Comments on: Same As It Ever Was: Howard Co. Student Denied

By: Dorothy

Dorothy — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:40:08 +0000

Ditto Kristen and Helen. Roger the school counselor needs to read http://www.wrightslaw.com/advoc/articles/alessi_problems_blame.html one of my favorite studies of all time.

Yes, reading the article I was thinking, hmmm, bet there are personality clashes there. Why can’t the teachers and school be mature about that though? But Roger’s thinking is that behavior is everything and academic needs are nothing. Sounds like he objectively passed exams equivalent to finals, so why have to retake the classes?

By: kirsten

kirsten — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 20:28:32 +0000

His attendance and disciplinary referrals *should* have NOTHING to do with whether he is in Algebra 1 or Geometry. Nothing to do with whether he is in American History or AP National, State and Local Government. *All* of these teachers should be equally prepared to handle a child with an attendance or discipline problem. In practice, that doesn’t happen, and teachers of above-grade-level classes usually expect better attendance and fewer disciplinary referrals.

But the ability to behave in class and the ability to go to class regularly are not the determining factor of ability to handle the work.

By: Helen

Helen — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 17:03:43 +0000

Play the race card?! I think you’re assuming an awful lot here as well. Where on earth did they play the race card? The only reason his race even came up was because the College Board folks track that percentile ranking (okay, and they mentioned his mom’s family name, which happens to be Korean — but come ON, they can’t give someone’s NAME?).

It would be quite easy to skim this story and not even notice that he wasn’t white (default=white being generally the case in newspaper stories). If that’s playing the race card, I have to say it’s with one heck of a poker face.

By: Roger

Roger — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 12:48:09 +0000

I am amazed at how quickly people read articles posted by people who obviously have an agenda and believe everything they read. This is especially true for some of the garbage posted on the internet. How many times have black folk complained about prejudice, injustice and getting fair and equal treatment yet, here we are already condemning a school system because the “gifted” child said that they were not treated fairly. There is always more than one side to these kinds of stories. Unfortunately, the school system, any school system, cannot give more details due to confidentiality issues.

I have been a school counselor for over 20 years and have come across situations just like this. It frustrates me that parents can go to the press and give their side of a situation and play the “race” card and play on the sympathy of the public knowing that the whole story will not come out. And sure enough, everyone automatically thinks that this “gifted” young man is being treated unfairly. Has anyone asked these questions: His percentiles may be high, but compared to what standard? How is his attendance? Does he have any disciplinary referrals? What level of classes is he in and how are his grades? What is his academic history – high school and college? If he was home schooled, what program did he use and did the parents follow the school districts guidelines?

Reserve judgment until you know all of the facts. Remember what happens when you ASSume something…..

By: SwitchedOnMom

SwitchedOnMom — Wed, 07 Oct 2009 23:06:15 +0000

Here’s a super blog post on this controversy by a very gifted high school blogger. Do read.

http://perpetualdissent.wordpress.com/2009/10/06/in-which-more-gt-hilarity-earns-a-post/

By: SwitchedOnMom

SwitchedOnMom — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:17:50 +0000

Thanks for flagging this!

By: Helen

Helen — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 01:13:15 +0000

Mathews posted a follow-up from the school, as you probably saw: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/class-struggle/2009/10/_since_the_story_of.html

By: Cheryl

Cheryl — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 21:53:55 +0000

Sad, and also happens at the college and professional level. In college, I earned “A’s” in graduate-level writing courses and taught freshman writing for a university, but when I changed enrollment to a university in another state, I was forced to spend a Saturday taking an “upper division writing exam” to prove I could write at the college level. Also, I was made to take a basic math course to fulfill a requirement, despite having passed calculus with an “A.” Advanced math didn’t count. I never went to class–just showed for the midterm and final. Thankfully the prof didn’t factor attendance in the grade.

I know of a college that made a master’s student take a course for which she had designed the curriculum to fulfill a requirement to keep a teaching credential.

Ridiculous. And there’s little wonder that so many gifted people choose to forgo academia altogether and go it without the degree.

By: Helen

Helen — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 20:13:54 +0000

I’m not even sure this is specifically a gifted issue so much as just an indication of what dumb, inflexible bureaucracies a lot of high schools are. That doesn’t sound like a great school for an average achiever to attend, either, but their inflexibility is made starkly clear when you look at the treatment of an extreme case. I hope there’s some compensation for him in terms of extracurriculars, or individual wonderful teachers/departments. I also hope he’s not the only one there doing whatever it is he excels at, either.

I must say, it doesn’t seem to me to be *that* big a deal to be technically qualified to go to college while still in high school — wouldn’t that apply to an awful lot of students? There is a huge overlap between high-level high-school courses and low-level college courses, after all, and look at all the seventh-graders who get SAT scores in the college-bound range. Given that he doesn’t *want* to go to college yet, I sure wouldn’t pay for it if I were his parents, either.