A 6-year-old smarter than Einstein?

[~Jenn~]

Since you're wondering what else he does (or I care about), his newest accomplishment is in swimming! He's in an Advanced level class--there are only three kids now in his age range (out of well over 100!) who are that high, and he can join the swim team this summer.

 

To be specific..this is they type of comment I was referring to. Instead of just saying "He's really taken to swimming and is doing quite well at it...we're very proud" there has to be that extra addition to the comment to make it perfectly clear just how well he's doing and how advanced he is.

 

Ds currently has a passion for Chess. When I discuss it with others I just say "He really loves to play and has just taken to the game!". I acknowledge and respond to compliments as thoughtfully as I can. Now, with all fairness, I could say "Ds is currently rated as one of the top players for his age group in the country and has been referred to by some in the chess world as a prodigy." just so they know exactly how good he is But I don't, because quite frankly, it would sound rather arrogant.

 

Like I said, I'm new here and this is only something that I've observed in your posts over the past couple of days so I could be completely off base and I apologize if I am. I'm going to bow out of this conversation though so as not to cause any trouble.:)

 

Best wishes!

[Storm Bay]

What REALLY gets me is that people will simultaneously say. "Well, what really matters is hard work!" and then instantly add, "It's inappropriate to teach a Kindergartener modern physics under any circumstances."

.

 

 

Well, since this started with me mentioning my dh, and I don't think Pam is arguing against homeschooling--just pointing out that gifted kids can have fun in ps kindergarten, I'll jump in. It's not whether or not they should go to K, just that not all h/g or even p/g kids are bored there because they're kids and they're having fun. Not all of them will become less tolerant--children, like adults, don't all react exactly the same way. And technically you could do advanced Physics, etc at home and still do a 1/2 day kindergarten. Have you read Gifted Grownups? You might find that interesting.

 

As for my dh, he doesn't couple those two statements together as you seem to have found so often. Naturally, you can't learn to work hard with academic things that are far too easy for you. But working hard is more than academics. Chores, even boring, repetitious ones, are important, and this is better done at home, IMO. If all my kids get is fun, stimulating intellectual work, then they'll never be equipped to clean their own bathrooms. I'm sure you are aware of this, but it's part of character building. You're doing this with math to some degree already; your ds has to do his elementary math if he wants to do NEM. But, like many kids, he grasps those concepts, but still has to review seemingly simple things like telling time. It's very normal to forget how to tell time if you're not doing it every day.

 

Now I say all this, but I personally loathe ps. I spent most of my years in it hating it, even though I had fun the first few years--mostly social and I loved my teachers. I couldn't wait to get there. I try not to state my strong aversion to ps, because some people love it, but the first time I heard the word homeschool I loved the entire concept. It took dh longer on that one. I know full well that ps was not in my best interests, but there I was for most of my schooling years.

[Catwoman]

(Shaving cream is the best way to clean the fronts of large appliances. BTW. No better way to do it when you have little kids.)

 

I didn't know that! Any special brand?

 

Cat

[Donna]

Reya..

 

Wow. I'm new here but this whole gifted subject seems to be really, really, really, super duper important to you. Wow.

 

Ds has been professionally assessed and falls in the exceptionally - profoundly gifted range but to me that's just a tiny bit of who he is. I also realize that in all honestly..nobody (except perhaps myself, my husband and the grandparents) really gives a hoot how smart ds is.

 

From reading the posts of yours that I've come across the only thing you seem to want to work into every topic is to reinforce just how gifted they are.

 

I do hope for their sakes you see them for more than just their intelligence. If you put soooo much energy into reassuring yourself that they really are the most gifted children on the planet you're going to miss out on the rest of them.

 

 

Jenn,

 

I know you are new to the board so I just wanted to let you know that this board it supposed to be a "safe" place to discuss our children's achievements, gifts, and talents without judgement. I understand what you are saying about not always discussing what your child is capable of in the general public but this board is one of the only places where I, and many of the rest of us, can feel safe talking about what our children are doing.

 

I also understand that when posting someone may feel the need to qualify her responses by saying what her kids are doing and why she feels a certain way. She isn't going to interject into every topic everything her children are doing or all the reasons she feels they are special. When posting a response on a board I often do the same thing...this is where we are and this is why I feel this way on the topic...it is a way of trying to post a complete response for those who may not know you or understand you position but also be as brief as possible.

 

We are all complicated people and that cannot come out in what we write on a message board.

 

Welome to the board and congrats. Wow! You must be so proud of him for being so great at chess!

[Rebecca in VA]

Hey, ~Jenn~, I visited both your blog and your photography website, and I have to say that your photography is STUNNING! It's the most thoughtful and altogether beautiful I've ever seen. (I'm not kidding -- if you are ever in northern Virginia, I'd love to meet up with you and have you photograph our family.) Your little boy is adorable. We're lucky to have you with us, and I look forward to hearing more about your homeschooling journey.

