Are you a gifted parent?

[lovemykids]

I took it twice. Not because I moved or anything. The school administrators must have figured their scoring machine had broken, or something :lol:

 

Being disinclined to accept the reality of the situation they had me take it again. Just to annoy them I did a little better the second time :D

 

Bill

 

 

:smilielol5:

 

Way to go!

[LittleIzumi]

 

I would actually like to attempt the MENSA test (I know I'm not highly gifted, but I think I might be able to pass as one of the dumber members :tongue_smilie:), but my memory is just SHOT now. :( I can't remember words, can't figure problems out. It's very frustrating, all since having dd.

 

Exactly. I get NO sleep and haven't for about 5 years (second shift job + kids) and now it's really hard to remember stuff. Hopefully if I can pay off enough debt to stay home I can start to rediscover my brain cells. Teaching dd helps--she's a science buff like me.

[EthiopianFood]

Teaching dd helps--she's a science buff like me.

 

I think part of why I'm so excited about homeschooling, so interested in choosing curricula, is that I'm looking forward to LEARNING something again! The motivation just isn't there when it is "only" for me. :glare:

[Amy Jo]

I was tested, although I don't know my IQ. I did the pull-out crap, although school was still always so easy. I almost always got 99% on those standardized tests (1-2 98%s). I obviously wasn't THAT smart though, because I didn't realize until I was an adult that this was a ranking, not a percentage correct. I always thought, gosh, why do I always get at least one question wrong?? DUH. :lol:

 

I would actually like to attempt the MENSA test (I know I'm not highly gifted, but I think I might be able to pass as one of the dumber members :tongue_smilie:), but my memory is just SHOT now. :( I can't remember words, can't figure problems out. It's very frustrating, all since having dd.

 

:iagree:I always scored 98-99% too. Does that count for anything? I wouldn't mind challenging the MENSA test, but paying $60/year for bragging rights? Plus my brain is shot too - maybe it will come back when DD sleeps all night?

[EthiopianFood]

:iagree:I always scored 98-99% too. Does that count for anything? I wouldn't mind challenging the MENSA test, but paying $60/year for bragging rights? Plus my brain is shot too - maybe it will come back when DD sleeps all night?

 

They actually have a sample test that you can take at home, then send in to be scored. I want to figure out some sort of game plan to sharpen up my skills a little before I waste my money on that though. I found a mini sample test online, which was interesting. Those "what number comes next in the series" questions leave me :001_huh:.

 

I guess my dd doesn't consistently sleep through the night, so there is some hope for my future? My brain doesn't seem to work even when I DO sleep well though....

[kalanamak]

 

If someone took the SAT before 1994, a score over 1250 qualifies for MENSA. You can estimate your IQ from your SAT score here.

 

I looked there at the GRE scores (I never took an SAT or ACT). Mine does not stack up. I do not have an IQ of 150, but I have a highly developed ability to apply the seat of my pants to the seat of my chair (study). I memorized the book Essential Mathematics for College Students. I compiled vocab lists from every "Study for the..." book I could find. I studied during my free time for a year. I do not buy that my IQ got me that score. (No, no, no, she says stomping her foot.)

[Capt_Uhura]

So there seems to be a number here who tested as gifted as kids.

 

1) Do gifted adults homeschool in greater numbers b/c they feel more able to do it effectively?

2) Do gifted adults gravitate towards a classical philosophy of homeschooling and hence end up here?

3) Are only the gifted folk posting in this thread?

 

The poll doesn't have a not-gifted option.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Capt_Uhura

[stripe]

I took it twice. Not because I moved or anything. The school administrators must have figured their scoring machine had broken, or something :lol:

 

Snort. Reminds me of myself, and I think it was...the exact same test. Cough.

 

Not unlike some state test we had to take every year, which had a question "What is longitude?" followed by "What is latitude?" -- getting a bit flustered, I finally decided to hedge my bets and say the same for both. Alas, when the same test was given the next year, I tended to have the same reaction....

[AuntPol]

The poll doesn't have a not-gifted option.

