I agree completely - with you. The G+T programs in NYC cover exactly the same material as the 'regular' classes and though sometimes they can go more into depth on topics, they do assign more homework - which is highly controversial.

My son is gifted (the school made me have him tested when he was 3 - it was not my idea - I just assumed that every parent thinks their child is smart) and we decided to keep him in a regular classroom. I feel we made the correct decision, especially after a couple of G+T teacher/friends told me that those classes are more for children with pushy parents rather than truly 'gifted' youngsters. And to corroborate that - a friend also told me about a discussion she was involved in at her son's pre-K afterschool program in which parents were comparing test prep strategies for the G+T test. These are 4 and 5 year olds and they're getting drilled for testing by their parents!!!!!

I am in total agreement. Although my son has been recommended for a g & t program in our school he's only 5 so I'm really not feeling it.

I am in total agreement. Although my son has been recommended for a g & t program in our school he's only 5 so I'm really not feeling it.

I totally agree. There is, from my own personal experience, no advantage in putting your kids in a G&T program. I was in them for years in grade school, and the pressure was enormous. I attribute most of my later lack of interest in my education to the pressure of those early years. At that age, school is just fun. My own five year-old is very smart (her teachers and everyone we know notices it; it's not just parental blindness), but she's also five. While she's fully bilingual (English and Dutch) and incredibly bright, I see how much she enjoys good, old-fashioned normal kindergarten and I have no idea to kill that joy and exploration with the pressure of realizing some 'potential' she may or may not want to realize. And just to be clear, I credit her bilingualism with watching a lot of TV.

Kiki,
I so agree. Too much pressure. Your daughter sounds like a little genius but you're right not to put all that extra work and expectation on her. She's 5 for cryin' out loud! Enjoy your precious munchkin.
cheers,
thanks again for writing,
Sherry

I'm so glad i was able to read this. My son is very intelligent and last year I became a bit obsessed with getting him in the program. He was 4.5y.o. and in PK at the tine. I'm a 5th grade teacher and he attened my school. Every evening my son and I would practice for the test. He finally tested and scored an 88%. We were devasted to say the least, but I got over it. He continues to amaze me. He's now in grade K. He so loves school and his teacher has approached me about having him tested. After reading your comments, I can now confidently back down.

Thanks for taking the time to read and reply. Yes, be confident in your sons abilities and intelligence....he'll surely shine more and more as he gets older and when he's ready you can have him placed in advanced programs and all that, for lack of a better term...stuff....as you can see I was not in gifted and talented.
cheers,
Sherry

Well, there is another side of the coin. I don't consider myself to be a pushy parent (although I've met them and know what you're talking about), and we didn't prep our son for the test at all. In fact, being unfamiliar with the US education system, I learned about the G&T program by accident. It was 2 days before the deadline, and I applied. My husband ran through the practice test DOE distributes before the test twice with my son, and he did very well. Because of that, we were able to get into the best school in our city, not our zoned school, and we're very happy about that.

In terms of HW - I spoke with the teacher, and I told her that I didn't think it was reasonable. Parts of that are repetitive are not difficult which makes them boring for my son. She said that HW at this stage is to develop good study habbits but since there are no reports, it's ok if we don't do all the HW. So, now I cut down the HW to the level that I deem appropriate. I believe the kids need more social interaction, not to be sitting there with pen and paper all day long, and the teacher more than agreed. However, considering the awful DOE and the education system, there's little she can really do about that. However, being able to work with her and provide my input as a parent is a great start!

My opinion is this: why not try it, and get out if you don't like it? But not to go just because you heard one opinion is not reasonable. If you don't want to bother, that's one thing but having other smart kids around my child is a huge benefit to me, even if he does not get all A's. I'd rather see him in the middle of the pack in the G&T class then to be the star among kids who rate well below.

One last thing: I've yet to hear positive feedback about G&T from a parent whose child is not in it. Every time I hear these parents speak, it's a defensive self-pep talk. Just like with everything else in life, it's all hearsay until you try it yourself.

Urgh, have to post a couple of content corrections:
1. I specifically menat "the NYC school system", not "US education system"
2. Having smart kids around my child is a benefit to "my child", not me! It surely pleases me to know that he can be among kids of his level, more or less. But again, while it seems impossible to reduce the amount of HW b/c of those "pushy" parents, being able to work with the teacher and modify the scope of the assignments is really great.

Dear G&T Child's Mom,

Thanks for taking the time to write. I totally hear your comments and think it was fantastic that you spoke with the teacher about minimizing the busy work aspect of homework. I think she's probably right on using homework at this age to establish good study habits....not a bad idea but one that's gone a little awry in our old school.

Hope all is going well for your munchkin in G&T.

cheers,
Sherry

As a now thirty year old who was a gifted child but had to suffer for three years with the same classmates, none of whom were smart but were always picking on me because I was, I would say to all of you who are fortunate enough to have the option to put your child in a gifted program to do so, if for no other reason, to give your child a chance to be normal and to be around similar students. If your child already has smart classmates, this might not be a necessary choice, but I know from experience the worst thing you can do as a parent of a gifted child is force them to stay in a school where not only are none of his classmates not smart, they are also not trying to become smart and are giving your child a hard time for being smart. I didn't have smart classmates until I was twelve, and by then I was struggling to try to figure out how to make friends and still don't have a social group to fit into. What makes it worse is basically the fact that if I had the opportunity to go to some of the schools your children likely go to, I would not have stuck out so much, because when I was in high school and college, even when I was at my best, I was never the top student in the whole school like in elementary. I was unfortunate enough to have a mother who went to great lengths to educate me at home, but neglected to put as much work into finding a good elementary school for me, thinking that everything would work itself out when I got into the best high school in our city. All that ended up happening is that because of my social struggles, I've never gotten to have true friends or career success. Don't make the same mistake my mother did. Only keep your kids out of the gifted program if they don't have trouble socially at the school you currently have them in. Even after I told my mother I was being picked on for being smart and I wanted to change schools, she still made me go because she didn't want to put me in a new school for just one year before I went to high school. But that year could have made all the difference in the world.