Any parents of gifted children here ?

[metz]

kiasulang:

It means a lot to me because it determines the number of child I woulld like to have.

As I have mentioned countless times, I respect and keep stressing that the IQ quotient is important to the parents concerned. Neither does the number nor how the parent utilizes the number has no impact on me or others. You don't owe anybody an explanation. I may be wrong, but you seem bothered that nobody takes your kid's number seriously.

Perhaps I come across as being sceptical about giftedness. But my view is every kid is gfited in his or her own way. Not meeting the list of standard gifted criteria doesn't imply the kid is any less precious than one who appears to meet the mark. Not having a IQ number tagged on the kid doesn't mean the kid is any less capable than one who has been formally labelled. And vice versa, a kid who's been suspected to be gifted or has been tagged gifted is neither more superior than the average normal kids. I am proud to say that I'm surrounded by many smart (but unlabeled) kids who are a joy to be with. And for friends with gifted kids or kids from GEP, I feel happy and proud for them too. What I think of gifted kids is that they are special (and sometimes, a pain) in their own ways.

[kiasulang]

chamonix:

kiasulang:

It means a lot to me because it determines the number of child I woulld like to have.

As I have mentioned countless times, I respect and keep stressing that the IQ quotient is important to the parents concerned. Neither does the number nor how the parent utilizes the number has no impact on me or others. You don't owe anybody an explanation. I may be wrong, but you seem bothered that nobody takes your number seriously.

Perhaps I come across as being sceptical about giftedness. But my view is every kid is gfited in his or her own way. Not meeting the list of standard gifted criteria doesn't imply the kid is any less precious than one who appears to meet the mark. Not having a IQ number tagged on the kid doesn't mean the kid is any less capable than one who has been formally labelled. And vice versa, a kid who's been suspected to be gifted or has been tagged gifted is neither more superior than the average normal kids. I am proud to say that I'm surrounded by average normal kids who are a joy to be with. And for friends with gifted kids or kids from GEP, I feel happy and proud for them too.

I'm not bother by any body. I'm just disgusted about what you said in this tread. I don't understand why you resent so much about assessing a child. Are you afraid of being disappointed? Come join the club only if you have a child either in mensa or GEP before you whine. If not I have nothing to write to you.... with so much writing and nothing concrete.

[metz]

kiasulang:

chamonix:

[quote=\"kiasulang\"]

It means a lot to me because it determines the number of child I woulld like to have.

As I have mentioned countless times, I respect and keep stressing that the IQ quotient is important to the parents concerned. Neither does the number nor how the parent utilizes the number has no impact on me or others. You don't owe anybody an explanation. I may be wrong, but you seem bothered that nobody takes your number seriously.

Perhaps I come across as being sceptical about giftedness. But my view is every kid is gfited in his or her own way. Not meeting the list of standard gifted criteria doesn't imply the kid is any less precious than one who appears to meet the mark. Not having a IQ number tagged on the kid doesn't mean the kid is any less capable than one who has been formally labelled. And vice versa, a kid who's been suspected to be gifted or has been tagged gifted is neither more superior than the average normal kids. I am proud to say that I'm surrounded by average normal kids who are a joy to be with. And for friends with gifted kids or kids from GEP, I feel happy and proud for them too.

I'm not bother by any body. I'm just disgusted about what you said in this tread. I don't understand why you resent so much about assessing a child. Are you afraid of being disappointed? Come join the club only if you have a child either in mensa or GEP before you whine. If not I have nothing to write to you.... with so much writing and nothing concrete.[/quote]That goes for how I feel towards you too. The only thing you value most and talk about is just getting kids tested and the numbers they are tagged. Without the numbers, the kids are nothing... really a sad and revolting thought.

Indeed, I don't have a concrete number to talk about. Perhaps, you should announce the precious number and gather like-minded parents and discuss about the Numbers . Get my kids assessed just to join your club? No thanks, I wouldn't want to end up being obsessed with Numbers. Got better things to do.

