BellaOnline Forums Education Gifted Education "bright flight" from public school?

My family is leaving public school to homeschool. There is no gifted support in our district. My son needs more than they can give. Acceleration is a foreign and tabboo word. Any tips on how to start homeschooling to meet his needs? Starting my "ideal" homeschool support group (also lacking here,although I believe there are a significant number of homeschoolers that could benefit from one)? field trips for an extremely active mind?

Thank you,
Alicia

First thing I recommend is joining many support groups, both local and national. I found the yahoogroups homeschoolingmensans helpful (and neither you nor your child need be in Mensa) when I had academic questions, local groups great for connecting with others of many ages locally, including field trips.

One thing to keep in mind is that the most constant thing is change. Initially, I seemed to have changed how I did things very frequently, every couple months or more even. You and your son will be developing a different relationship, and he may occasionally (or frequently) not respect your role. It can be awkward, but discussing things with him helps. Ask him what he wants to learn, and maybe he will tell you. (Initially, my son just said, "Anything I don't already know. -- If you find it interesting, I will." Later, he occasionally asked for particular subject matter.) But even 5 years down the road, I have been changing things to fit us better.

One thing I have found in most places that we've homeschooled (three states) is that gifted causes a knee-jerk reaction of "all children are gifted". (Blah! Are all children mentally retarded?) So until you know people, that is a good word to keep under your hat. If they ask what prompted you to homeschool, saying school was a poor fit works without negative response. (And if you know the person well, and they know your child, and you feel you can say it -- I sometimes like to say my son is differently abled. PC and kind of funny.)

But the details of homeschooling -- they range so wide, that it is hard to say what you should do. Plan on tweaking or totally starting fresh when things don't work out right. I don't recommend buying any canned full curriculum because it won't fit for long enough to be worth the money.

Math -- that is one you have to figure out what will work for you and your son best.

You'll find that homeschooling really frees you up, though. It takes less time than ps (they waste a lot of time) and your schedule can go year round, so you can take breaks on off-seasons and really free up your lives.

Have fun!

I agree with Ms A. Hooking up with other homeschooling families is a priority. I recommend that you try a couple activities with as many different groups as you can. Each group has it's own flavor, and within the group, the different types of events attract different people. You can visit Meg Grooms at the Bella Online homeschooling board for more information on how to get started.

There is a great book by Lisa Rivero that is all about homeschooling gifted children. I can't think of the exact title offhand, but it's easy to find with a search on amazon.

best wishes-

Lorel

The title of this post saddens me. It's too bad you felt you were forced to leave the school system-I hate to hear that. We've had very good success with the public schools--definitely no "bright flight" in our town. In fact, the opposite is true--the town attracts well-educated families looking to move because it is one of the few around that still strongly supports gifted education. There are still good systems out here that recognize the need for gifted education--it's not a myth!
Good luck with your homeschooling. I wish you the best for your family.

Unfortunately, amy, as you've stated yours is "one of the few around that still strongly supports gifted education." Research on this topic supports the fact that such systems (public or private) are currently few and far between.

That may indeed be true, Lynn-I was simply pointing out that they do still exist, contrary to popular opinion. Few and far between doesn't mean "never to be found anywhere." And--at least in Connecticut--there may soon be more. There is currently a bill in the state legislature requiring that funding for gifted education be reinstated in all the public schools.

Its great, amy, that you've found a program/system that works for you.

Unfortunately, even in states where legislation "mandates" so-called "programs" for gifted students; such programs may not require that the education provided establish an education program matched to the student's abilities (even in states where federal/state funding supports such "programs"). Out of 50 states in the U.S., only 20 have programs that are actually supported by funding from the state or federal government (refer to "Genius Denied" by the Davidson Institute for Talent Development). And 20 of the remaining states don't even have state legislation mandating provision of programming for gifted students.

For parents who are unable to relocate--for whatever reason--to "find" one of the districts/states where programming exists, is actually suitable for a gifted child, and is adequately supported by state/federal tax dollars (meaning its likely to continue for a bit), this is a major, major issue.

At the federal level, the battle is now to pull funding from failing GT programs and retarget that funding to support NCLB activities. That's reality.

I think you both have valid points here. Certainly, we are all in agreement that services for gifted kids are in short supply. But some districts, like Amy's, are succeeding in educating gifted kids. I know several *profoundly* gifted kids who are getting their needs met in public schools. It can happen, and I hope that the parents involved remember to let their school boards and superintendents know how much it means to them.

Lynn, I know we've discussed this sort of thing here before, and I assure you, I am not a Pollyanna. I realize there is a dearth of funding and very few administrators can afford to focus on gifted kids wehn NCLB is looming over them. But I have high hopes that A Nation Deceived, Genius Denied, and other efforts will make people aware of the gifted education deficit.

regards-

Lorel

That's definitely the case, Lorel--each year during the district budget meetings, where the school officials are gathering input from residents about what programs and activities are important to them prior to submitting the school budget to the town board, a group of parents attend to voice our wishes to continue the gifted and talented programs. And every year, the superintendent reiterates how important it is to provide gifted services and reassures us that funding will continue.

In fact, this year, he told us of plans to expand the offerings next year for gifted students to include more online courses and the addition of more colleges and universities that will offer courses through the high school. Right now, our high school has the highest percentage in the state of students taking college-level courses--through the Univ. of Conn and various other state universities.

And Lynn, I do feel for those parents who can't relocate to find the school districts that meet their needs. We moved to Conn. from Mass., where the school system, while top notch, did not offer services for gifted students (prefering instead to hide behind the mantra "all of our kids are gifted, just in different ways.") When we moved, we picked our current school system because of what it offers to our sons. It's been four years now, and we haven't been disappointed.

I bring up our experience not to throw mud at the idea of homeschooling or other alternatives to public schooling--I mention it to offer reassurance that there are lights shining in the darkness. They may be faint--but they are there. And that should be a source of hope.

This is by no means a personal criticism. Unfortunately, neither high hopes nor thinking good thoughts help parents like Zandee--the vast majority of parents out there--at least not in the present.

The point of Zandee's thread is that she's seeking input on pulling together resources that will assist her in developing a program that will help her child--as school has proven not to be a viable option at the moment--and potentially help others in the same boat.

Kudos to schools/districts that work for gifted kiddos. But, are there ways that Zandee can make her ideas work in her family/community? Communities where either "gifted" programs aren't truly supportive of a child's needs; communities where "good" programs are severely underfunded and all gifted children can't be admitted; or communities where gifted programs don't exist?

She has some great ideas. Can we step away from our hopes and wishes for school reform and help her fill in the blanks?

Great thoughts by the way, Ms A!