How Do You Service GT?
Possible life changes have me shopping for a High School for my own youngest gifted child. She will be a freshman next year, and I want her HS experience to be as positive as possible. I want her to continue to enjoy learning and not just trudge through. I would like her to look back fondly on these years rather than just endure them. To stretch her time to explore learning, instead of finishing the whole experience in two years.
Maybe it is unrealistic--I look at the experiences of others (Jen from Laughing at Chaos comes to mind) and wonder if I should just home school. Could I do it? Her biggest need from public education is the social-emotional component. Could I adequately provide this outside the scope of traditional school? Is it her best fit?
Meanwhile I am shopping schools.
I email them questions, and wait expectantly for a response.
Q: How do you service your gifted learners at the high school level?
A: At ___ISD we service our gifted students through placement in our AP and pre-AP courses.
or...
We service our gifted students through our Advanced Academics.
I cringe at this response--yet it is the only one I am really getting from the traditional schools--and these are good schools--highly ranked.
The best I heard was, "But we do cluster our gifted students into the same class as much as possible to allow for the teacher to differentiate." Ok...I will be sure to check out your school a little closer. This is the best we have right now...
But I wonder--do districts really understand the difference between a gifted student and an advanced student? Often the gifted learner does not perform higher--what then? And with all of the great ideas that the state has to service gifted students, why is it that placement in advanced classes is the fall back answer?
Are we abandoning the gifted learner when they get to high school? Or do we just encourage them to move on more quickly? Finish in three years (and I won't have to worry about you anymore...)