Btw, I have nothing to whine. Both my kids are intelligent and happy children with absolute zero need for tagging. The tests will not tell me anything I don't already know nor change the way I view and love them. With or without the gfited label (by professional), to me, they are and always will be far more intelligent and precious than any other kids who has been tagged.

[metz]

insider:

kiasulang:

Come join the club only if you have a child either in mensa or GEP before you whine. If not I have nothing to write to you.... with so much writing and nothing concrete.

As an educator, I celebrate the joy of taking care / educating young kids, whether they are average kids, beautiful / ugly, or with special needs (learning disabilities / physically handicapped / gifted / etc).

Since Chamonix's repeated words of she also shares similar stance of we should celebrate kids of any abilities seems to be fallen on deaf ears guess there is no point having further chicken and duck talk here. (I actually find her writing gentle and sensible all the while until maybe later part got agitated. I am reading her writing from an intellectual exchange point of view instead of trying to 'win' anything. Even till then, she still maintains her position that she is not objecting anybody from sending their kids for whatever testing that each deems fit.)

Go enjoy looking at your Numbers and do your own celebrations. Cheers!

Hi Insider,

Thanks for lending a voice. For a moment, I thought I must the only odd one to think kids are much more than just numbers.

Yup, enough of chicken and duck talk here. Never did I expect a simple sharing would spiral into this...

[corneyAmber]

chamonix:

I thought I must the only odd one to think kids are much more than just numbers.


Yup, enough of chicken and duck talk here. Never did I expect a simple sharing would spiral into this...

No, you are not the odd one. I will not tag my child with a number or label. It is only indicative of some form of guidance and direction at best and that's all. Nothing is so absolute in life.
Some of us need a structure to guide our lives.
Some of us need a passion to guide our lives.
Most of us need both.

The extreme will always stand out.

[ChiefKiasu]

I'm not sure if I have the full picture - it's a LOONNG thread - but it seems like there is an ensuing argument about sending children for assessment?


Personally, I don't give 2 hoots about measuring the intelligence of my own children. Maybe I'm afraid I'll be disappointed by the test results as kiasulang postulated, but more because I have already accepted that my kids are just bright kids and not gifted by GEP's yardstick so I don't need no confirmation of that fact. But I can imagine how parents with truly gifted kids (in the GEP sense) would value such measurements just so they can confirm their suspicions and take the necessary action to work with such kids.

Also, I don't recall seeing anything posted by anybody who say that such assessments are evil. In fact, I felt that Chamonix went out of her way to explain her stand, which happens to be quite similar to mine. So I'm really puzzled how the discussion got so personal.

There is no need to use strong language directed at any individual in the Forum. If we parents cannot engage in discussions in a cordial manner, how can we expect our children to do so in their discussions?

[corneyAmber]

icemountain:

ks2me, pardon me but your post is full of ranting, presumptions and personal judgments. If you didn't mean to come across as harsh, I'm sorry to tell you it sure doesn't seem that way.

Sorry you read wrongly, read again, emotions must be overwhelming... I admitted I was harsh to the parents clearly in the post.

icemountain:

I'm not propounding why homeschooling is better than going to mainstream. I chose what I want to do for what I believe. At the same time, I do not criticise those who prefer sending their child to school. I'm sure those who homeschool would appreciate the same respect from those who do not agree. To each his own, live and let live. No need to bring in GOD here IMO.

There is nothing to criticise for those sending kids to school cos if we don't, we would be criticised and \"persecuted\" by the authorities. Don't get me wrong, I am not against homeschooling, only having a view of people with few kids using homeschooling as an excuse to fulfill own desires, nothing so beneficial for the children. My concern is for the children. Just a wake-up call for people without the sound objective plus I don't like the idea that the homeschool kids eventually can potentially lose out in PSLE exam to kids going to school having same aggregate because of the rules fixed by MOE. If MOE rule cannot change yet, it would be best that parents think carefully the merits of homeschooling.

icemountain:

What is wrong with what I WANT and WILL for my child? How is it different from parents who send their children to all sorts of enrichment classes, tuition, the best schools etc? How is it different from every parent who is looking at this forum? From the way you have written, it seems you think a homeschooled child has every step of his life planned out for him.