[Jen500]

Welcome to the boards, ~Jenn~, I've really appreciated your posts.:001_smile:

[SunshineMom]

I want to thank everyone for participating on this board. Hearing others' homeschool experiences help me feel that I am on the right path following a unique style of teaching my children. I have learned a ton from everyone. Jenn, I hear and appreciate your point of view on humility. I know for myself I can get "wowed" by my children, can post something here and feel that it is okay. I am (others here too) surely are not competing for the "smartest kid in the world" title but I do want to share our experiences since I cannot with most.

[Nan in Mass]

We thought that it would be the easiest way to get to know the children his age in town. We thought he would learn to go to school in case he ever had to, having watched a few people struggle with this when they were sent to school for the first time in high school. We thought he would learn to deal with a greater variety of people than he would staying at home with me. Then we continued to send him to do gym at school until he was about in 4th grade. Among other things, he learned how stupid some people are, and how mean people can be (both sad but valuable lessons), and that he prefered to play active games with the child with aspergers because he was much more sensible, and he prefered to be teamed up with the quite slow child in gym because he was the only one who were truly trying to follow the directions and be good. An aid took the more advanced children aside during counting and reading and helped them at whatever level they were at. He learned to be patient with the general public the rest of the time, which was very useful. He is the youngest, so it was good to have to help others and wait for them and learn to daydream through the unuseful bits of the day. He learned some useful protective camoflage. I don't think it would have been good for him to continue in public school, but kindergarten was good. I think it depends on the child, of course, and the kindergarten, and the other students. Mine wasn't the only one who could read, for example, which was also a useful lesson. It is probably different for the profoundly gifted. As I keep saying GRIN, mine are only brightish.

-Nan

[~Jenn~]

Thanks for the welcome ladies:).

 

I'm really enjoying these boards and do apologize again if I stepped over the line.:)

 

Rebecca - thanks so much for your kind words..I'll be sure to let you know if I'm ever going to be in your part of the world!

[Karenciavo]

Thanks for the welcome ladies.

I'm really enjoying these boards and do apologize again if I stepped over the line.

 

You didn't do anything wrong. Welcome. :001_smile:

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Because those things are SO hard to learn outside of Kindergarten! I bet he learns socialization, too, along with a big heaping serving of underachievement and standing in line!

 

This sounds like the arguments against homeschooling. Who learns to make noises like a firetruck in Kindergarten or is prevented from doing so by not attending? Plants seeds? Opens milk cartons? It's pretty sad if that's the first time a kid has done those things or if a kid is dependent on Kindergarten for those experiences.

 

I hope this is a joke!

 

(Shaving cream is the best way to clean the fronts of large appliances. BTW. No better way to do it when you have little kids.)

 

My DS mostly refined his manipulative abilities in K. And he was 3 years old. Sure, he cut and colored and cooked and the like. But we do those things at home.

 

This most certainly was not a joke. This is the way our family chose to educate our gifted son, and it was the correct choice for our family. And yes, the poor underachieving child, who continues to manage to hang onto a full tuition scholarship to a selective college and who scored 2370 on his SAT's. Had he been kept home for K and not dual-enrolled in Calvert ATS grade school at the time, I suppose we wouldn't still be wondering about those other 30 points on the rather subjective new writing portion of the exam. Oh,and perhaps his National Merit Scholarship might have come through the elusive College Board, and not from his school every year. One wonders.

 

Somehow, with all his underachievement, he's muddled through a 3-year stint as a professional musician, living and working and schooling away from home as a middle schooler. He's now a fairly functional member of society, depending on the day. :-P Somehow he finds his way socially as he tackles the issue of alcohol consumption school-wide as he represents his fraternity as one of the several non-drinkers there -- peer pressure, ya know. Good that his motor dyspraxia isn't as significant as it once was since he, oh, I dunno, went to *kindergarten* for three and a half hours five days a week when I was too hung over with postpartum depression to work on that and do Calvert and manage to nurse and care for a constantly screaming allergic baby and deal with an active duty husband who was also getting his degree full-time at USC and teach and volunteer and work part time and sing and on and on.

 

And these are certainly *not* arguments against home education. I'm an avid fan of home education when it benefits the child, as it has two of mine full time and a third part-time currently. We certainly could have found other avenues for our children to play and share and enjoy themselves, bright or average or slow as they may be in comparison to some. Some folks adore doing kindergarten at home with their only children. They are not battling Crazy like I was, or have daughters that ate and breathed their Kindergarten Bliss. But those are the avenues that WE chose, and I was answering, if you'll notice, a SPECIFIC question from another poster who asked what in the world such a especially gifted (??) 6 y/o child might gain from kindergarten.

 

I realize, Reya, that you have all the best answers for your own child. That is as it should be. But I did just fine making choices for mine, none of which were a joke nor made without forethought and none of which I regret. Sweet that your son's manipulative skills were well-honed when he was three. Sweet that he's everything you ever imagined a 6 y/o could be and more. That's truly wonderful. But please don't minimize my choices for my child as a joke or a poor decision. I don't appreciate it, and I think it's rather disingenuous for you to once again come off like you have all the answers for every child, gifted or not, when your experience in terms of years and children educated thus far is rather limited at best.

