I welcome comments to the blog (tell us what’s happening in your school/homeschool!), but if needed you can contact me at SwitchedOnMom AT gmail.com.
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May 2013 M T W T F S S « May 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Top Posts
- Just Saying No--to Accelerated Math
- 75th Percentile
- Anxiety and Giftedness
- "There's Gifted, and Then There's Profoundly Gifted"
- Sir Ken Robinson on Homeschooling
- Why Elementary Teachers Overlook the Verbally Gifted Child
- My "Indigo" Children
- Gifted Advocacy: What Not to Do
- Testimony: Writing in the MCPS Red Zone? GT English? Think Again.
- Introversion and the Highly Gifted
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Hello, SwitchedOnMom,
What a terrific blog you’ve got here! I stumbled across your place through the Carnival of Education, and I’m so glad I found you. I am a 4th grade teacher, the parent of an 8-yr-old gifted child, and a former gifted child myself. My nephew is a CTY kid as well– I think he fits in the “insanely gifted” category. Ha.
Navigating the system with my son (even though he is in my own district) has been an adventure in learning about him, gifted education, and myself. (I was a gifted child also.)
There aren’t enough people out here talking about this. I hate the way people treat parents who are trying to advocate for their highly/profounded gifted children. They just don’t get it.
Anyway, wanted to say I’m so glad you’re here, and I’ve added you to my bloglines reader.
you write very well!! although it turned out that i wasn’t interested in your areas of focus, it was a pleasure. like listening to nice music.
John
johno95.wordpress.com/
I was hunting for the right citation for the late-80s crisis in science.
All I’ve found so far is this.
Atkinson, Richard C.
1990
“Supply and demand for scientists and engineers: A crisis in the making.” Science 248(April 27):425-432.
Lovely blog, you encourage me to get mine up and running again. I have a “gifted” child and I have decided to consider both private and public school next year. I think homeschooling will encourage my child to be too reserved. He has really blossomed from a shy kid into a much more comfortable in his skin child in pre-school. Kudos to you!
Thank you for your straightforward blog. I am new at this “gifted child” information search and finding it rather overwhelming. I’m looking for a way to “cut to the quick” for potential solutions for my 1st grader – because, as your “Primal Scream” post states, “every unhappy day that passes is a week for a kid.” Our school district has absolutely no resources for gifted children, and the teacher has indicated that skipping to 2nd grade will not be enough of a challenge (in math or Reading). While a skip in grade from 7th to 8th is not a large gap in maturity, 1st to 3rd certainly is. Locally, even most private schools in our area only offer skipping grades as their “gifted option”. The attitude of my child since the start of 1st grade has been profound – a once enthusiastic, excited, can’t-get-enough learner has become frequently indifferent, unfocused, sloppy in quality, and a shrug-of-the-shoulders kid. While I certainly provide extra challenges at home, I can’t control her disengaging at school. The only services provided thus far have been an accelerated reading computer program and a fast math computer program – both done independently by the student (and available to all students). And the programs only began in November. I share the “Primal Scream” – even if it’s in a different octave! What immediate solutions can I suggest to the school or provide myself – while I continue my research process for long-term solutions?
Hi, SwitchedOnMom!
I am delighted to come across your site – I, too, am the mother of a gifted child, and like you, we have run the gamut – private school, Catholic school, public school – here we are homeschooling since 3rd Grade – my son is now chronologically in 6th Grade – and we’ve backed up to 7th Grade to make sure that we’ve not missed any ‘concepts’ while we did Middle School/High School levels for 2 years. I’m in no hurry to rush him, but just trying to keep him intererested and challenged – gosh, it’s hard sometimes to understand what his thought processes are!!
I’ll be checking your site often – loved your “1 year in 40 seconds” – great idea!
Keep up the good work!
Hi,
Thanks for your blog. It is really great reading.
We are in Howard County, and it is much of the same.
Hi, I’ve enjoyed your blog/website for about a year now. I worked in gifted education for 16 years and now write on educational issues, I’m currently building a web page, non-profit, to help parents and educators of gifted children. I have always loved the photo on your page of the girl looking through the glass. Is that photo available for purchase or use? It’s beautiful.
Thank you,
Stacia Garland
Hi Stacia, Thank you and thanks for asking. Because my banner photo has really become part of my “brand” I don’t feel that I can authorize use of it by others. Sorry! But do let me know more about your coming website.
Hi, no problem on the photo, I completely understand. When my site is complete I will send you a link, thank you for all you do, I love your blog. Best, Stacia
Wonderful commentary! “Arrogance” sums up perfectly the attitude that Jerry Weast exhibited at the BoE meeting where GGPCS was given their 3 minutes to make their case!
Thank you for your blog, I have been navigating MCPS and the convoluted system for three years now and am amazed at what I as a parent don’t know!
Everything from grading to classes to GT. I have only navigated elementary grades so far and know from your experiences I am in for a treat in the upper grades.
Keep it up, I will be needing you in the near future!
Thanks for the kind words, Jennifer. As I now have older kids, readers can help *me* by sharing what’s happening in the younger grades.
SOM writes: “As I now have older kids, readers can help *me* by sharing what’s happening in the younger grades.”
Would love to hear how your kids are doing. You’ve shared here that one is on her way to boarding school, the younger currerntly homeschooled. Would love some updates.
Saying goodbye hurts. I’m about to do the same with my one and only, putting her on a plane. She’ll be out of the country for nine months.
Hi SwitchedOnMom,
I was wondering what you thought about the LA Times now publishing data on teacher performance:
http://www.marginalrevolution.com/marginalrevolution/2010/08/la-times-ranks-teachers.html
…it seems to me to be potentially a massive game-changer: if teachers are held accountable, the better ones will be in more demand and districts will compete for them by raising salaries and the caliber of teacher training (which has been pretty mickey-mousey since Dewey).
Would be interested in your take. Thanks
-Chris
Hi Chris,
Thanks for writing and suggesting I take a look at this. I’ll try to get to it in the next couple of days.
I am so happy & relieved to have found you. I somehow stumbled upon your blog tonight after yet another frustrating conversation with my husband about what to do for our daughter for Kindergarten. We’re so worried she’ll lose her love of learning and be a behavioral problem based on the descriptions we can find of the K curriculum in MCPS. So much of what you say and how you describe your daughters resonates. I will be back tomorrow and so will he. Thank you.