Gifted and talented testing in FBISD (Houston: school districts, taxes, train)

[swopoe]

Originally Posted by ipuck

Tell that to 2/3 of the kids in the GT program in FBISD.

In fairness, the Tiger Moms have bought their china school of learning to Fort Bend and in most instances it has work.

Average kids are pushed to the limit to become smart kids through sheer will and 16 hour school/learning.

From the age they start walking, all waking hours are learning and activities to improve their resume for the ivy league admission.

I have seen it in action and it work. I will personally never do it to my kid (nor do i have the will power and time), but you can't deny its effectiveness.

You are preaching to the choir here. I am very actively involved with the GT program in FBISD, and believe me, I know. At middle school open house last night, in my son's pre AP class (6th gr), when a teacher said that the students are already concerned about their high school GPAs, my heart sunk. Where did we (the collective we) go wrong? I still want my son to be a kid.

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by nana053

When the kids burn out, it isn't effective. Talk to the kids, not the parents. Gifted, btw, does not mean having a high IQ. You can have a high IQ and still not be gifted.

Pressure to excel can create too much tension for teens | Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Gifted kids are highly curious. They have persistence and concentration. When parents push too hard, the child may rebel or "burn out". Examples of this phenomenon are John Stuart Mill and William Sidis.

What exactly is Gifted and Talented? I would argue kids that can resist the urge and cramp down are "gifted" in a way. Some of it is parents training and persistent, but the child need to be able to handle it.

Alot of those kids, even by your definition are not GT, are successfully able to grind through the harder classes with flying colors.

"Burn-out" is not in their vocabably. Maybe it is a culture thing. I don't know but it works.

This TED video identify this trait "grit" for the kids that tend to be successful.

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit | TED Talk | TED.com

[ipuck]

Originally Posted by swopoe

You are preaching to the choir here. I am very actively involved with the GT program in FBISD, and believe me, I know. At middle school open house last night, in my son's pre AP class (6th gr), when a teacher said that the students are already concerned about their high school GPAs, my heart sunk. Where did we (the collective we) go wrong? I still want my son to be a kid.

Yeah I know. I coach alot of the sports down here and there are never enough kids as the Asian kids almost never participates except swimming.

The Telfair area little league was canceled for fall season because not enough kids sign up so they all moved to the First Colony one.

[swopoe]

High achieving kids grind through the harder classes with flying colors. There is a difference between a high achiever and a gifted child. Some gifted children are high achievers, but not all. Gifted children have high concentration in the things that interest them. But try to teach them something they don't care about, and most gifted children will tune out. That is why gifted children often struggle in school.

Most of what FBISD has labeled gifted children are really high achievers, or their parents are pushing them to be high achievers. But they are not gifted. (Most, not all.)

[nana053]

Originally Posted by ipuck

What exactly is Gifted and Talented? I would argue kids that can resist the urge and cramp down are "gifted" in a way. Some of it is parents training and persistent, but the child need to be able to handle it.

Alot of those kids, even by your definition are not GT, are successfully able to grind through the harder classes with flying colors.

"Burn-out" is not in their vocabably. Maybe it is a culture thing. I don't know but it works.

This TED video identify this trait "grit" for the kids that tend to be successful.

Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit | TED Talk | TED.com

GRIT is being used in the Pearland ISD schools, so I already know about that program. Note GRIT is NOT the same as giftedness. If you really have a gifted child, you can't stop them from learning. Giftedness need not be academic either. We recognize gifted athletes and musicians. There are gifted academicians too, but many of the kids in the gifted classes are simply being pushed - they are not gifted. Watch what happens to those kids in college. They may be successful, but they may also simply drop out.

I am not in favor of pushing every kids into college prep let alone into gifted classes. Grinding away destroys the joy of childhood.

[Lbjen]

I wish GT classes were truly for GT kids, rather than being some kind of bragging right for the parents of kids who are actually already doing well in school. Legitimately gifted children are the kids who can really slip through the cracks if they aren't engaged in school, when they often have the ability to do something really amazing if someone can just help them figure out what it is.

[Htown2013]

FBISD tracks for GT kids in elementary school and kindergarten??