 

Last bit, then I'll quit. When ds was home from college last summer, he heard our conversations about having the youngest dd tested so that she could attend K early because dh did not want her waiting (already reading, math skill mastery, looking down the road, etc). I wasn't a big fan of having the testing done because a) early testing is not reliable and b) she's my baby, and I'm not exactly hung up anymore on what grade one of my children is in or if she starts formalized schooling now or later. Besides, we were told that children are never given a waiver and that while they couldn't actually *refuse* us testing, it was not going to be in our "favor," so really we should not bother with it.

 

I'm also less certain that this starting early of formal schooling is a good thing in general for small children, brilliant or dull, and I was sharing my concerns. I mentioned that dh might consider a year of formal homeschooling for "kindergarten" and just meeting her where she is academically, yada yada. (He's the full-time stay-at-home parent for this one, so he, as a fairly bright man in his own right who holds her interests as dear to his heart as I do to mine, has the bulk of the say in this matter. And this is the first time he's made these decisions for one of the children, so he and I differed a bit as to what was the wisest path for her as an individual.) Options of Calvert, WTM, K12 in pieces to match her levels, etc, floated through the conversation.

 

Ds heard us, as I said, and he pulled me aside and begged me to PLEASE allow Addie to attend public kindergarten. Because, he says, she should not miss that experience. Such fun! No pressure! And you do Normal stuff with Normal kids."

 

Uh, ok. Thanks for the feedback, son.

 

Later in the day, elder dd pulled me aside and also asked me to reconsider if I was thinking of homeschooling kindergarten. "You can't," says she. "Too much to miss, with the stories and the naps and the playdough and the giggles and the songs and the friends. Homeschool her later for first grade. EVERYbody should go to kindergarten."

 

Oh.

 

So that, from the mouths of our quite bright eldest who asked the Big Questions about life when he was four and so sat there on the scary gifted scale as a little guy, and our daughter whom we worried was "slow" but actually was "simply" dyslexic and hearing deficient and who now because of carefully orchestrated, rigorous home schooling outpaces her high honors brother academically compared to his rigorous high school years at every point at this phase of her life and who certainly is at least a teensy bit gifted, wherever she falls on the scale and who manage to achieve a high honors GPA, a leader in her dorm, on a varsity team, studio artist, mountaineering aficionado and blah blah blahbuhtiblah, TYVM, despite having been negatively socialized by those nasty public school kindergartens and having stood in line more than once. Good people, the both of them, despite their joke of a beginning.

 

And little bitty, who they did, to their surprise, find they need to make accommodations for this year and who we put on the big scary bus every day to ride two minutes to school? She's doing just fine, too. I'll match her level of curiosity and continued love of learning with anybody's, any day. Next year is still up in the air. We decide educational choice each year, for each child. Because it's a Big Fat Hairy Deal in our house, that our children be properly educated according to their individual bent. So we'll see.

 

Yay, for home! Yay, for traditional kindergarten! Yay, for Montessori and Waldorf! Yay, for running around like a Wild Thing in the grass and explore and expand and devour picture books and nature and informal science, then learning to read and formally cipher when you're eight, even though some day you're destined to graduate from Oxford with the equivalent of a double major and discover the solution to Peak Oil because you're so stinkin' brilliant and, more importantly, know how to work hard and pay attention and think.

 

Yay, for freedom of educational choice for thinking parents everywhere. Yes, even on a Classical Education message board.

Edited April 1, 2009 by Pam "SFSOM" in TN

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

I didn't know that! Any special brand?

 

Cat

 

Barbasol. In the striped can. Remind them not to rub their eyes, though.

[Pam "SFSOM" in TN]

Well, since this started with me mentioning my dh, and I don't think Pam is arguing against homeschooling--just pointing out that gifted kids can have fun in ps kindergarten, I'll jump in. It's not whether or not they should go to K, just that not all h/g or even p/g kids are bored there because they're kids and they're having fun. Not all of them will become less tolerant--children, like adults, don't all react exactly the same way. And technically you could do advanced Physics, etc at home and still do a 1/2 day kindergarten. Have you read Gifted Grownups? You might find that interesting.

 

As for my dh, he doesn't couple those two statements together as you seem to have found so often. Naturally, you can't learn to work hard with academic things that are far too easy for you. But working hard is more than academics. Chores, even boring, repetitious ones, are important, and this is better done at home, IMO. If all my kids get is fun, stimulating intellectual work, then they'll never be equipped to clean their own bathrooms. I'm sure you are aware of this, but it's part of character building. You're doing this with math to some degree already; your ds has to do his elementary math if he wants to do NEM. But, like many kids, he grasps those concepts, but still has to review seemingly simple things like telling time. It's very normal to forget how to tell time if you're not doing it every day.

