r2i forum

As the G&T (gifted and talented) topic is touched in this thread I would mention a few dark secrets about it -

G&T children can regress in time.
G&T children can go through brain fog times.
G&T register in schools is often made of top 10% children hence many children go on and off the register while moving schools.
G&T children often have social and emotional maturity problems.
G&T children may have ASD/ADD - - not entirely sure how it affects their abilities at different stages.
Many G&T children find it difficult to have any best friend.

There is a good discussion on mumsnet.com - http://www.mumsnet.com/Talk/gifted_and_talented
about various aspects of G&T children.

Sometimes I wonder if G&T (academic sense) comes at the cost of brain development in other areas ?
A narrow beam of torch versus light of a lamp that spreads in all directions ?
Like expertise - knowing more and more of less and less ??????
Has anyone see the movie - A Beautiful mind ?

Any parents with children on G&T register please share your experiences.



ps : Admins, if this needs to be a separate thread please do the needful.

Starting a thread to discuss the topic of "Gifted and Talented" (GATE, TAG, G/T) programs in schools, as posts about it are distributed over multiple threads.

Gifted Education

[QUOTE]Gifted education (also known as Gifted and Talented Education (GATE), Talented and Gifted (TAG), or G/T) is a broad term for special practices, procedures and theories used in the education of children who have been identified as gifted or talented.

My son's school does not have a GATE or TAG program but has something else for which the students are tested at the beginning of school year in math and reading. This a very highly accelerated program and parents have no clue on the tests. Every year about 2-3 children get selected in each class from grades 1-5. I believe the test is very very challenging. I was initially very disappointed but now not worried when my kid did not get selected.

My daughter got into this. We tested her with IQ books before going for the test and she aced most of it, some of them I flunked badly so I was sure she would get thru. She gets special assignments which are hard. It is one or two grade levels higher. I like the way the teacher handles these kids. They are instructed not to show off and not discuss their assignments with other kids. It is a total contrast with Inidan schools how smart kids are put on pedastal.

SaiRamR2I;337871My son's school does not have a GATE or TAG program but has something else for which the students are tested at the beginning of school year in math and reading. This a very highly accelerated program and parents have no clue on the tests.

This may well be common knowledge but one of the best book series to help prepare your child for these G/T tests is the Critical Thinking Co - http://www.criticalthinking.com/parent/best_sellers.html
I have personally found these to be incredibly useful for kids in Grades 1-3.

The actualy utility of a G/T program is very variable - in many school districts it may not amount to much more than an extra class or two a week, - which in elementary school does not amount to much. Come middle school and high school and its a totally different ball game and G/T programs are typically on a different level of intensity altogether.

The testing may provide a parent some clues as to which domain to focus one's attention (e.g. vocabulary vs. math)

In my son's school they have TAG as well as advanced/accelerated program for language arts/reading and Math subjects.

During the beginning of the school year each kid is tested to find out where he/she stands. Based on that he is put in regular class/ advanced class or Accelerated class. Accelerated means studying the next grade curriculum.

My son attends both TAG and accelerated program in his school.

Also, the 3rd and 5th grade students have ITBS testing during the first semester. If they excell in that, then they may get selected for Duke TIP program.
Students are tested on the knowledge they have gathered from KG to their grade, all subjects.

Bumping up thread. Hope to see some more posts, especially in response to neesha's post #14.

Man;337894This may well be common knowledge but one of the best book series to help prepare your child for these G/T tests is the Critical Thinking Co - http://www.criticalthinking.com/parent/best_sellers.html
I have personally found these to be incredibly useful for kids in Grades 1-3. ...

Totally agree. I've found them very useful for all elementary school grades.

lalander;337892My daughter got into this. We tested her with IQ books before going for the test and she aced most of it, some of them I flunked badly so I was sure she would get thru. She gets special assignments which are hard. It is one or two grade levels higher. I like the way the teacher handles these kids. They are instructed not to show off and not discuss their assignments with other kids. It is a total contrast with Inidan schools how smart kids are put on pedastal.

