boinky 0 #1 April 5, 2005 Where I live, the school system has a program called SAGE (Special Activities in Gifted Education. Recently, I attended a parent/teacher conference where they informed me that they wanted to test my 10 year old, Nolan, to be accepted into this program. He was subjected to 45 minute daily tests for 1 1/2 weeks. When the letter arrived, he called me, begging to open it...he qualified!!! He's so excited! [B][BLUE]LIFE IS GOOD!!![/BLUE][/B] He will have regular classes, but he will also go to these daily SAGE classes. This is what the letter said: "What will my child study in SAGE?" The elementary gifted curribulum is designed to meet the special needs of gifted students, exploring topics in greater depth than in regular classroom instruction. The five-year rotating curriculum of interdisciiplinary thematic units is academically based in science, social studies, mathematics and language arts, but includes fine arts, vocational awareness and technical skills. The study units for the 2005-2006 school year will be: Unit 1 - Architecture, Unit 2 - Inventions, Unit 3 - Mysteries. 3-D Geometry infused in study units throughout the year. Damn....the child is going to smarter than most of us after all of this!!! This comes on top of his recent straight A honor roll for the first time and is a testament to the fact that ADHD children CAN perform well in school, given the right medicine doseage and the correct learning environment.Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wmw999 2,589 #2 April 5, 2005 Congratulations! I hope his teachers remember the rules (in our district, it was that no really unique material could be covered while the kids in the pull-out class were gone -- fun stuff and drills, yeah, but not essential). Wendy W.There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown) Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
BillyVance 35 #3 April 5, 2005 Congratulations! It's a mighty damn good effort to raise a kid that qualifies for such a program! Kudos to YOU for being a good mom. "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
ccowden 0 #4 April 5, 2005 Congrats to him AND to you! You must be a proud mommy! And a darn good one too! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mnealtx 0 #5 April 5, 2005 Great news... congrats to him AND you!!Mike I love you, Shannon and Jim. POPS 9708 , SCR 14706 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boinky 0 #6 April 5, 2005 Thank you all. While I am terrifically proud of him, I don't know how much credit I can personally take for this achievement, though. For once in my life, I'm going to have to say that it is [B]NOT[/B] all about me! Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
elizfowler 0 #7 April 5, 2005 It's a sweet thing to be humble honey, do keep in mind that devoted parenting and loving guidance does have everything to do with great outcome. You had to have been a huge part of how and why your dear son is celebrating such a special recognition! BRAVO Mommy!! Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
skybytch 273 #8 April 5, 2005 QuoteThis comes on top of his recent straight A honor roll for the first time and is a testament to the fact that ADHD children CAN perform well in school, given the right medicine doseage and the correct learning environment. That's the best part, imho. People with ADD/ADHD are often highly intelligent; give them what they need to help them focus and they'll excel beyond anyone's expectations. You should be proud of yourself - raising an ADD kid isn't easy. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites BillyVance 35 #9 April 5, 2005 QuoteIt's a sweet thing to be humble honey, do keep in mind that devoted parenting and loving guidance does have everything to do with great outcome. You had to have been a huge part of how and why your dear son is celebrating such a special recognition! BRAVO Mommy!! What she said! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites bobsled92 0 #10 April 5, 2005 That's great. My Son is 3 & "gifted too" He can levetate our cat every time he walks into the room. Cat goes about 3 feet in the air then runs like hell!_______________________________ If I could be a Super Hero, I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year. http://www.hangout.no/speednews/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites boinky 0 #11 April 5, 2005 You are sooo bad, Grant!Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites DrewEckhardt 0 #12 April 5, 2005 QuoteDamn....the child is going to smarter than most of us after all of this!!! This comes on top of his recent straight A honor roll for the first time and is a testament to the fact that ADHD children CAN perform well in school, given the right medicine doseage and the correct learning environment. 1. Behaviors which stem from giftedness lead to various misdiagnoses like ADHD. Some one with ADHD may be unable to sustain attention period. A gifted person's attention wanders when they don't get enough mental stimulation from the situation at hand. "Spot jumps over the fence" doesn't hold a second grader's attention when they can comprehend any book in the school library. Computer programming might. Amphetamines may improve concentration but don't fix the environment which led to the problems. You should read Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults: Adhd, Bipolar, Ocd, Asperger's, Depression, And Other Disorders 2. I'd reserve judgement on declaring "life is good". It's a mixed bag. Asynchrony between intellectual and other development means gifted children don't fit with children their age or older. A gifted person may have an A+ average without studying in more challenging classes that interest them but get Cs in the ones that don't. Such stimulation dependant performance isn't allways compatible with getting a college degree and the working world. A