 

Now I say all this, but I personally loathe ps. I spent most of my years in it hating it, even though I had fun the first few years--mostly social and I loved my teachers. I couldn't wait to get there. I try not to state my strong aversion to ps, because some people love it, but the first time I heard the word homeschool I loved the entire concept. It took dh longer on that one. I know full well that ps was not in my best interests, but there I was for most of my schooling years.

 

I loathed public school as well. Oh, let me count the ways. It was sheer torture for all but two and a half of the years.

 

But kindergarten wasn't one of the torture years. Another year was a briliant teacher that let me work on level, but skipped me ahead at the half year. (Stupid move. I was still ahead, but everyone was older and hitting puberty.) One year was a transition year where the novelty of a pull-out program and an exciting social life (and not much else, sadly).

 

And Karin, yes, precisely what I meant. Thank you. I should have read this and let it stand alone instead of getting my blood pressure up.

 

There's more, but I'm done for now. Thanks for understanding.

[Donna]

Yay, for home! Yay, for traditional kindergarten! Yay, for Montessori and Waldorf! Yay, for running around like a Wild Thing in the grass and explore and expand and devour picture books and nature and informal science, then learning to read and formally cipher when you're eight, even though some day you're destined to graduate from Oxford with the equivalent of a double major and discover the solution to Peak Oil because you're so stinkin' brilliant and, more importantly, know how to work hard and pay attention and think.

 

Yay, for freedom of educational choice for thinking parents everywhere. Yes, even on a Classical Education message board.

 

Pam,

 

I really enjoyed your post, though I only quoted part of it above for brevity. Just as this should be a safe place to discuss our children, it should also be a safe place to discuss our choices for our children. We all make decisions we feel are best for our family.

 

I didn't send mine to K but I will be sending my oldest to ps for 8th-12th grade even though he is nearly finished high school through his homeschooling. Our choice is based on his desire to continue competing in sports and the only real choice for a wrestler during high school age is through school.

 

I always make the choice to homeschool on a year-by-year basis even changing the methods/curriculum I use depending on the child and what they need at the time. (Well, I am a bit of a curriculum junkie but it works for us :001_smile:).

 

So, thanks for the post. Wonderful to hear how well your children are doing. It must be great to see the your choices were good ones for your family and led to wonderful, happy kids. For the rest of us with younger children, only time will tell.:001_smile:

[Catwoman]

Barbasol. In the striped can. Remind them not to rub their eyes, though.

 

Thanks, Pam! My dad used that brand years ago, so I'll know what to look for!

 

Cat

[Storm Bay]

 

And Karin, yes, precisely what I meant. Thank you. I should have read this and let it stand alone instead of getting my blood pressure up.

 

There's more, but I'm done for now. Thanks for understanding.

 

 

Thanks. To be honest, had I been a parent in my 20s, I probably would have been a lot like Reya in her posts. I can't speak for Reya, of course, but in my case it was because I had a strong desire to be right from the time I was a very young child and knew I was very gifted academically (but they never told me my number, which I am now very happy about, but was unhappy about that then. For me it would be too limiting, a number like that, whether high, medium or low). Even when I first started homeschooling, I thought everyone should do it. Took me a while to see why that isn't always the best choice.

 

There is so much perspective that just doesn't come with intelligence of any level. It comes with age, although there is certainly no guarantee that it always comes;). I'm still working on developing mine, and think that it's a life long process.

 

As for being gifted in school--my sister did fine and dandy, thank you very much. Again, I recommend the book Gifted Grownups, which I first heard about on the old AL boards. The strange thing about it, though, is how the author keeps discussion how parents should advocate for their child in school and never once recommends homeschooling, despite her observation of how...well, I don't want to give it away.

[nmoira]

I can't speak for Reya, of course, but in my case it was because I had a strong desire to be right from the time I was a very young child and knew I was very gifted academically

Yup that (I'm INTP to boot), and I have a deep-seated resentment after years of utter boredom in the public school system. I was robbed of 14 years of my scholastic life (we had a Grade 13 in my province) and there was no way my kids were going to be, dammit! When my oldest was about 2-1/2, I remember emphatically telling someone, practically a stranger, that there was no way the public schools were going to get my kids. I probably looked not unlike a rabid dog, though at least there was no foam. I've calmed down a bit, I think. Now when I get that creeping feeling, I make an effort to shake it off and remind myself that we're homeschooling and my past life is not my children's problem unless I make it so.

 

Edited to add: Maybe I should say, "until I make it so." :lol:

Edited April 1, 2009 by nmoira

[Catwoman]

Edited to add: Maybe I should say, "until I make it so." :lol:

 

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

 

Cat

[Kay in Cal]

I don't know... but my PG son (Ye, he's smarter than Einstein! Wow!!! <--- sarcasm, in case you missed that) loves the Ender series. He's reading Ender's Shadow right now.

