Many of the school boards all across US and Canada (and I am sure around the world) have some sort of Gifted/skilled students special education programs. These programs are tailored to fit individual kids to make use of their special skills (in addition to regular curriculum). Each school board has some sort of testing mechanism after which kids can qualify to move to special education program.
For example in Toronto District School Board (TDSB), kid as to go through following
OLSAT Exam with 120+ score
Nagleri Test with 130+ score
School Recommendations
one-on-one assessment of Kid including IQ test.
kid with 98+ percentile in step 4 qualifies for Gifted Program
My question is, has anyone of you, your kids or someone you know have attended Gifted program anywhere? (specially in Ontario) ?
Given that this is an optional program, what are the pros and cons of sending ?
Re: Gifted/Skilled children education programs - Pros and Cons
I remember when I was in Junior High (Grade 6 - 8), there was a class of approximately 5 kids who were kept separate in the 'smart kids' class. The only issue I saw with this is that these kids were not socialized with the rest of their peers and were picked on a lot. Once they reached high school, I remember one of the smart boys went to extreme lengths to fit in with the others, including doing badly to the point where he was failing.
Re: Gifted/Skilled children education programs - Pros and Cons
^LOL! I’m not used to seeing it written out.
Having been through the program personally, I think overall the program is great. These programs challenge children a lot more than they do in normal classrooms and help them develop the most of their abilities. Sometimes in normal classrooms your child may not be learning as much as he/she should or school might become boring for them if they are not being challenged enough. Also it helps them in the long run. Usually, how it works here, is that if your child gets into GATE during elementary or middle school, he/she automatically advances throughout the years. Once in high school, these students are usually the ones in AP/honors classes…..which is great for college prep.
This may or may not be a con but I would say that usually the students are kept together. Through the years, all of the students usually have the same classmates . I wouldn’t say they are isolated from other kids but they tend to ‘stick’ together. Also it depends on your school, but not all schools offer the program. Most times it the same school but if not it’s another school within the same district. That can also be a hassle as well.
What Mehnaz mentioned can also be an issue, again depends. At our school we had a full classroom of 30 or more children that atmostsphere is lot different than just 5
Re: Gifted/Skilled children education programs - Pros and Cons
Disclaimer: My daughter is in the TAG program (in US).
I have a love/hate relationship with the program. It stems from my core belief that education opportunity should be the same for everyone & the fact that as much as we would like to believe, not all of us are born with equal abilities. I get that school districts need to find ways to address issues with kids who are above their grade level & a little extra, consistently, can go a long way but that there is something wrong if the same amount of effort is not made for kids who are falling behind.
For example, there is no 'program' for kids struggling in our school district. There are some programs for kids with learning disability but what about the entire spectrum of kids who are not performing well because they are not deemed gifted? Anyway, that's a more bigger discussion on how in our world today education is linked to financial success, which in turn is linked to social "success" and results are measured with a yard stick that is totally lopsided.
Pros: Your kid will be encouraged to do more, will be expected to do more, he/she will be given the more attention, he will be looked upon as a 'success' for the district. Their work will be displayed, they will be 'prepped' (Which parent doesn't want that?)
Cons: Extra attention might lead to cockiness and in some cases, depending on the school/environment, social interaction issues.
Re: Gifted/Skilled children education programs - Pros and Cons
^ Excellent. Exactly sort of reply I am looking for - Thanks.
What kind of effort is needed in Part of parents in terms of helping kids during the education process?
All three of my kids have been through this program. They call it TDP in our school district. Talent Development Program.The only upside I can think of , is that kids do not need help with their homework . They are smart enough to do their homework on their own. What bearing it has on their overall education , I would not know as in high school , both my boys became slackers. The older one got his act together in his last year of high school and passed with honors . The junior was goofing off till last semester , nothing seemed to be working for motivating him , one fine morning I came up with the inspiration to motivate him with the use of money which seems to be working and I see him seriously working on his homework and studies on his own when I come home, and teacher's feedback tells me that he is doing good now. My daughter has started middle school and she is doing great because she is challenged enough to do good in school.
I’m not used to seeing it written out.