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2) I literally stumbled my was throught the course catalog. Linguistics! OMG! They'll let me study why some people call it a "tap" and some people call it a "faucet" and some people call it a "spigot"? They'll give you grades for this? Bliss!
(And why do I constantly have lines from movies in my head? )
I know a child who tested in the "gifted" IQ who is in advanced math but remedial reading. Her mother jokes about how she doesn't believe one bit in the results of the IQ test.
My dd#1 tested into gifted, and she's a straight A student who doesn't really have to work for her grades, but I still question the test results. She's a bright girl, but I don't see how she can be in the top 1% of the population. And parental pressure does factor in. One of the girls in "gifted" with my daughter retook the test four times at her mother's insistence. That kind of hyperfocus on the "gifted" label is ridiculous.
I agree. And where do things like common sense come in? Being able to interact with people? How about the brilliant painter who can't balance her checkbook? Where do we put the child who is in remedial reading but who will grab your hand and say, "Look how the light is hitting the trees!"?
(I'd rather hang out with the child who is noticing the fish just under the surface of the water, the one that I can't see until it moves quickly and stirs the water, and who is a mediocre student BTW, than the precocious 5-year old who knows his multiplication tables. But that's just me. )
I was never in any special programs, infact, I was in remedial math my senior year of high school because I can't do math at all ever.
What was really surprising was when I found out all math can be done in excel and computer programs come like a second nature to me. It was the best feeling in the world knowing I had a talent for something. I took a photoshop class and was able to do all my in class assignment in 20 minutes and play around. I think this comes from my ability to teach myself things.
Also, I always loved TV and if I see a TV show on something it makes me learn about things. I never once opened my Business Law book but got an A because I watched Law and Order all the time.
Another thing I noticed is many many of the smart kids could remember all the stuff we learned in class but I could always apply things. I took interior design and I can't remember the names and definitions of all of the elements but some times i'll be out and see something and instantly think "that's an interesting example of rhythm"
I agree. And where do things like common sense come in? Being able to interact with people? How about the brilliant painter who can't balance her checkbook? Where do we put the child who is in remedial reading but who will grab your hand and say, "Look how the light is hitting the trees!"?
Sorry, because this is getting even further OT, but this is the problem I have with traditional education.
The school system is not set up to reward/encourage/deal with a child like this.
Because classrooms must follow a prescribed curriculum, because everyone of the same general age must be hitting certain pre-determined targets, because children themselves tend to notice and eliminateanyone "different" into outsider status, traditional American schools have no room for a child like that. Traditional schools maybe don't want someone who is exceptional in that way. Wasn't it Edison who failed 3rd grade or something like that?
The child who notices how the light is hitting the trees (something I do all the time, BTW!) will likley be labeled ADD/ADHD and put on medication.
This is exactly why we moved our son to Montessori, where he is blossoming, where his individuality is embraced, where he is pushed just enough, and where the teacher understands that not every child needs to fit in the same square box.
Upthread someone asked how I would prevent my child from getting a fat head. Well, a year and a half of an overly rigid religious school did that for me.
I never once opened my Business Law book but got an A because I watched Law and Order all the time.
Another thing I noticed is many many of the smart kids could remember all the stuff we learned in class but I could always apply things. I took interior design and I can't remember the names and definitions of all of the elements but some times i'll be out and see something and instantly think "that's an interesting example of rhythm"
Well, thanks but you weren't there the day I got my SAT results back and they thought a mistake had been made by the graders because my math scores were so low. Thank God my husband knew math because when my kids asked for help on their homework I busied myself elsewhere.
During long division I was looking out the window wondering why crows were black and seagulls were white and gray. And why is it that only the seagulls sat on top of the flagpole? And did the janitor who raised the flag every morning ever notice the seagulls? And why did we have seagulls when we were 15 miles from the beach? If the seagulls were here did that mean there weren't any at the beach?
I'm quite sure that today somebody (not my parents for sure) would have wanted me on meds for ADD.
I would say that there is a general misunderstanding about the basic traits of gifted individuals...for example, that they will automatically do well in school, or that their giftedness will show up at an early age.
True - but the gifted child is probably day dreaming more than disrupting the class. The 8 year old who is pondering whether the blades of the helicopter should go clockwise or counterclockwise in regards to the side of the equator it's on for the most efficiency and then doesn't know what the assignment given was about.
A kid disrupting the class may be bored but more likely is not mature enough for the class he's in. Or he's bored and disruptive because he's not catching on.
Imagine how great it would be if every teacher did the exact right thing at the exact right moment and had enough time in the day to actually sit with each child for the amount of time each of them needed and deal with any emotional issues they may be having. Now fast forward to reality where even the excellent teachers with the best intentions are trying to get a room of 20 or more 7-year olds to the same place by the end of the year so their school won't be given a less-than-stellar-grade from the city or state.