 

Giftedness doesn't necessarily mean brilliance or success. It's a measure of a certain kind of potential... but it does measure something. Even I can tell my ds is smart. Strangers often gape and comment. But we all set our own normal. He read well at 2... but so did I. So did my dh. In fact, my younger ds is just now beginning to read fluently (he's 5) and I have to mentally talk myself out of thinking that he's developmentally slow. Because it's all in what you are used to.

 

I think putting pg kids on talk shows to stare at is really counterproductive for those of us who deal with gifted kids. But personally I wouldn't put anyone on a talk show. Ugh.

[Kay in Cal]

On the contrary side, Pam...

 

I hated Kindergarten. It was hellish. I still remember over 30 years later being forced to sit on the carpet and recite the alphabet when all I wanted to do was read a book. The teacher disliked me and my attitude, and it was mutual. I hated slavishly nodding and smiling and singing little jingles to teach me things like the days of the week and the months of the year. I was pulled me out for some classes (reading, math) where I sat in with 3rd graders. It was the only reasonably survivable part of the day. My most vivid memory is when I was banned from the library for climbing shelves--because the books were shelved with K appropriate on the bottom, the next shelf for 1-2 graders, the next for 3-4 graders, etc. I wanted books from the top shelf. No way.

 

Long story short--I was kicked out of kindergarten for insubordination. Really. Conformity has never been my strong suit. But I do play well with others now that I'm a grown up.

 

Today I've been browsing charter schools near our new home (yep, we're moving to the San Diego area). And I see lots of forms that use words like "must" and "we require" and my little screaming kindergartener comes out in full force. As she does when I read threads like this... time to calm the inner child.

[Allearia]

My older son was very happy in preschool for three years so I felt he had the fun school experience he would have had in kindergarten. He had a lot of fun with other kids, had fun being the leader, reading to the other kids, etc. He would take his book he was writing to school, and get it out whenever he felt like it to work on it, and share it at sharing every week. It just really depends on what the school and teacher are like, and also the child's personality--some might have gotten isolated and just frustrated. My second son is in preschool, in the same room his older brother was in and having a great experience.

 

I don't remember a huge amount about kindergarten but I think I generally had fun. I most remember tutoring the first graders who weren't reading (I was four). My mom had to talk to the teacher to tell him not to let me assign homework to the other children.

[Storm Bay]

On the contrary side, Pam...

 

I hated Kindergarten. It was hellish. I still remember over 30 years later being forced to sit on the carpet and recite the alphabet when all I wanted to do was read a book.

 

(clipped to save space)

Long story short--I was kicked out of kindergarten for insubordination. Really. Conformity has never been my strong suit. But I do play well with others now that I'm a grown up.

 

 

 

:lol: You remind me of Eloise.

 

Good post to show just how individual each of us is. I don't regret not sending my younger two to K, but dh wanted ps. My eldest actually liked much of K, except this one trouble making boy, until around April when she'd had enough. But it took dh a couple more years before he agreed to pull her out.

[Spy Car]

I hated Kindergarten. It was hellish. I still remember over 30 years later being forced to sit on the carpet and recite the alphabet when all I wanted to do was read a book. The teacher disliked me and my attitude, and it was mutual.

 

I was so luckily. I went to Melvin Ave Elementary school, which if memory serves is near your current home, and in those days students were required to take naps on dusty brown-colored plastic mats. Blech! I hate the whole idea. I didn't like the dusty mats, and I was in school and I wanted to LEARN!

 

My kindergarten teacher was such a sweet woman, she gave me a "special dispensation" from nap-time, and she and I would quietly work together while the other children napped. I loved school :001_smile:

 

Bill

[nmoira]

 

My kindergarten teacher was such a sweet woman, she gave me a "special dispensation" from nap-time, and she and I would quietly work together while the other children napped. I loved school :001_smile:

My kindergarten teacher told me (c. 1972) I spent too much time playing doctor in the Doctor Station -- "Girls grow up to be nurses." I didn't back down. My fondest kindergarten memory is of the end-of-year picnic. I was sent to get her a hot dog, accidentally dropped it on the way back to her, picked it up, shoved it back in the bun and watched her eat it. All of it. No love lost between us.

[Kay in Cal]

Mmmmm... yummy. :lol:

[Spy Car]

My kindergarten teacher told me (c. 1972) I spent too much time playing doctor in the Doctor Station -- "Girls grow up to be nurses." I didn't back down. My fondest kindergarten memory is of the end-of-year picnic. I was sent to get her a hot dog, accidentally dropped it on the way back to her, picked it up, shoved it back in the bun and watched her eat it. All of it. No love lost between us.

 

I'm sorry you didn't have Mrs Hart (c. 1963) the woman was a Saint :001_smile:

[Catwoman]

I don't know... but my PG son (Ye, he's smarter than Einstein! Wow!!! <--- sarcasm, in case you missed that)

 

LOL! Mine is too -- but all I really care about is that our dss make better fashion and hair styling choices than Einstein did, because isn't that what really matters?