gifted person who remembers nearly everything interesting and is nearly always right does not mix well with a conversation they find boring, especially when that's the most interesting thing going on. Intelligence three sigmas or more beyond average is as rare of that three sigmas below which is considered mental retardation. People in general have a harder time understanding and accommodating the rare people that far above than below. I wouldn't wish either intelligence level on anyone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Cornholio 0 #13 April 5, 2005 Hey that's great! I was in a similar program when I went to elementary school - I think it was called GATE or soemthing similar to that. Butthead: Whoa! Burritos for breakfast! Beavis: Yeah! Yeah! Cool! bellyflier on the dz.com hybrid record jump Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NWFlyer 2 #14 April 5, 2005 QuoteI'd reserve judgement on declaring "life is good". It's a mixed bag. I agree - as a former "gifted" child myself (not sure what happened to me in the years since.... ) it can be a tough road. I was placed into a gifted program in the 5th grade - this was a "center school" program where I was bussed out of my neighborhood school for 5th through 8th grade. For high school, the program was based at my local high school and I took gifted and AP classes, but also took some regular classes as well (though mostly PE/arts classes, not the "academic" subjects). For me, though, getting into the gifted program was where I was finally able to thrive a bit. I could read before I started kindergarten, so in first grade when everyone else was learning to read, I was just given more boring stuff to read. By second or third grade I could fly through pretty much any reading material I was given, so rather than given more challenging things to do, I was just given more to read. I was sent up a grade or two for math, so I was always out of synch with my classmates. Sensing a pattern? Yeah, I was bored out of my mind and didn't quite fit in. I was in a small private American-run school in Greece at the time and they did what they could, but the resources were limited. My first grade teacher recommended I skip the second grade but my parents chose not to do that because it would have made me quite a bit younger than my classmates (and I was already on the young edge of my class). By the time I moved back to the States for 4th grade and was in my local school, I was pretty resentful of the whole educational system. I was pretty bored in 4th grade and wasn't one of the teacher's pets, so I didn't get much in the way of stimulation. I finally got tested for the gifted/talented program and got in for 5th grade and it was like my whole world had changed. Being in an environment where stuff was hard and I wasn't the smartest one in the room and there were things I couldn't do was an amazing experience for me, both intellectually and socially - one of the toughest things about being the "smart kid" is the social stigma that sometimes comes with it. I hope that your son has the same positive experience and is able to thrive and be challenged. It's wonderful that your school district has that kind of program, but just be aware that it may make the rest of his education pale by comparison and you may find he's even more "bored." Keeping kids like that mentally stimulated is a major challenge!"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites boinky 0 #15 April 5, 2005 Their program is sort of different. He won't be in "gifted" classes all day. He will stay in a classroom with his peers except for one class a day. He will then report to the SAGE class. Depending on what time the class is, he might very well go back and report to his regular classroom after that. The good thing is that he gets along with all people. He loves babies gets along well with children his age and loves adult. A very loving young man and is kind to animals. After he has started the classes, I can, at my option, choose to have him removed from the program if I see that it is causing him any ill effects or attitudes. I still think [B][BLUE]LIFE IS GOOD!!! because of how far he has come in school. From being the problem child sent to the principal's office in Kindergarten to qualifying for this gifted program, I am very proud of his accomplishments.Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites NWFlyer 2 #16 April 5, 2005 QuoteI still think LIFE IS GOOD!!! because of how far he has come in school. From being the problem child sent to the principal's office in Kindergarten to qualifying for this gifted program, I am very proud of his accomplishments. And you absolutely should be proud! I hope my post didn't come off as negative - I'm a big fan of gifted programs, however they're structured. My older brother was in a program similar to the one your son is in (pulled out of regular classes at certain times) and he got a lot out of that as well. I think it'll be a very positive experience for him - I know that mine definitely was. It was certainly better than the options I had before that (skipping a grade which would make me socially out of sync with my classmates, getting sent off to do independent work that didn't really challenge me but just kept me busy, or being sent off to higher grades just to find work that was more at my level). I think a well-designed gifted program is absolutely perfect and it's a great thing that your school system is committed to that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites SkydiveNFlorida 0 #17 April 5, 2005 Quote1. Behaviors which stem from giftedness lead to various misdiagnoses like ADHD. Some one with ADHD may be unable to sustain attention period. A gifted person's attention wanders when they don't get enough mental stimulation from the situation at hand. "Spot jumps over the fence" doesn't hold a second grader's attention when they can