Ironflower's repulsed face. Sure, in this photo it's about pumpkin guts. But she'll make the same expression if she ever reads this post.
But today I don't care, for today I am confused. And this is where I process stuff. Also, where I get advice from smart people who care enough to read my blog, not just my FB status updates.
So anyway, it appears that both Ironflower and Hugmonkey have qualified for the gifted program at school. Before you get too impressed, this is the first time I have heard about us even having a gifted program and it meets every other week for 45 minutes. In other words, this should not be an especially big deal. Especially since the qualifications mainly involve them taking multiple-choice tests well and not being behavior problems.
The question is. . .do I have them tested (at our own personal expense) to find out if they're actually gifted? "Gifted" being a relative term; I can tell you right now that they are not music prodigies or destined for the Olympics. But they would probably qualify for the Gifted Child Society's Saturday morning enrichment classes, according to standard IQ tests (which, seeing as they are white, middle class, suburban children, would probably be fairly accurate). And some camps we couldn't possibly afford anyway.
There's a part of me that wants to know how they'd score on the IQ tests, that wants to push them into the enrichment classes and thinks this would a great excuse to start homeschooling them. I mean, they are bored in school most of the time; Ironflower actually burst into tears a few weeks ago because a math concept was hard for her. For the first time in her life. She clearly needs to be challenged more regularly, so that when she faces the next tough concept, she doesn't fall apart.
But then I think, do they need enrichment or time to build a Lego village in the basement? Did knowing my own IQ ever do me any favors, or did it just make me feel like a failure when I didn't immediately grasp a concept or made a mistake? And how bored are they really? It's not like they do everything perfectly.
I then spent a few hours researching this whole gifted education thing. It wasn't really covered during any education class I ever took. But I wasn't allowed to graduate without knowing about how to teach kids with learning disabilities. And I'm not saying that that's not very important, but really, nothing on teaching the gifted? I subbed for a while in a self-contained gifted classroom when I lived in Seattle. It was so fun, I debated going back and getting certified in gifted education. But the regular classroom teacher said to focus on something else instead, as gifted education was being phased out to save money.
That class no longer exists, by the way.
What was I bitching about? Oh yeah, my research. It was not encouraging. There are lots of opportunities for teenagers, at least in our district, but most schools seem to have dropped the ball when it comes to gifted ed at the elementary level. Which probably means that a lot of gifted kids don't even make it to the high school level, what with never being properly challenged in the classroom and all. I mean, last year, when my kids first started complaining of boredom, they got extra packets of worksheets.
Not exactly inspiring. Though better than the teacher I remember from elementary school who had a friend of mine sit in the hallway every day during reading. Why? Because he could already read and she didn't want him in the room when she was teaching the other kids. She didn't even give him a book to read.
As you can see, wise blog readers, I am all over the place with this. Part outraged at (the lack of) gifted programs, part not even sure my kids need to be labelled as such. . .what are your thoughts? Experiences? Opinions*?
*Unless your opinions involve calling me out for being "that mom" on the internet. The one thing writing this post has helped me sort out is that sharing it definitely makes me an asshole.
I don't think they need to be tested to see if they are gifted. If they are, they are and honestly I don't think they will lose their gift because they skip a 45 minute class every 2 weeks. Especially when they have a Mom who will nurture and continue to teach them long after the school day is over.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your outrage at the lack of gifted education. That being said, I think it needs to be on the parents' shoulders to nourish those gifts, if only because it's not being done in schools.
ReplyDeleteYou're an awesome mom. Keep doing what you do and your kids will keep being their awesome selves. Maybe hold off on the testing. It's not like they're gonna be less awesome if you wait until next year.
If you think they'd enjoy the enrichment classes and Saturday school fits into your family schedule, I'd have them tested. It would give you information, which you could act on, or not. It would give you options.
ReplyDeleteMy older son has been in magnet programs since 4th grade (he's in 7th now) and it's made a huge difference for him. I'm sorry your school doesn't have much in the way of a gifted program during the school day.
@Kirs - Thank you. They can do the class without outside testing, so I'm going to have them do that before I make any other decisions.
ReplyDelete@becominneurotic - You are right. Thank you for your calm, wise words.
@Steph - That's a good point, and probably worth doing down the road. We really can't take the financial strain right now. I wish we had magnet programs! Or something.