 

There's a lot to be said for shallowness. ;)

 

 

I think putting pg kids on talk shows to stare at is really counterproductive for those of us who deal with gifted kids. But personally I wouldn't put anyone on a talk show. Ugh.

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

Cat

[Storm Bay]

I'm sorry you didn't have Mrs Hart (c. 1963) the woman was a Saint :001_smile:

 

 

Apparently I was crazy to like my K teacher so much. My oldest friend hated her and told me as an adult that that woman should never have been a K teacher. When I remember my 2 memories of her, I think she was right. One of them is of her giving me a lecture about bedwetting when I was 5. How she found out is another, longer story. But overall I loved the snack time, the painting, the toys, being with my friends and being old enough to be in school.

 

But my Grade 1-3 teachers were great. I was wasting my time academically, and the bullies were a pain in the neck, but for some reason I still liked going until grade 4. Then I was all excited to go to a private school for grade 5, but soon hated that as well, and we moved back home for the next year. Grades 6 on were the worst years when being in ps was far more detrimental to me than my parents realized. If I didn't respect a teacher, I refused to comply with much of what they told me to do. I was a rebel in the days when I didn't see any other girls rebelling in class. I was the only girl not allowed on the field trip one year. And teachers do foolish things, like putting troublemakers in the front of the class, which meant that I spent my entire grade 7 school year sitting next to one of the bullies who tormented me out in the playground in a shared desk.

 

I'd better stop now, because I am much happier when I don't dwell on ps, or on how my dad refused to let me go to an alternative boarding school when I was 15.

[Mommy22alyns]

My dad is very (overly?) fond of telling the tale of how I tried to "take over" the kindergarten class. It wasn't a hostile takeover, but my teacher did have to gently nudge my parents to speak to me and remind me that the teacher was the authority figure, not me. :001_huh:

[nmoira]

My dad is very (overly?) fond of telling the tale of how I tried to "take over" the kindergarten class. It wasn't a hostile takeover, but my teacher did have to gently nudge my parents to speak to me and remind me that the teacher was the authority figure, not me. :001_huh:

Authority is a relative term; they should have known better. :D

[love2read]

I haven't had time to read all of the replies, but I've seen and read other things about this child. He's brilliant. He doesn't intentionally memorize, from what I recall, he hears it once and recalls with perfect accuracy. No one taught him how to figure out the dates/days of the weeks of previous events, he figured out the computation by himself. I'm going to give the little fellow a lot of credit.

[3littlekeets]

I haven't had time to read all of the replies, but I've seen and read other things about this child. He's brilliant. He doesn't intentionally memorize, from what I recall, he hears it once and recalls with perfect accuracy. No one taught him how to figure out the dates/days of the weeks of previous events, he figured out the computation by himself. I'm going to give the little fellow a lot of credit.

 

I with you! He didn't seem stressed or rehearsed, and for a 6 year old, remarkably bright. I don't know that he'll apply his skills in earth-changing ways, nobody does, but to act as if this is not extraordinary is ludicrous. I dare 1 critic here to demonstrate thathis/her child's skill level is even close....:lurk5:

[Nan in Mass]

I know. I don't feel as hate-full on my own behalf about public school now either than I did when my oldest was a toddler. Then, it had been less than ten years since I'd been in high school, with all its awfulness, but now it has been about thirty. Some memories do fade, as time goes by, fortunately.

[Nan in Mass]

Ours here is exactly like that, walks in the woods (complete with ticks and poison ivy LOL) and all. Otherwise, I wouldn't have sent mine. Some of it was fun, and some was still not fun. Mine were homesick, among other things. Even so, I think that for my children, it was a good lesson to spend some time with children you liked AND with ones you didn't like every day and have to get along, and that it is easier to learn to do it at a time when our society assumes everyone still needs help learning how to do it (kindergarten). We're very good about accommondating everyone in my big, very gentle, extended family, almost too good. Conventional family wisdom says that school is where you learn that the rest of the world doesn't work like this, where you learn to be strong and survive anyway. Everyone was relieved that I chose to send all mine to school for kindergarten. I'm not saying that there aren't other ways to learn those things; just that for my family, public kindergarten was a place of valuable lessons. -Nan

[Kay in Cal]

I'm not a critic of his being bright... just that going "public" using intelligence as a side-show is a bad thing for a child, and for gifted kids in general.

 

I don't think many here will play that game. I'd say my older ds is more than comprable, didn't do the date thing but had his own weird memorization things (periodic table, etc) and I have test scores to prove it. Of course, he and his little brother are right now tying me to my computer chair using tape measures and a paddle ball. Genius at work!

[Colleen in SEVA]

but to act as if this is not extraordinary is ludicrous.

 

I agree -- I should have been more careful in my wording. :)

 

Yes this little boy IS very smart, and can do some neat things. The issue I take with the whole situation is the claim that he is "smarter than Einstein" and that he is an "off the charts genius" (wording from news story).