Being "gifted" in school means that a child is reading, writing or doing math at a higher level than the other kids in their class. It has nothing to do with them being able to deal with issues that no matter what decade you're living in, has a tendency to throw a kid "off". Divorce is a very hard thing for a child to understand, even when the parents are as great as they can be about it.
If he's acting up in school and going under a desk and refusing to come out, then he's being disruptive to the class. If it happens more than once, he is keeping his classmates from learning what they need to that day and since you mentioned this is going on 3x per week, it is his parent's issue to deal with and they are going to have to get to the bottom of why it only happens when he's going to his dad's house. A school psychologist is hopefully working with him, but it's not his classmate's fault that he is acting out and why should their learning environment be impacted or their teacher's time be taken trying to coax him out from under his desk?
Excellent points.
I won't even get into what happened with the pencil since no one has anything but fourth hand information and I always try to judge classroom discipline interactions with an understanding eye. As a teacher, you're never going to know which kid is telling the truth, whose pencil it really is, and the focus has to be on continuing the instruction in the classroom, not having a 30 minute counseling session over a pencil. It's a luxury that you just don't have in a classroom full of kids.
Clearly the boy is troubled, likely about the divorce. It's hard to say if it's just general stress of switching homes, or there's something going on with dad. It can manifest the same way. Having the kid speak with a counselor or psychologist and get some help figuring out what is really going on here needs to be a priority. The behaviors are just a reaction. For the time being, I think it's clear that the payoff for him is getting mom to come get him at school. That needs to be taken away and replaced with something undesirable. If he can't behave in class, he goes to sit in the office to do work, or something where he doesn't get the attention he's craving. Mom needs to also take away privileges at home or have some sort of consequence. It's tough with a kid this age because the consequence needs to happen right away, but if the problem keeps happening at school, something needs to change.
By the way, is the kid actually gifted? (As in he's been tested by a specialist and formally been given that designation?) We hear that word thrown out so often that it's almost lost its actual meaning. Something like 3-5% of the population is actually gifted, but a much higher number claim as such for themselves or their child.
I was never in any special programs, infact, I was in remedial math my senior year of high school because I can't do math at all ever.
What was really surprising was when I found out all math can be done in excel and computer programs come like a second nature to me. It was the best feeling in the world knowing I had a talent for something. I took a photoshop class and was able to do all my in class assignment in 20 minutes and play around. I think this comes from my ability to teach myself things.
Also, I always loved TV and if I see a TV show on something it makes me learn about things. I never once opened my Business Law book but got an A because I watched Law and Order all the time.
Another thing I noticed is many many of the smart kids could remember all the stuff we learned in class but I could always apply things. I took interior design and I can't remember the names and definitions of all of the elements but some times i'll be out and see something and instantly think "that's an interesting example of rhythm"
Hmmm. I hold a law degree and I cannot watch any of those shows without pointing out all of the procedural errors. I don't think watching Law and Order is going to help anyone gain an accurate view of the way the legal system works.
Sorry, because this is getting even further OT, but this is the problem I have with traditional education.
The school system is not set up to reward/encourage/deal with a child like this.
Because classrooms must follow a prescribed curriculum, because everyone of the same general age must be hitting certain pre-determined targets, because children themselves tend to notice and eliminateanyone "different" into outsider status, traditional American schools have no room for a child like that. Traditional schools maybe don't want someone who is exceptional in that way. Wasn't it Edison who failed 3rd grade or something like that?
The child who notices how the light is hitting the trees (something I do all the time, BTW!) will likley be labeled ADD/ADHD and put on medication.
This is exactly why we moved our son to Montessori, where he is blossoming, where his individuality is embraced, where he is pushed just enough, and where the teacher understands that not every child needs to fit in the same square box.
Upthread someone asked how I would prevent my child from getting a fat head. Well, a year and a half of an overly rigid religious school did that for me.
This is exactly why I took my son out of school last year. He was doing 'well' in the sense that he had all As and the teachers loved him, but at least two times a week,as soon as he got in the car he would break down and cry. Having to sit in a seat for seven hours a day, doing mind numbingly boring worksheets was driving him to depression. The final straw was when he started having anxiety attacks on Sunday nights. He was trying so hard to fit the mold, be a good boy, and meet expectations, he was becoming physically ill.
We have been homeschooling since last March which has been going well academically but I am touring Montessori schools right now for next year so that he can hang with other kids on a daily basis again.
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Thank God my husband knew math because when my kids asked for help on their homework I busied myself elsewhere.