comprehend any book in the school library. Computer programming might. Amphetamines may improve concentration but don't fix the environment which led to the problems. This could be something to look into for sure. I also tested into and was in Gifted classes all my life. I was also later diagnosed with ADHD, but I don't really remember being all that hyper or flaky, I just get bored and my mind drifts. Still happens to this day. That is why I need to take the difficult courses in college, I tend to perform poorly in the easier classes for sheer lack of interest. I ended up dropping out of school because I felt I had better things to do with my time, even the so-called "gifted" classes were boring after elementary school. I finally went back to college later, on my own terms, and got to take the classes I wanted. If they could do this for kids I think it'd make a lot of difference. Anyhow, Congrats, Boinky! I hope your son will do very well in the gifted program, and if you don't feel that he does, you might want to look into other Magnet schools/programs later on. Try to give him access to a lot of fun and challenging things, like mind puzzles, models and legos (especially the ones with motors!), check out the Discovery Store, I think i'd have liked that place as a kid! :D Angela. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites boinky 0 #18 April 5, 2005 I LOVE the Discovery Store. So many cool things to "play" with.....Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Join the conversation You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account. Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible. Reply to this topic... × Pasted as rich text. 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BillyVance 35 #9 April 5, 2005 QuoteIt's a sweet thing to be humble honey, do keep in mind that devoted parenting and loving guidance does have everything to do with great outcome. You had to have been a huge part of how and why your dear son is celebrating such a special recognition! BRAVO Mommy!! What she said! "Mediocre people don't like high achievers, and high achievers don't like mediocre people." - SIX TIME National Champion coach Nick Saban Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bobsled92 0 #10 April 5, 2005 That's great. My Son is 3 & "gifted too" He can levetate our cat every time he walks into the room. Cat goes about 3 feet in the air then runs like hell!_______________________________ If I could be a Super Hero, I chose to be: "GRANT-A-CLAUS". and work 365 days a Year. http://www.hangout.no/speednews/ Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boinky 0 #11 April 5, 2005 You are sooo bad, Grant!Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DrewEckhardt 0 #12 April 5, 2005 QuoteDamn....the child is going to smarter than most of us after all of this!!! This comes on top of his recent straight A honor roll for the first time and is a testament to the fact that ADHD children CAN perform well in school, given the right medicine doseage and the correct learning environment. 1. Behaviors which stem from giftedness lead to various misdiagnoses like ADHD. Some one with ADHD may be unable to sustain attention period. A gifted person's attention wanders when they don't get enough mental stimulation from the situation at hand. "Spot jumps over the fence" doesn't hold a second grader's attention when they can comprehend any book in the school library. Computer programming might. Amphetamines may improve concentration but don't fix the environment which led to the problems. You should read Misdiagnosis And Dual Diagnoses Of Gifted Children And Adults: Adhd, Bipolar, Ocd, Asperger's, Depression, And Other Disorders 2. I'd reserve judgement on declaring "life is good". It's a mixed bag. Asynchrony between intellectual and other development means gifted children don't fit with children their age or older. A gifted person may have an A+ average without studying in more challenging classes that interest them but get Cs in the ones that don't. Such stimulation dependant performance isn't allways compatible with getting a college degree and the working world. A gifted person who remembers nearly everything interesting and is nearly always right does not mix well with a conversation they find boring, especially when that's the most interesting thing going on. Intelligence three sigmas or more beyond average is as rare of that three sigmas below which is considered mental retardation. People in general have a harder time understanding and accommodating the rare people that far above than below. I wouldn't wish either intelligence level on anyone. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cornholio 0 #13 April 5, 2005 Hey that's great! I was in a similar program when I went to elementary school - I think it was called GATE or soemthing similar to that. Butthead: Whoa! Burritos for breakfast! Beavis: Yeah! Yeah! Cool! bellyflier on the dz.com hybrid record jump Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #14 April 5, 2005 QuoteI'd reserve judgement on declaring "life is good". It's a mixed bag. I agree - as a former "gifted" child myself (not sure what happened to me in the years since.... ) it can be a tough road. I was placed into a gifted program in the 5th grade - this was a "center school" program where I was bussed out of my neighborhood school for 5th through 8th grade. For high school, the program was based at my local high school and I took gifted and AP classes, but also took some regular classes as well (though mostly PE/arts classes, not the "academic" subjects). For me, though, getting into the gifted program was where I was finally able to thrive a bit. I could read before I started kindergarten, so in first grade when everyone else was learning to read, I was just given more boring stuff to read. By second or third grade I could fly through pretty much any reading material