not, the child requiring special services and an aide was in a classroom where the teacher recognized each child's strengths and weaknesses and tailored in classroom teaching to each level with the aide focusing her energy reinforcing the lesson with the special student. This has been our experience close to 95% of the time over the 14 years I've had children in elementary school.
A group of parents in the elementary school
s have created a local SAGE group which is an off shoot of the National Association for Gifted Children. If your school doesn't offer a SAGE I would suggest contacting our local group for more options or the NAGC.
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