 

That was the first thing I noticed.

[Renee in NC]

That was the first thing I noticed.

 

Self-selecting bias? :lol:

[Carrie12345]

 

If someone took the SAT before 1994, a score over 1250 qualifies for MENSA. You can estimate your IQ from your SAT score here.

 

Oh, I don't know about that! I got a 1270 in 1994, and I can't imagine myself as MENSA material! I do think I'm smarter than more than 50% of the people I come in contact with, but 98-point-something? Not so much! :lol:

[cin]

No one who knows me, except perhaps my husband and my mother, would ever believe my score was in the 140s! :lol:

 

 

 

This is me. exactly. I'm either an underacheiver, or my gift lies in working out puzzles.

[Ravin]

So there seems to be a number here who tested as gifted as kids.

 

1) Do gifted adults homeschool in greater numbers b/c they feel more able to do it effectively?

2) Do gifted adults gravitate towards a classical philosophy of homeschooling and hence end up here?

3) Are only the gifted folk posting in this thread?

 

The poll doesn't have a not-gifted option.

 

I was in GT in 2nd-4th grade, and my parents put me in private school in 5th-7th because I was bored to tears. Dad has told me they wanted me to skip 3rd, but they didn't think I was socially ready (I am DEFINITELY NOT gifted socially, lol!). I did skip 8th, then went to TAMS, a concurrent high-school/college program in Texas, my junior year--where I was NOT the brightest kid around anymore, and had plenty of intelligent conversation, and got a well-rounded social life for the first time, and discovered I had absolutely ZERO study skills.

 

I test well. That doesn't always mean I'm a high achiever. I'm not terribly ambitious, or career motivated. I'm a dabbler, and not terribly interested in specializing intellectually, so I wasn't motivated to go to grad school. I'm planning on going to law school entirely because I'm sick of being poor.

 

1) I don't know that I think I can do it effectively because I'm gifted. If anything, having an average child means the main gift I need is patience, because she doesn't get things as quickly as I'd expect her to if she was mini-me.

 

2) No idea, but I know when I first read WTM a light bulb went on and I thought, "This would have been perfect for me when I was a kid!" because it would have addressed the gaps I see in my K-12 education, and prepared me in a way PS didn't for university-level work.

 

3)No idea.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Ravin

[AuntieM]

Interesting chart! I checked my test scores on both the SAT/IQ and the GRE/IQ correlations, and they both matched my S/B IQ test scores within a couple of points.

 

Jackie

 

Mine too, that's wild! I think it's pretty funny that I can actually remember my SAT score from that long ago (1980).

[Heidi @ Mt Hope]

I had this conversation with my sister and parents last night. I participated in a TAG program in elementary school and consistantly scored in the 95-99th% on standardized testing. I don't remember taking any other tests. I voted that I attended a gifted program. BUT, I don't consider myself gifted. Bright, maybe. Gifted, no.

[PiCO]

:lol:

 

If someone took the SAT before 1994, a score over 1250 qualifies for MENSA. You can estimate your IQ from your SAT score here.

 

This is how I gained membership to MENSA (or rather, my mother applied for me...)

 

My IQ as tested when I was a child was not good enough to get into MENSA.

 

To get into MENSA, you have to test in the top 2% on any number of tests, which actually lets in a LOT more than 2% of the population.

[AuntieM]

I voted that I was not tested, because I don't remember that, but I assume that they test the kids and that is what lands them in the gifted programs?

 

Andrea, my ADD has always masked my true brilliance! Gifted and ADD together made homework and busy-work torture.

 

Yes, in my case. Waaaaay back in 1974 I was part of my school district's pilot program. Following 5th grade standardized testing, I was selected for additional written testing. Then I spent a full day at the school district offices with test proctors and psychologists for both written and oral tests and interviews. Quite a weird thing for a kid. I later learned that 22 of us had been identified in the district, and in subsequent school years we were each enrolled in one of two area schools for the new G/T program.