Firstly, your child is not the \"ONLY\" child, this does not apply to you unless you admit to stifling your kids with homeschooling?

icemountain:

I do not agree with your view that a child must be left alone out of parents' sight to fend for himself and a homeschooling child is necessarily \"protected\". If fights were to occur in school, would you not want the teachers to intervene? If a child goes to school, wouldn't he be under the watchful eye of his teachers? When is he ever left alone?

Obviously you do not have a child going to school so all these are your presumptions. If there are 30 children in the class, do you think the teacher can be so watchful on top of their heavy admin work? I tell you how they cope. They pull out the \"streetsmart\" kids in the class to help maintain this order and control. And if anything goes wrong, it would be the children reporting what has happened, not the teacher. haha. Now you know what some homeschool kids can be missing? Also the size of school in primary schools is alot larger, there will be many moments a child can be left alone, like going to the toilet/changing(there are toilets in many parts of the school) or running around looking for their schoolbags, going to the bookshop.....etc.. Some children can be so lost...do they need to learn how to steer themselves on their own? and do you know that the safest training ground is actually the school?

icemountain:

For one, I do not hover around my child when we go playgrounds. I don't know of many parents who do. If she were to have any disagreements, I let her be and would intervene only necessary. If she were to go school, I would rightly expect teachers to do the same.

I am also a parent, instinctively we will look, even feel the presence. Letting go is complete when a child completely disappears under your nose and in another environment. Also, it may not be your issue, the child assumes mum is always there....so the sense of responsibility for oneself diminishes....\"She(mum) will look out for me\". This is the handicap impact on the child. It hurts to know the truth but better to come to terms with it.

icemountain:

I do not choose to homeschool because I think my child is advanced or superior. And homeschooling parents I've met do not say that their children are gifted too so I'm puzzled at your presumption. If people still thinking homeschooling = hothousing, I'm quite disappointed that this misconception still prevails. Perhaps it's better for them to read up more and get to know homeschoolers before making this assumption.

Sorry if I have mistaken, I apologise sincerely because this thread is about 'gifted kids' ma... OK, gather your thoughts again... we are talking about homeschooling for \"only\" and for gifted \"only\" because this is thread for 'gifted' kids! got it? Maybe you just jump into this discussion without looking at the focus, I forgive you (tongue-in-cheek) Misconception will always be there but the point here is not about homeschooling = hothousing so generally. Honestly, I am still not clear what you are trying to defend or argue. Cool down first and re-read my post, then you know it does not apply to you.

I just took your last statement to make a point on homeschooling for \"only\" because it refers to social interaction. I also qualify that the discussion is not directed at you but generally those with 'only' kid and homeschooling the kid. Hope this clarifies, no point growing a gray hair over my posting not meant for you specifically

icemountain:

Edited to add: And nope, she's not the only child.

Glad to know that she is not an \"only\" child.

[tamarind]

I try to follow these rules when posting in forums. Hopefully everyone can read and understand these rules.

I wonder if some people really talk(in real life) like the way they write online ?

THE CORE RULES OF NETIQUETTE

http://www.albion.com/netiquette/corerules.html

Quote:
Rule 1: Remember the human

The golden rule your parents and your kindergarten teacher taught you was pretty simple: Do unto others as you'd have others do unto you. Imagine how you'd feel if you were in the other person's shoes. Stand up for yourself, but try not to hurt people's feelings.

In cyberspace, we state this in an even more basic manner: Remember the human.

When you communicate electronically, all you see is a computer screen. You don't have the opportunity to use facial expressions, gestures, and tone of voice to communicate your meaning; words -- lonely written words -- are all you've got. And that goes for your correspondent as well.

Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life

In real life, most people are fairly law-abiding, either by disposition or because we're afraid of getting caught. In cyberspace, the chances of getting caught sometimes seem slim. And, perhaps because people sometimes forget that there's a human being on the other side of the computer, some people think that a lower standard of ethics or personal behavior is acceptable in cyberspace.