 

I looked up the definition online of genius, and it states "somebody with exceptional ability, especially somebody whose intellectual or creative achievements gain worldwide recognition". Is saying the alphabet backwards at 6 more of an achievement than developing scientific theories as an adult? And is it truly "gaining worldwide recognition" if his parents put him there for publicity?

 

Just my humble opinion, but the annual family holiday letter or an online gifted forum would be a better place to share his talents, not national news outlets. :)

 

I regret starting this post, to be honest. The news story bugged me, and this was the only place I felt I could discuss it. It went in a direction I didn't anticipate, feelings were hurt, and for that I apologize. I will now go back to my main focus at the moment of reading past posts to help me develop a math plan for my own little genius. :) ;) ;)

Edited April 3, 2009 by Colleen in SEVA

[Catwoman]

Just my humble opinion, but the annual family holiday letter or an online gifted forum would be a better place to share his talents, not national news outlets. :)

 

:iagree::iagree::iagree:

 

Cat

[Donna]

I'm not a critic of his being bright... just that going "public" using intelligence as a side-show is a bad thing for a child, and for gifted kids in general.!

 

I used to be very bothered when people had their children on news and TV. It seemed to me that it wasn't in the best interest of the child. Now I also understand how things like that might happen. Sometimes parents are overwhelmed and just looking for help in any way they can find it and other times, thing just seem to happen leading them to the place where they find themselves on TV. (And we all know, that it probably wasn't the parents saying their child is "smarter than Einstein"...TV people sensationalize everything to get people to watch.)

 

Dealing with dd's musical talents and personally experiencing how things often snowball even if you never set any of it in motion, I know how hard it is to stick to your ideals especially when you are in awe of your own child and in a panic state thinking you couldn't possibly give your child what they need. I have been in situations where I really had to think about what I want for my child. I can see how easy it would be to just go with the flow and allow things to progress. I didn't go the "national news media path", only because I have a very strong desire to protect dd's childhood and allow her to develop musically rather than be a "side show" for a short time.

 

I know there are people out there who would allow their children to be "side shows" for their egos or money but I have to believe that most parents only want what is best for their children and family. It is easy to be bothered and judgemental when you have never been part of a rolling snowball or if you are confident with your parenting skills and have a good support system or a plan in place for your child.

[Kay in Cal]

I can see your point. Perhaps limited resources or experiences might lead to an attempt to use the media as a resource. I just feel for the poor child... look at all the folks who are discussing him in chat rooms! Hopefully he doesn't have much net access.

[CherylG]

:D OK... Maybe it is just a matter of perspective. The first reply to a YouTube video of his states:

 

Maybe compared to *SOME* people, he IS a genius. :tongue_smilie:

 

 

Is this boy really "one in a million"? Or does he just happen to easily remember lists of facts?

 

You are funny! I guess perspective is important when judging who is a genius; plus, who wants to be the one to say, "I don't think so." So everyone just kind of rolls with it and he is crowned a genius. Let the sheep shearing begin! :tongue_smilie:

 

I have no opinion on the little guy...you just cracked me up with the You Tube comment.

Edited April 4, 2009 by CherylG

[Storm Bay]

I agree -- I should have been more careful in my wording. :)

(CLIP)

I regret starting this post, to be honest. The news story bugged me, and this was the only place I felt I could discuss it. It went in a direction I didn't anticipate, feelings were hurt, and for that I apologize. I will now go back to my main focus at the moment of reading past posts to help me develop a math plan for my own little genius. :) ;) ;)

 

 

:grouphug:Don't feel bad. This is a sensitive, volatile issue. Many of us have been victims of a school system, family and/or society that just doesn't understand us or where wrong decisions were made regarding our education, etc. Some are still very close to those years, and some of us are older parents who've had time to distance ourselves from some of it, particularly if we (well, I for sure) don't dwell on it.

 

This isn't the first time this has happened on this forum (well, if you count the old AL boards--I don't remember which posts were where), and I highly doubt that it will be the last.

[VanessaS]

Vanessa - Would you be willing to ask your father how he learned? I need my visual memory to be better for drawing and painting. -Nan

 

Here's an article on it. Mostly, practice, practice, practice. Start with simple images and then move on to large text and then smaller and smaller text.

 

http://www.datasync.com/~rsf1/fun/phot-mem.htm

[VanessaS]

Nope! 4% before K:

 

http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/2001035.pdf

 

 

Okay. My jaw dropped about that one. You have got to be kidding me?!! Addition seems like such a simple thing to learn.

 

Oh my word. Just read your link. That is very shocking. I thought being able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic was normal before kindergarten. I thought they all learned that in preschool.

 

Am I just totally out of it?

[VanessaS]

We're sending my DS to part-time preschool (3 hours on M/W/F) next fall. Just to have fun and get out of the house a bit. Same reason we go to preschool gym class at the YMCA and storytime at the library. I see no problem with that.