 

What's interesting to me is that, at the beginning, the group consisted of kids that I could sense were high-level thinkers (and left me wondering what *I* was doing there! I did a lot of listening...). I mean, some of those kids were profoundly gifted. As the years went on, and I was a G/T student through high school, the program got a little wider, a bit larger. I realized that many of the new students entering were more diligent than anything else. They were terrific students with killer study habits, but they didn't seem to process thoughts at the same level as the kids early on. We didn't have the same types of conversations that we did in those early years. I'm not saying that's a bad thing, I think it's just an observation of the effect of the changing definition of giftedness.

[CAMom]

The chart wasn't accurate for me, comparing my SAT scores (at 14, that's the only time I took it) and my early childhood IQ tests. It was over 20 points off. I wonder if it was because I took the SAT at a relatively young age though.

 

Could it also mean you're just not a good test taker? I hope so because my 1986 SAT scores pretty much mean I'm brain dead according to that chart. I'm certainly not gifted but I do think I'm "slightly above average smart.":)

[cjbeach]

My dh is highly gifted, as is his brother.

They are both HUGE homeschool advocates because of the issues they faced with their gifts in education. They both had really terrible school experiences. DH actually dropped out and obtained his GED.

My BIL has said time and time again he believes he would be in a different place in his life (which means: he does nothing right now) if he had been homeschooled. The social pressure at school and the "politics" of school was far too much for him. He wanted an education, but not in a school atmosphere.

Edited March 7, 2010 by cjbeach
typo

[lovemykids]

I looked there at the GRE scores (I never took an SAT or ACT). Mine does not stack up. I do not have an IQ of 150, but I have a highly developed ability to apply the seat of my pants to the seat of my chair (study). I memorized the book Essential Mathematics for College Students. I compiled vocab lists from every "Study for the..." book I could find. I studied during my free time for a year. I do not buy that my IQ got me that score. (No, no, no, she says stomping her foot.)

 

Exactly, it doesn’t take a high IQ to get good grades. It does require good study skills, attention to detail, a work ethic, etc. It also may require social skills such as being able to read your professor and know what they want from a student. Let’s face it; many grades are subjective, like with writing essays. It helps to know thy teacher. Also, many honors students end up doing nothing special with their life, just like many people with high IQs. So what do high IQs mean exactly? Reasoning skills. Where does that leave us? Hmm. Honestly, I don’t know. I suppose it gives some advantage but I wouldn’t put a whole lot of stock into it.

 

It is surprising to see so many gifted individuals with so many gifted children.

[Jenny in Atl]

I voted yes but I am not. DH is. I voted for him.

 

Ditto!

[KidsHappen]

I was pulled out for the gifted program in school, carried a 4.0 GPA throughout my entire pre college school career and later tested at a respectable I.Q. of 126. Not quite genius but not quite as dumb as I feel either. I never took the SAT but I did extraordinarily well on my ASVAP, graducated cum laude and was a member of Phi Betta Kappa at one time.

 

MY hubby only got a 1050 on his SAT (I have no idea what happend there, maybe he doesn't test well) but his I.Q is 144 and he did well on all military tests, and graducate with a slightly higher GPA than I did. He is much smarter than I am though. I think age has been kinder to him or there really is something to losing brain cells with each child.

[Orthodox6]

Results of testing are what landed me in the early 1960s equivalent of "TAG" programs, where I remained throughout school. Probably this ensured me a higher quality academic education. My IQ (a questionable measure anyway) is upper level for "very superior" (one level below the top). In terms of characteristics of lasting importance in life, being "gifted" bestows nothing of value, within my viewpoint.

[Lovedtodeath]

 

In terms of characteristics of lasting importance in life, being "gifted" bestows nothing of value, within my viewpoint.

:iagree:Hmmm... though I have found every job I have had to be extremely easy, in contrast with my coworkers and subordinates. (We need a thinking man smiley.) I still got in trouble though, for being late all of the time. :o

[Crimson Wife]

It opens up a wider range of opportunities, but the individual has to be willing to take advantage of those.