I was given, so rather than given more challenging things to do, I was just given more to read. I was sent up a grade or two for math, so I was always out of synch with my classmates. Sensing a pattern? Yeah, I was bored out of my mind and didn't quite fit in. I was in a small private American-run school in Greece at the time and they did what they could, but the resources were limited. My first grade teacher recommended I skip the second grade but my parents chose not to do that because it would have made me quite a bit younger than my classmates (and I was already on the young edge of my class). By the time I moved back to the States for 4th grade and was in my local school, I was pretty resentful of the whole educational system. I was pretty bored in 4th grade and wasn't one of the teacher's pets, so I didn't get much in the way of stimulation. I finally got tested for the gifted/talented program and got in for 5th grade and it was like my whole world had changed. Being in an environment where stuff was hard and I wasn't the smartest one in the room and there were things I couldn't do was an amazing experience for me, both intellectually and socially - one of the toughest things about being the "smart kid" is the social stigma that sometimes comes with it. I hope that your son has the same positive experience and is able to thrive and be challenged. It's wonderful that your school district has that kind of program, but just be aware that it may make the rest of his education pale by comparison and you may find he's even more "bored." Keeping kids like that mentally stimulated is a major challenge!"There is only one basic human right, the right to do as you damn well please. And with it comes the only basic human duty, the duty to take the consequences." -P.J. O'Rourke Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boinky 0 #15 April 5, 2005 Their program is sort of different. He won't be in "gifted" classes all day. He will stay in a classroom with his peers except for one class a day. He will then report to the SAGE class. Depending on what time the class is, he might very well go back and report to his regular classroom after that. The good thing is that he gets along with all people. He loves babies gets along well with children his age and loves adult. A very loving young man and is kind to animals. After he has started the classes, I can, at my option, choose to have him removed from the program if I see that it is causing him any ill effects or attitudes. I still think [B][BLUE]LIFE IS GOOD!!! because of how far he has come in school. From being the problem child sent to the principal's office in Kindergarten to qualifying for this gifted program, I am very proud of his accomplishments.Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
NWFlyer 2 #16 April 5, 2005 QuoteI still think LIFE IS GOOD!!! because of how far he has come in school. From being the problem child sent to the principal's office in Kindergarten to qualifying for this gifted program, I am very proud of his accomplishments. And you absolutely should be proud! I hope my post didn't come off as negative - I'm a big fan of gifted programs, however they're structured. My older brother was in a program similar to the one your son is in (pulled out of regular classes at certain times) and he got a lot out of that as well. I think it'll be a very positive experience for him - I know that mine definitely was. It was certainly better than the options I had before that (skipping a grade which would make me socially out of sync with my classmates, getting sent off to do independent work that didn't really challenge me but just kept me busy, or being sent off to higher grades just to find work that was more at my level). I think a well-designed gifted program is absolutely perfect and it's a great thing that your school system is committed to that. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
SkydiveNFlorida 0 #17 April 5, 2005 Quote1. Behaviors which stem from giftedness lead to various misdiagnoses like ADHD. Some one with ADHD may be unable to sustain attention period. A gifted person's attention wanders when they don't get enough mental stimulation from the situation at hand. "Spot jumps over the fence" doesn't hold a second grader's attention when they can comprehend any book in the school library. Computer programming might. Amphetamines may improve concentration but don't fix the environment which led to the problems. This could be something to look into for sure. I also tested into and was in Gifted classes all my life. I was also later diagnosed with ADHD, but I don't really remember being all that hyper or flaky, I just get bored and my mind drifts. Still happens to this day. That is why I need to take the difficult courses in college, I tend to perform poorly in the easier classes for sheer lack of interest. I ended up dropping out of school because I felt I had better things to do with my time, even the so-called "gifted" classes were boring after elementary school. I finally went back to college later, on my own terms, and got to take the classes I wanted. If they could do this for kids I think it'd make a lot of difference. Anyhow, Congrats, Boinky! I hope your son will do very well in the gifted program, and if you don't feel that he does, you might want to look into other Magnet schools/programs later on. Try to give him access to a lot of fun and challenging things, like mind puzzles, models and legos (especially the ones with motors!), check out the Discovery Store, I think i'd have liked that place as a kid! :D Angela. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
boinky 0 #18 April 5, 2005 I LOVE the Discovery Store. So many cool things to "play" with.....Nina Are we called "DAWGs" because we stick our noses up people's butts? (RIP Buzz) Yep, you're a postwhore-billyvance Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