The confusion may be understandable, but these people are mistaken. Standards of behavior may be different in some areas of cyberspace, but they are not lower than in real life.

[tamarind]

Every one is entitled to his or her different opinions.


There is a reason why forums are setup in such a way that you can create different threads with different subject titles.

Can everyone please re-read the title of this thread ? If a person does not believe that there is a such thing as \"gifted children\", then why continue on and on in this thread ? Since you are not going to change anyone's mind, then why waste your time ? You have all the freedom to post in other threads.

No one in this thread has ever written anything about not educating children of all abilities equally. Or \"not celebrating\" the joy of taking care of kids whether they are average or not.

I am also an educator. I believe that children of different abilities, will benefit from being taught using different methods. In fact, children who have an unusually high ability to learn, requires a lot less effort from the educator. However, they must be taught differently, because they can understand concepts effortlessly and they can move ahead much faster than other kids. We actually need to think of more \"intelligent methods\" to teach them, which is the main point of this thread. And I don't mean only pumping them academic knowledge. In fact I taught my girl jewelry making(bracelets and earrings), map reading, baking, stitching, etc. I do not let her do the Junior Math Olympiad book. I feel that it is only necessary to introduce the concepts to her. We introduce the concepts of negative numbers, geometry, fractions, etc, but we don't drill her at all.

I have also started another thread about average kids, and I have mentioned that these kids require much more effort and patience from the educator. We also need to make learning much more \"fun\" for them, because their attention span is very short. They need to be taught using more effective methods, for example, the Ladybird keyword reading scheme which uses repetitions of words. Such methods are not required by children of high learning ability. However, average children require many repetitions in order to remember things, so the Ladybird scheme is good for them.

Any educator who thinks that all children should be taught using the same methods, obviously do not have real experience teaching children who have huge gaps in their abilities. The principal of any school, will probably find it so much easier to use one method to teach all children, because that makes his or her work so much easier.

[kiasulang]

Thanks Tamarind


I keep wondering whether am I in the wrong forum. I believe this is Kiasu parents forum not \"Pretend\" parents forum. Or am I in the wrong tread \"any parents of gifted kids\" or \"any parents of assumed gifted kids\".

It is very easy to be in the back seat commenting and criticizing. It's easy to watch a movie and criticize but please give credits to those in the casts and personnel involved. How can you possibly know first hand when you do not spend 24 hours of your days involving gifted kids. Everything you mentioned was mostly from secondary sources. Just because ones choose to believe that their kids are gifted, but are they truly?

If those who followed this tread carefully, you will know who started the spark by quoting \"Even with the gifted test results, what do the numbers mean?\". It's unfair to those parents who send their kids for assessment. It's ironical to see someone who disapprove of our education system still put their children in one and being an educator here puzzled me.

I don't disagree for the sake of disagreeing. Do you really believe you know everything? If not why comment based on I heard from so and so. I write only of things that I have experienced not by heresay. Mostly importantly, I know which tread to write.

Everything written here is for your reference and discretion. For those who misunderstood my intention, please read the tread from where the spark ignite. why take it so hard when I said \"the number means much more to me\". I don't poke my nose on every postings-- homeschooling must comment, GEP must comment, enrichment must comment, everything must comment. why??

This tread is for parents to share their experience on working on our gifted kids. Do you know that it is not easy to raise a gifted child? Of course you don't, you are not in the club. Do you really believe that a child who is advance than his peers is gifted? Think again and don't make your children believe that. If you have read my previous tread, you will know that I believe in \"Play to Learn and Learn to Play\" when I teach my children. I have never tell my friends and relatives about my son's abilities. I'm just a believer that a gifted child will have a gifted siblings, why is that so hard for you to digest?

Very much we would like to believe our judgments are right, sometimes different circumstances need different measures. That's what this forum is for. For raising a gifted child is not what you have read from secondary sources and pretend to be an education expert and start posting comments. Free advice to you, get first hand informations before you comment in this tread.