 

I was on the "fast track" in my career and had I made different choices would probably be considered by mainstream society as having lived up to my potential. But I had different priorities and am very happy to be "just" a SAHM with "only" a bachelor's. :D

[Orthodox6]

In my own case, the equation has been "Gifted + ADHD = useless". The latter obliterates the former.

Edited March 7, 2010 by Orthodox6

[vkay]

When in Kindergarten I was tested and knew a lot of words that rhymed with "bear", after that I was in the gifted program. :lol: Does that count?? lol To this day, I can still perform at that amazing level!! ;)

[Joanne]

:lol:

 

If someone took the SAT before 1994, a score over 1250 qualifies for MENSA. You can estimate your IQ from your SAT score here.

 

That was cool. I don't remember my SAT, but I used my GRE which I took recently.

 

Imagine if I studied. :lol:

 

OTOH, how can that measure IQ when it is a largely a function of study and not intelligence?

[Irene Lynn]

I was never tested and neither was my daughter. I don't know if my dh was, but there were no gifted services anyway. I don't have paper proof of anything, so I won't post in the poll.

[lovemyboys]

The chart wasn't accurate for me, comparing my SAT scores (at 14, that's the only time I took it) and my early childhood IQ tests. It was over 20 points off. I wonder if it was because I took the SAT at a relatively young age though.

 

Same thing for me. I had the IQ a couple times at different ages and as an adult once, very consistent -- but those scores don't match up with the SAT. But I was terrified of the SAT, so maybe that was part of it.

 

But it's interesting to have dc who are gifted differently -- makes for a challenge -- especially where we're not gifted in what the other is.

[radiobrain]

 

OTOH, how can that measure IQ when it is a largely a function of study and not intelligence?

 

IQ is not necessarily a function of study.... I got a 31 on my ACT that I took in 10th grade~ I not only didn't study and stayed up all night before...I also took educated guesses on most of the math portion.

 

I remember also that when I did the "testing" when I was 8 they asked a question I had never even thought of in my life, and that I was thinking about that question through the rest of the test (it probably effected other answers), it drove me crazy!!... so how valid is my actual number? I also highly doubt that I could score as well on anything now. My brain seems to be not only going through phases of atrophy, I seem to be developing some ADD-like issues. Or maybe I have always been this goofy! :D

[radiobrain]

I just realized I must have read that statement I was responding to wrong.

 

I swear my brain is going on strike....

[Catwoman]

When in Kindergarten I was tested and knew a lot of words that rhymed with "bear", after that I was in the gifted program. :lol: Does that count?? lol To this day, I can still perform at that amazing level!! ;)

 

Quit bragging!!! You're making the rest of us feel stupid!!! ;):D

 

Cat

[EthiopianFood]

I just realized I must have read that statement I was responding to wrong.

 

I swear my brain is going on strike....

 

Welcome to the I USED to be Gifted Club.... ! :lol:

[EthiopianFood]

Has anyone here taken the MENSA test? I'm sort of looking for tips on how to study. :o My brain is currently as dull as a... well, I can't think of an analogy, that's why I need to study. :D

[shinyhappypeople]

n terms of characteristics of lasting importance in life, being "gifted" bestows nothing of value, within my viewpoint.

 

:iagree:

 

I enjoy being able to learn easily. But, really, at the end of the day all it really means is that unless I land on the NYT bestseller list I'm "underachieving" or "not living up to my potential." :tongue_smilie: Too much pressure.

 

And even then, there'd be someone to saying some **** about "Well, with your IQ, you could also do XYZ. Get busy." At that point, rather than just muttering "bite me" under my breath, I would be tempted to literally do it. I am obviously not socially gifted. :D

 

The other thing is that when people know it makes me afraid to make mistakes in front of them. Heaven help me if there are any typos or grammatical errors in this post.

 

I do think that it's helped somewhat in my confidence in approaching homeschooling. Education isn't this big, scary, intimidating thing to me.

