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Your opinions? Re: gifted program 1st grade

Comments (223)

Last edited 11/17/2012

"Easy" kids get lost in the shuffle. All of the extra programs to help those who are ahead and those who are behind, while wonderful and lovely, come at the expense of these "easy" kids. There is less funding and fewer resources available to them. 

there is always SOMEONE who gets lost in the shuffle.  Both of my girls are because our schools won't offer them help because YDD is on grade level and ODD is above.   So all we hear about YDD is how slowly she works and she's not getting her work done.  But she's doing fine in school  And ODD can't sit still, is such a distraction, is not organized, but is an A student yet "not working to potential."  But no one at the schools is helping the kids reach that potential!

so both of my kids are lost in the shuffle at school.  I make sure they get what they need.  At some point parents need to stop the "not fair" and just get the work done.  It's YOUR child.   Schools have limited resources and there is a greater chance of those who are ahead and those who are behind not succeeding without those resources the school can offer.   I also see the school as a "tool"  - a spring board for learning.  Parents need to take what is learned in school and bring it to life, or to the next level.  It's your child.  Not the Board of Ed's

(edited for spelling and because I said "YDD" when I meant "ODD")


* ADHD without meds ** Parents of TEENS with ADHD *
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Posted 11/17/2012
I am like Karen. I pick up and work with the schools so my kids get the most out of their educations.
Posted 11/17/2012
"How did this all start? Redshirting. To get back on topic, it seems strange to keep kids back citing their age and then have those same kids pulled out of class for advanced instruction. Seems very strange."

This is very flawed logic. Gifted and talented started with redshirting? Tell that to my husband who was in TAG classes in the 80's as the youngest in is class. As was I, and I wasn't redshirted. I thought more people were concerned with redshirting to give kids a size/physical advantage in sports, not academics. Holding back a year doesn't make you light years ahead academically. If kids are being pulled for enrichment because they are supposedly a year ahead academically, that is pretty silly. My kids get pulled because they are 2-4 years ahead in some academic areas.

The reason most TAG classes don't start until 3rd or 4th grade is because that is when things start to level out. The kindergartner who was advanced in reading at age 6 may level out to grade level. You instead identify truly gifted students by standardized tests and sometimes IQ. Those kids who started school a year later aren't necessarily the ones identified at this point.
Posted 11/17/2012

Ahhh, Karen and Wess.

Thank you for posting. :-)


Posted 11/17/2012



No one said that. The OP's post asked if anyone thought it was strange that redshirted kids in her child's class were pulled out for a gifted program. That post that you quoted was in response to that very specific question.

Posted 11/17/2012
If my kids weren't in an accelerated program, I'd definately be okay with the other kids having it. Their needs are just as important as my kids needs. You still have not explained why it costs more to have a gifted program.

And again...there are more reasons to hold a child back than academic.
Posted 11/17/2012

 There is also the other side of the coin that it is better for the average child to not feel like they have to compare themselves to a child who is unachievably ahead of their level.  Children do better academically with other students who are at similar levels.  By pulling the gifted students out you are allowing both groups to compete with those on their level and also enabling the remaining students to get more attention from the teacher.  Gifted education does not need to be expensive to work.





Posted 11/17/2012

Our town took the two elementary schools and made them one.  So now we have a K-2 and 3-5.  Because of a law suit that one had better scores which it was open enrolment so you could pick either.  But unless you requested a differn't school the kids bussed in school would default to where that buss stopped first.

They also started leveling all the classes.  There is about 10 classes each grade. They put all the high kids in one room and so on... So now all kids in a class are academically near each other.  The higher class move faster and spend more time on science and the low ones are more focused on standards and cores.  It fixed the problem of challenging a mixed class that are miles apart in ability. I am sure there are some mad parents of where their child got placed but think you get that with anything.  


Mom to 3 Girls Cailin 10, Olivia 9, Emma 6

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Posted 11/17/2012
So, if the one child is truly gifted, he would be going alone. It's a waste of an available resource not to use it for any who need challenged, when there are open spots.

I'm a spec Ed teacher. I have one student I work with. The teacher asked if she could send one more student with us so he would get additional help. I could still meet my student's needs so I didn't mind.
Posted 11/17/2012

In response to PP, gifted programs cost more money because they are an extra program? Extra programs take money away from other items in the budget?

I think I've "explained" how they cost more several times. There isn't money falling from the sky to fund them, so the school has to pay for it by cutting other things.


People keep posting that it's better for the average kids left in the classroom to have gifted children and children who are behind taken out.

Why have integrated classrooms at all then?

And doesn't this pre-suppose that the 15 or 20 average kids are all the same? Because they are not. There are things those kids need that are not available to them because they are not gifted "enough" or behind "enough" to qualify. 

I've posted this statement many times and people are hell bent on ignoring it, but schools can not afford to go above and beyond. That's it....it's not that deep. There is no money. IMO, If your child needs extra instruction, then it should fall on you to get it for him or her. Having the schools provide it costs too much.  





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