Your Child Is Not Gifted... anymore.

[redkat]

Yes, I know there is testing(in some schools), but first of all it's not consistent throughout and second there have been a lot of studies that show these test to be somewhat misleading.

You'll find one school district that will base it on grades and teacher recomendations. Others that have IQ tests, and others that have aptitude tests...

I was gifted in one district. Then we moved, I was never even tested at the next school. I definitely wondered why they didn't think I was smart anymore. School got insanely easy for me though.

Where I live now there are magnet schools so the GATE kids, for the most part go to a separate school entirely.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Everyone who posted in this thread deserves a gold star for trying

We're all special

 

[Irvine511]

Everyone who posted in this thread deserves a gold star for trying

We're all special

mock as we might, i think the lesson of "effort" over result is an important one.

i worked very hard in college. in my mind, i thought i'd need a good GPA if i wanted to go to law school (my backup) or get into a competitive PhD program in American Studies or English (my first choice).

neither wound up happening, i went in a totally different direction, and no one has once looked at my transcript. and i'm incredibly happy that i didn't go down the academic path. i think it was a disaster averted. for me.

but everyone sees the work ethic and study habits and task commitment that i developed over years in school. that's paid off in dividens and now, the extra work i put in trying to bring a grade up from a B+ to an A- is what matters, whereas the actual letter on the paper and the cumulative GPA isn't worth the paper it was printed on.

 

[VintagePunk]

One thought keeps occurring to me when I see this thread - this school district, in its infinite wisdom, is doing away with labels in an attempt to make the less intelligent students feel more equal.

Are they going to stop acknowledging their elite athletes as well? Will their sports stars now be praised and rewarded to the same lesser degree as their benchwarmers? Will the benchwarmers now get awards during assemblies, like their more gifted peers? Will the scholarship offers pour in for them? Because, y'know, everyone has to feel good about themselves. Can't have the kids with a lot of athletic talent rise above those who are more average.

No? Didn't think so.

But do take away the label for the gifted kids, because it's perfectly fine to make them feel less special. It's not like intelligence is as important as sports, is it?