[shinyhappypeople]

Welcome to the I USED to be Gifted Club.... ! :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

[lovemykids]

When in Kindergarten I was tested and knew a lot of words that rhymed with "bear", after that I was in the gifted program. :lol: Does that count?? lol To this day, I can still perform at that amazing level!! ;)

:smilielol5:

 

 

 

Quit bragging!!! You're making the rest of us feel stupid!!! ;):D

 

:rofl:

 

Cat

 

Welcome to the I USED to be Gifted Club.... ! :lol:

 

Yes, that pretty much sums it up. Too funny!

[OhM]

:lol:

 

If someone took the SAT before 1994, a score over 1250 qualifies for MENSA. You can estimate your IQ from your SAT score here.

 

This chart puts me 10 pts lower than I was measured (w/Stanford-Binet, I believe). Maybe good news for some?

Edited March 8, 2010 by OhM

[lovemykids]

This chart puts me 10 pts lowered than I was measured (w/Stanford-Binet, I believe). Maybe good news for some?

 

Aw, no I don’t think that it’s good news for anyone. I don’t know what your score is but I am sure that you are very intelligent. Having someone tell you that you are measured at a certain “level†and then having it knocked down is a little disturbing. Argh. :glare:

 

:grouphug:

 

I just couldn't help but laugh at the posts above, too cute. :)

[Aubrey]

So there seems to be a number here who tested as gifted as kids.

 

1) Do gifted adults homeschool in greater numbers b/c they feel more able to do it effectively?

 

I imagine they have more of a "No way are my kids going to go through those hoops" mentality. Maybe not "I can do SO much better," but "How could I possibly do worse?"

 

2) Do gifted adults gravitate towards a classical philosophy of homeschooling and hence end up here?

 

When I found out I was expecting my first, I thought I was going to have to write my own curric--I'd always planned to--but suddenly I only had 5yrs & 9mos to get it done, lol.

 

I sat in the library for over 8hrs reading every hs'ing book there from cover to cover, even though I'd been familiar w/ hs'ing & hs'ing families my whole life.

 

Do you know what was there? Awful stuff. Books that said maybe your kids aren't meant to go to college. Maybe not, but you don't decide that FOR your kids in 3rd g by limiting their education & exposure. Good gracious! Yuck!

 

And then I found WTM. It was everything I'd ever wanted in an education--mostly? A checklist for making sure I didn't miss anything. Really, though, given a full range of choices, I'd expect WTM to be more appealing to exceptionally intelligent, hard-working AP type parents, while gifted parents might feel a little pinned down by the book, esp some of the recommended resources.

 

Nevertheless, to my knowledge (esp 10 yrs ago), there was nothing remotely on the same playing field w/ WTM. Everything else I read was HIGHLY religious & anti-academic.

 

Let me explain. I am gifted, but I have been raised in a religious denomination that pits faith against academics quite often. I went to a private school run by my church for a couple of yrs that was even more boring than ps, & during that time, one of the leaders' wives decided that I should be in a grade appropriate to my age & worked to have me held back. When she succeeded, my mom pulled me out, & I began hs'ing myself.

 

Hence my...reticence...to hs for religious reasons. I am deeply religious, but in very incomprehensible ways (w/in my faith community). I work very hard to keep my mouth shut most of the time. :D

 

3) Are only the gifted folk posting in this thread?

 

I think some people have mentioned not being gifted. I imagine many non-identified or non-gifted would be put off by such a thread, though, & possibly feel unwelcome.

 

Giftedness is not explained, to my knowledge, even to those who are so defined. Between that & the relative lack of research in the field, it's not surprising that it's often misunderstood & brings feelings of ill-will. I think that's extremely unfortunate.

 

:001_smile:

Edited March 8, 2010 by Aubrey

[OhM]

Aw, no I don’t think that it’s good news for anyone. I don’t know what your score is but I am sure that you are very intelligent. Having someone tell you that you are measured at a certain “level†and then having it knocked down is a little disturbing. Argh. :glare:

 

 

My (tongue-in-cheek) point was if that SAT chart has you at a certian level, you may be 10 points higher. As my brain cells seem to be burning out at an ever increasing rate, I'll take "intelligence" wherever I can find it!:D

[lovemykids]

Oh, I misunderstood. That is good news then.