Lalander,

My DD is going to take TAG test some time in Jan 2011. I would like to know the IQ books you have used to test your DD. Can you please share the names of the books if you don't mind? In which grade did your DD take TAG/GATE test?

I would appreciate your response.

I wish happy new year to all the members of R2I forum.

Cheers!
Shainy

Hello,
Has anyone's child taken the SCAT test from John Hopkins? I would like to know if there is any good study and prep material which I can buy or subscribe online. Also if the child passes in the test are the summer courses a great help for the next grade. I want my son to get better at language arts and hence I am looking at the SCAT option. He is currently in the 6th grade.

Thanks.

samrup;363576Hello, Has anyone's child taken the SCAT test from John Hopkins? [/quote]
My child took it, but in second or third grade. And she has taken some lang. arts courses since then.
[quote]I would like to know if there is any good study and prep material which I can buy or subscribe online. [/quote]
There is not much need for prep per se. The information booklet that they send after you apply for the test has some sample questions. But some practice will help in the child avoiding mistakes due to not being familiar. CriticalThinking.com carries some books for SCAT: http://www.criticalthinking.com/searchBykeyword.do?code=p&catalog=p&searchKey=School%20and%20College%20Abilities%20Test&directory=test I have got those books for the 6th grade level, and they are good (I didn't buy them for SCAT, these were part of a bigger bundle I got.).

The score the child gets in the SCAT test has two parts - Verbal and Quantitative/Math. For CTY's Lang. Arts courses, the Verbal score matters, so you may possibly want to only buy the Word Roots and Think Analogies books.
[quote]Also if the child passes in the test are the summer courses a great help for the next grade. [/quote]
I assume you are looking at the online courses that last 10-12 weeks. No, these courses are not a help for the next grade. I would say they are more of an excellent exposure for the child. Child reads 2 or 3 books and attempts to answer deep questions about it and discusses those with peers. Or, child learns something about the writing process with one-on-one feedback from an instructor. But, what is learnt and taught may not directly relate to the school curriculum of previous or next grade. It is like if the child attends a reputed local science camp for 3-5 weeks in the summer, they will learn a lot about science, one or two topics in depth, the scientific method etc., and their curiosity will be awakened, but it may not directly translate into a great help for science in the next grade.

The feedbacks and reviews from the instructors at JHU/CTY are very good, but I doubt the child will remember it and apply it during the next school year. In addition to the cost, the course requires a significant amount of time almost every day in the summer (more than what the course website suggests is needed). I would say the courses are useful to keep child occupied, expose him to online book discussions, make him read the prescribed books with more focus and having specific questions in mind and reduces the impact of child's mind getting rusty due to being away from school for 10 weeks of vacation.

[quote] I want my son to get better at language arts and hence I am looking at the SCAT option. He is currently in the 6th grade. ...

The SCAT is only a simple qualifying test (about 20 -30 minutes max). Maybe you mean you are looking at the lang. arts courses? If you can identify which parts of language arts (reading comp., grammar, writing, ...) you are looking to improve, and if there were any specific courses that looked interesting, I could provide some input.

Also, the child can mostly handle only one course at a time, even in summer. So, I don't think the whole hassle of preparing and taking the SCAT test for taking one summer course is worth it. The score of SCAT taken anytime in 2-6th grade is valid till the end of 7th grade.
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Have you looked at Stanford's EPGY program? I looked at their lang. arts courses briefly and looks good, but I don't know of anyone whose child has taken the lang. arts courses there. Couple of links:
http://epgy.stanford.edu/courses/english/RWL/
http://epgy.stanford.edu/courses/english/LAW/
I gathered that the courses start on the first of every month and are self-paced, and for about $500 the child can enroll in both courses, but not sure.