I met a friend/teacher at a spring meeting of our state gifted ed advocacy group. She asked me "Are you still homeschooling?" and I was wondering if she was amused, horrified, etc, at my response:" Well, I've got to tell you. I realized that there were a few schools in the state I had not sent X to yet, so I had to remedy that situation. X has been to public school, parochial school, homeschooled two different times,charter school, and next year he will be in a private school. Yes, he is only 10, but what a record he has." I say that with a laugh...and some secret tears.
It can be really tough to find the right place for a gifted child. We have found elements of success in all schools, and big holes in all schooling situations. We also have seen that what works one year does not always work the next year. We have labored with the idea that continuity in itself would be our ideal, but we have also had to deal with schools in which teachers or administrators just could not accept the flexibility needed to deal with an unusual learner.
My son is very well behaved and I have never heard a complaint from a teacher (well, two said he learned too fast and that really bothered them).But he has often been very sad.
So, with number two I am holding onto my seat.We investigated a number of schools and considered trying him in the public school at which my first son started.They are as different in learning and personality as night and day. But #2 is often described as a character (lovingly and not so lovingly) by some adults and we tried to find a school that could let him be a character (a well-behaved character) and still learn and be appreciated. We are going to put him in K in a school that #1 never attended. It is a small private school that does seem to get differentiation. We will be watching very closely and keeping our fingers crossed.
I would never RECOMMEND our educational itinerary as a route for all families but I would say that we know that we have done our best in advocating for our child in each and every school. I have been class mother and on every volunteer committee you can imagine.We have tried to support teachers 150%.But our allegiance is to our kids and when it ain't working it ain't working. Their lives are too short to say "Buck it up...". One way or another, I want them to learn how to learn and try to keep the spark alive.