 

Aubrey,

I do not have feelings of ill will at all. I know that you are not directly speaking to me; however, I just would like to make that point known. I did find a post or two funny though. And I believe that certain people are laughing about their own giftedness or lack of it today, being that they were diagnosed so long ago.

(lol “diagnosed” sounds like an illness- tested-categorized, you know what I mean)

Edited March 8, 2010 by lovemykids
(apparent)

[Renee in NC]

Oh, I misunderstood. That is good news then.

 

Aubrey,

I do not have feelings of ill will at all. I know that you are not directly speaking to me; however, I just would like to make that point known. I did find a post or two funny though. And I believe that certain people are laughing about their own giftedness or lack of it today, being that they were diagnosed so long ago.

(lol “diagnosed†sounds like an illness- tested-categorized, you know what I mean)

 

I think diagnosed is a good word!:D

 

And I do think each child and each decade takes something away...I am *definitely* on the downhill slide!:lol:

[Aubrey]

Oh, I misunderstood. That is good news then.

 

Aubrey,

I do not have feelings of ill will at all. I know that you are not directly speaking to me; however, I just would like to make that point known. I did find a post or two funny though. And I believe that certain people are laughing about their own giftedness or lack of it today, being that they were diagnosed so long ago.

(lol “diagnosed” sounds like an illness- tested-categorized, you know what I mean)

 

No, I was talking about the general population--by no means *everybody.* But the othe thread indicates that there's a lot of...passionate feeling surrounding the topic. Some from gifted people who have been mistreated or misunderstood; some from others who are off-put by either a lack of information about giftedness or, perhaps quite reasonably, the term itself.

 

Maybe that's even one of the reasons it's not talked about--it's uncomfortable. :001_smile:

 

ETA: Oh, I see. I was just answering Q #3. Are only gifted people replying? Nope, I don't think so, but if it seems like it's mostly gifted talking, here's probably why.

[cathmom]

I think diagnosed is a good word!:D

 

And I do think each child and each decade takes something away...I am *definitely* on the downhill slide!:lol:

 

I was thinking that last night - Lord knows how I would do on on IQ test today after seven kids and years of sleep deprivation LOL!!!!

[Slartibartfast]

I tested into a gifted program in school and was in it through high school.

 

I don't know how well I would do now as little sleep as I get. :lol:

Edited March 9, 2010 by Sis

[Jean in Newcastle]

I was tested in jr. high school. My mom refused to tell me my score.

 

That said, I started college at 17 and tutored every single one of my college classes while I took them. I was the top of my major at my university and got an award. So possibly? Or possibly the fact that I went to a college prep school for high school that prepared me very well and my major wasn't all that strenuous, means that I'm not.

 

I didn't learn to study until grad. school though when I took Greek.

[angela in ohio]

I was tested and placed into the program on elementary school (about 5 kiddos out of a class of about 160, so probably a true gifted program.) I also participated in MATS in junior high. I voted the first option. DH was not identified in school, but is obviously gifted.

 

The SAT chart gives me a higher IQ than I have. But I took Latin in high school, so my SAT score was probably better than I deserved. :D

[Peela]

Wow, I hadn't even considered it but yes, my grandmother was a child psychologist and counsellor and insisted I was tested when young...but, I was young, only about 5 or 6 I think. It was probably more an IQ test- I wasnt told the result. My grandmother has spent all my life since then until recently (she is still alive, 90 years old, but now has Alzheimers) telling me I am wasting all my talents because I didn't become an academic or get some big career beause I was so gifted (no one else in the family copped that, but I was first born on both sides of the famiy)- because that's how she valued herself and others.

 

And yes...even though my IQ is far from genius and my emotional IQ lagged behind by a couple of decades...I did feel confident enough to homeschool, when many others don't. I just felt capable. I hae always felt I could do whaever I wanted...if I only knew what I wanted :)