I just don't see preschool as a learning environment for him. It's more for the playing. We figure if we don't like it we can always pull him out later.

 

We're not actually doing 100% homeschooling as we'll be signing up for a WTM-style K-12 homeschooling academy that meets full-day M&W for electives, with core subjects and German taught at home. That's enough "formal school" for us.

 

People who have met my children think they are geniuses but that just makes me cringe. They're not geniuses, they're highly intelligent little children. Who knows what they will end up doing? Come back in 20 years. I am very intelligent but look what I'm doing now: I'm a SAHM who homeschools and bakes excellent sourdough bread and tends her vegetable garden. There's nothing wrong with that (I love my life and am very happy) but my mother thought that my high IQ would turn me into an astronaut or a scientist who cures cancer.

There's more to genius and success than IQ, you need talent, opportunity, and DRIVE. I don't have much drive. I barely have the drive to water my vegetable garden every day and make sure that my children get to bed on time. When I was working full-time (before kids) I was often lauded as the resident "Wunderkind" as I was easily 20 years younger than the people I was training and auditing. What they didn't see was how much difficulty I had completing simple assignments (difficult ones were easy -- which impressed them); my inherent laziness (12 years of ps will do that to a girl) and the constant cloud of boredom that hung over me.

 

Perhaps I'm projecting but what I really admire are people, like my DH, who have a high intellectual drive. They want to know more, discover more, invent more, do more. I just want to relax and read a good book. I'm very good at reading books. And magazines. And newspapers.

I'm not going to cure cancer, though.

Some people do and some people read. *sigh* But I do read very well. Lately I've been devouring books on container gardening. :D

Edited April 8, 2009 by VanessaS

[skaterbabs]

Okay. My jaw dropped about that one. You have got to be kidding me?!! Addition seems like such a simple thing to learn.

 

Oh my word. Just read your link. That is very shocking. I thought being able to read, write, and do basic arithmetic was normal before kindergarten. I thought they all learned that in preschool.

 

Am I just totally out of it?

 

 

Actually, this is NOT true of the average child. Most children go to kindy knowing how to count, and recognize their letters, but it's rare to actually read, write and do math in preschool.

[VanessaS]

Umm.. Okay. I am totally out of it. I guess I've internalized my childrens' development as the natural progression. Perhaps this is why people think I must spend a great deal of time teaching my children things (I don't).

This is how I taught my son to add (at 3 years): he was helping me set the table and I said, "Well, we usually have 4 people over but today Grandma and Grandpa will be here. That's 2 more. So that makes...?" "Umm... (stares at fingers) 6!" "That's right. So we'll need 6 place settings." He then proceeded to set the table. That was it. He gets confused with adding numbers over a sum of 10, though. Does it count if they look at their fingers?

 

As for this forum: yeah, it's definitely not your normal cross-section of the population. It's easy to forget that when I post here.

Edited April 8, 2009 by VanessaS

[Heather in WI]

There's more to genius and success than IQ, you need talent, opportunity, and DRIVE. I don't have much drive. I barely have the drive to water my vegetable garden every day and make sure that my children get to bed on time.

...

I just want to relax and read a good book. I'm very good at reading books. And magazines. And newspapers.

I'm not going to cure cancer, though.

Some people do and some people read. *sigh* But I do read very well. Lately I've been devouring books on container gardening. :D

 

:lol:This post cracked me up!!!

[Storm Bay]

I'm not going to cure cancer, though.

Some people do and some people read. *sigh* But I do read very well. Lately I've been devouring books on container gardening. :D

:iagree::tongue_smilie: My uncle had all the genious and the drive, and even after 30 years in oncological research, he didn't cure cancer. I really do get your point, just wanted to point out that genious and drive don't necessariy get what they're after, either.

 

And kudos to you for living a life you enjoy.

[skaterbabs]

Umm.. Okay. I am totally out of it. I guess I've internalized my childrens' development as the natural progression.

 

 

LOL I know what you mean - I see that with my own kids. One of the things that surprised me when I was reading up on gifted children is that gifted children or parents who were also gifted are often not recognized as gifted by their parents because their parents have a different definition of "normal" progression. It really made me sit back and think to way back when - DH, FIL, MIL, all four BILs and myself have all been identified as gifted/genious IQ. My sons are twice exception (LD & gifted) and DD? well... she's certainly ahead of many kindergarteners we know. (She'll be 6 in Oct.)

 

I guess at the same time, we hesitate to give our children the "gifted" label for many reasons. With my DD, I have to wonder how much of her accelerated progress is due to motivation rather than inherent talent. Yet even her pediatrician has noticed it - and commented that she's "smart enough to make her brothers look dim, and they're scary smart." (yes, that's an exact quote!)

[VanessaS]

Well... we had Early Intervention here on Monday for her evaluation. They're coming back soon for a second eval. Looks like she might not qualify as she's not delayed enough. We'll see.

I thought the situation was drastic but they weren't quite as concerned.