Comments on Parenting Gifted Kids: Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom, Part 2

What a great article to help us advocate for our c...

2010-02-17T06:01:37.169-08:00

What a great article to help us advocate for our children! Thank you!

Thank you so much for this post. I'm a homeschooli...

2009-11-26T18:40:55.837-08:00

Thank you so much for this post. I'm a homeschooling mom of a 7 yr old who is very smart. We haven't tested him for gifted, but he is working a grade level or two above in each subject. We are having a hard time in math, he hates the repetition and I couldn't figure out how to make it work. I'm going to take your suggestions and stop making him repeat the same things over and over again.

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for posting this! I...

2009-11-12T18:03:38.337-08:00

Oh my gosh, thank you so much for posting this! I could cry- I am a hs'ing mom of 4, two school aged, 11 (son) and 12 (stepdaughter). My son was identified as gifted when he was in school. I knew this all along, having been gifted myself, but they didn't "believe" me until they tested him in 3rd grade... I have been trying to figure out how to accelerate (or rather, keep up with!) him without just giving more work. Thank you soo much- we will start tomorrow!!! Any ideas on how to address the asynchronous reading ability vs. age appropriateness of material issue?

My one big issue with this is how the students a...

2009-10-11T18:48:22.085-07:00

My one big issue with this is *how* the students achieve mastery. As a gifted student myself (and now a teacher with an MS in ecology), I spent a lot of time "moving ahead" in subjects because I demonstrated quick mastery. However, my mastery was more technical than conceptual, and I find that I often have to review topics to refresh them in my memory. I wonder if I would remember better had I worked more on the conceptual basis of what I was doing once I showed the technical mastery.

I really like this post, and I like your suggestio...

2009-05-24T17:03:26.743-07:00

I really like this post, and I like your suggestions. I have trouble implementing it though. When a gifted child shows you mastery, how do they go on to the next topic if you the teacher are busy working with the lower kids who have NOT mastered it?

I'm Anonymous in the first post too- Our son's tea...

2009-05-19T11:02:00.000-07:00

I'm Anonymous in the first post too-
Our son's teacher doesn't believe in "gifted" children and has insisted that all children learn the same way. She clearly hasn't read any research in the last 50 years!

You're doing a great service to your students and to everyone reading this blog!

If only I could pin this post the the forehead of ...

2009-05-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

If only I could pin this post the the forehead of almost every teacher in the school.

Teachers try to trick the gifted child into proving that they really aren't as smart as they think they are. As G&T coordinator at my school, this is my absolute pet hate. At best it's misguided and ignorant, at worst it's downright bullying. These teachers could be spending time and energy finding out what they can do.

I had a student yesterday who is not a great writer. I read the beginning of his story to him and asked him if it sounded like a story. He immediately 'got' that it didn't and only needed minor prompts to be right back on track. If I'd drilled him on story beginnings, he might have turned off completely. Instead, he's written an awesome story beginning.

"When they have shown mastery- stop. That's it. Ju...

2009-05-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

"When they have shown mastery- stop. That's it. Just stop. Let them choose another related activity, or have a variety of other mentally stimulating opportunities for them to choose from."

Best advice I've heard from an education professional in a long, long time.

Hi Anonymous, Glad you liked the suggestions. I ...

2009-05-18T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hi Anonymous,

Glad you liked the suggestions. I cannot count the number of children who have been in your son's shoes. Please talk to your son's teacher- these strategies are really not that difficult to implement and make a world of difference!

Thank you for this! We're in the middle of a disas...

2009-05-18T09:17:00.000-07:00

Thank you for this! We're in the middle of a disastrous Kindergarten year with my HG+ son. His teacher insists that he finish the regular work and ask for harder work every day. Then she gets mad that he goes to play legos instead. Who wants to do 50 identical problems when you can do 10!

These are fabulous suggestions to help differentiate for every child, not just the gifted ones.