LOL!

IL has really jumped on the low benchmarks bandwagon in order to circumvent the intent of NCLB (which I agree is flawed).

Many parents and taxpayers don’t realize the difference between “93% of Xgraders meet or exceed the state proficiency benchmark” and “our Xgraders fell at the 93rd percentile on nationally normed test”.

For those who do understand the difference, they are often unaware that IL benchmarks are near rock bottom in comparison to other states. It may finally sink in too late when the same group tests dead average for the ACT in high school.

I'm glad your dd has math enrichment to look forward to each day. What are your plans for her next year?

Well, we really wish we could send her back to private school, but it's just not an option. DD's current teacher is going to request a 4th grade teacher that she knows will challenge her, and she's also going to insist that she not be in another inclusion class. DH and I are going to discuss this with the principal, too.

Fourth graders can do math team, and the coach is the same teacher that DD currently sees for enrichment. We're going to encourage DD to participate, and I think that will help somewhat. We're also looking into more afterschooling activities for her. She's interested in guitar lessons. The magnet school where I teach has a creative writing camp that she'll be eligible to attend starting next summer. In the meantime, we're going to try to "work with" the system to get her what she needs.

The math team beginning in 4th grade and the writing camp sound great! I have found that they older my kids get, the more summer opportunities there are for them.

Have you looked into summer programs (for this year) at your local private schools? Most private schools around here offer non-remedial summer academics to any interested and qualified student, although most do begin at 6th grade and up.

Some gifted programs are not 'allowed' to acclete over the regular class at all! Some school believe that enrichment is the only acceptable thing to do with 'pull out gifted program.'

People seems to surround themselves with friends and family members who are more or less similar to themselves. So you may know tons of folks who could move academically at one, two or three years ahead of the school standards. But schools deal with large groups of kids. In these large groups, most kids are learning near their readiness level. Most gifted kids are well served by the 'only 3 months accelerated' program.

My beef is when the school go from thinking that programs meet the needs of the whole gifted population in stead of just a majority, and blame the child for being 'off-task' or 'class clown' even 'After all the special treatment we have given you!'

Homeschooling really takes the pressure off in a lot of ways, doesn't it?

Hope this helps,
Grinity

[quote=Grinity Most gifted kids are well served by the 'only 3 months accelerated' program. [/quote]

I understand your point Grinity, but I think this may be more or less true depending on where the curriculum baseline falls.

Yes that appears to be our gifted program. It focuses on developing critical thinking skills, brainstorming, etc and an independent research project but nothing is done for the kid in the classroom the rest of the week. It's one hour/week pullout.

I'm leaning more towards HSing everyday. I think I'll give it a trial period this summer and decide then. sigh...

It's similar here. There are lots of camps but not much else for younger kids. DD has expressed interest in doing some math at home this summer, and she's already picked out a lot of books to read. We're members of two museums, so we'll go there some, too.

[quote=Grinity
People seems to surround themselves with friends and family members who are more or less similar to themselves. So you may know tons of folks who could move academically at one, two or three years ahead of the school standards. But schools deal with large groups of kids. In these large groups, most kids are learning near their readiness level. Most gifted kids are well served by the 'only 3 months accelerated' program.

My beef is when the school go from thinking that programs meet the needs of the whole gifted population in stead of just a majority, and blame the child for being 'off-task' or 'class clown' even 'After all the special treatment we have given you!'

Homeschooling really takes the pressure off in a lot of ways, doesn't it?

Hope this helps,
Grinity [/quote]

If I found someone particularly similar to me, I might run the other way. Actually, most of the like-minded people I "know" are online. IRL I walk a thin line and keep my mouth shut. To be tongue-in-cheek, I've learned that teachers don't like homeschooling talk, homeschoolers don't like teacher talk, and nobody likes gifted talk unless their child is more gifted than yours!

Even as a teacher at an "accelerated" (by one year) school, with excellent teachers, I ran into puzzling attitudes. I wasn't allowed to give the kids who were obviously in need of more challenge anything different (and yes, they did go off-task and clown around). I was allowed to differentiate in the other direction, giving struggling kids extra assistance, less challenging work, etc. The need for tailoring was the same, but the response was so different!

I loved teaching, but I'm glad I don't deal with schools as a teacher or a parent anymore. Homeschooling takes the pressure of in so many ways. I love it!