My concern is this:
What if an elementary school kid just wants to be a kid and doesn't care much for academics in elementary and middle school - still does OK and learns but not pushing to his potential. Then the kid wakes up in 7th or 8th grade and decides he wants a bright future. Is he forever barred from High School Honors, GT, AP, etc classes because he didn't care in elementary school?? That would be terrible. I don't know how it works at FBISD, but that would unnecessarily limit 'late bloomer' kids.

I goofed off before high school and ended up in the top 2% of my H.S. class and went on to be successful at one of the best universities in the country. That wouldn't have happened if my high school had limited my class choice b/c of what I did before.

[Failed Engineer]

Htown2013, I almost followed your path to the letter in late 90s FBISD. Didn't give a damn about school until after 9th grade, decided for 10th grade to start taking AP classes because I was friends with some kids taking those classes. Even though I had poor grades from 9th grade I wasn't barred from taking the AP classes. I was suggested not to take those classes by advisors and teachers, but was too stubborn to listen to them and was actually even more driven to prove all of the doubters wrong.

I kicked major butt my last 3 years of HS at Clements but because of the absurdly competitive nature of the school as well as my almost failing 9th grade, I only ended up in the 13th percentile, but I went to a good school, did great there and have had a very good career.

I believe I would have tested gifted but my parents believed that kids should be kids and didn't allow either my sister or myself to be tested for GT (I'm actually thankful for my parents approach because I loved my childhood). As far as what I read about truly GT kids, I believe I could have become one of those kids that got bored and slipped through the cracks. I was excruciating bored in school until I started taking AP classes.

My tale is almost 20 years ago now though, so things might be different now.

[Backinminnesota]

My problem is that there are so many (primarily Asian) parents that push push push their (probably) average kids to get identified as GT. Those kids are pushed so hard with hours of school each day plus additional hours of tutoring. At middle school open house, I kept hearing these parents asking for additional homework "opportunities" for their kids. Personally, I'm happy that 8th grade pre-ap history doesn't have to do NHD this year. I want my children to do well academically and also be able to participate in activities to help them be a well-rounded, good person. If your kids are gifted, they don't need to go to tutoring to practice for the GT test. Either you are gifted or you are not.

[detachable arm]

Originally Posted by Backinminnesota

My problem is that there are so many (primarily Asian) parents that push push push their (probably) average kids to get identified as GT. Those kids are pushed so hard with hours of school each day plus additional hours of tutoring. At middle school open house, I kept hearing these parents asking for additional homework "opportunities" for their kids. Personally, I'm happy that 8th grade pre-ap history doesn't have to do NHD this year. I want my children to do well academically and also be able to participate in activities to help them be a well-rounded, good person. If your kids are gifted, they don't need to go to tutoring to practice for the GT test. Either you are gifted or you are not.

This "culture" is completely polluting Sugar Land. To add on, there is no stigma when it comes to cheating-- doing whatever it takes to get there is expected. I encourage you to stop & smell the roses sometime, and you will witness the Asian parents' antisocial behaviors at school, and it is obvious that none of the rules apply to them.

Look- I was labeled GT. I also f*cked off high school in Fort Bend (Kempner '96), still graduated with a STEM degree from a Tier 1 Texas university in 4 years, spent more time playing Super Nintendo and getting laid than attending class, got a perfect GRE math score... did grad school but faltered, smoked a lot of genetically altered weed, faltered even more. But I eventually landed a good job @ 27 and I've been making $150k+ since I turned 30. I am still a grunt but unofficially supervise a group of Asians because the boss can't do it. I can tell you that NONE of these "GT" w/ 4.0 GPA & double masters havin' folks are GT. They learned how to reverse engineer the test, cheated without getting caught, and continue to cheat at getting continuing education certs. They cannot think outside of a narrow box and are only excellent workers when you are micromanaging them.

My first kid in Kindergarten smoked the GT test. In a school that's 16% Asian there isn't a single GT Asian kid that young. Some things never change. But she's 6 now and learning how to use freeware CAD for a 3D printer, while the others are still struggling how to escucha y repite.