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Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 9
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 9:02 am: |     |
Anyone ever send their kids there/know anything about the program?
They offer Saturday classes and other special programs, have a fairly extensive website.
They require kids to be tested before accepting them which could either be (a) a really good thing, because it ensures that you get actual gifted children as opposed to kids whose parents want them to be gifted
or
(b) an easy way to make some extra money (they charge for the IQ testing) from parents who believe their kids are gifted.
Classes are for kids from pre-K on up and sound interesting.
But Glen Rock is a long drive, so I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them.
Thanks. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 347
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 11:13 am: | |
Copperfield,
I have no personal experience with the program, but it has been around a long time -- I became aware of it when my son was reading fluently at age 3 -- he is now college bound.
If you don't mind the drive, give it a look, but there are so many rich and rewarding things to do around us...
Not that this article should steer you one way or another, I included it because it is a worthwhile read.
March-April 2001 - Articles and Columns
The Gifted Child - Theresa Willingham
What are the odds your child is "gifted?" Probably slim, if you believe pyschologist and author Ellen Winner, who says, "Extraordinary abilities are mostly innate and occur in perhaps one in 10,000 children." But probably quite high if you believe in your child!
Winner argues that only "profoundly gifted students, with IQs over 160 or prodigious talents in art or music should receive special services." The other 9,999 - including the just "plain old smart kids" can, for all intents and purposes, go take a homogenous hike in "high standards" classrooms (wherever those might be).
While that argument might make good fodder for public education policy, it's a social setback of the most limiting kind. It's a throwback to the days when IQs were (erroneously) considered the best measure of success and potential.
However great a blow it might be for the parents of the "profoundly gifted," the fact is that the world is not run by the 1 in 10,000 Winner declares have "extraordinary abilities" or "prodigious talents." The world is run by that neglected 9,999 who are being told they're nothing special!
Those "plain old smart kids" who don't qualify for accelerated learning programs or special science labs are the ones who will grow up to help out in soup kitchens, volunteer in nursing homes and homeless shelters. They will rally for clean water and healthy environments, read and appreciate good literature and often write it, work hard in jobs that strengthen our economy and raise new generations of ordinary, good people. They will be members of Doctors Without Borders and Green Peace and the Sierra Club. They will also probably be the ones with the surprising start up companies that wow Wall Street, who invent a new fuel source or rescue someone from a fire or an automobile accident.
I'm not the jaded parent of failed children saying this. I'm the mother of at least one gifted child, and probably three. When my oldest was six years old and her eccentric behavior was driving me nuts, and one of her grandmother's was calling for a child psychologist to look into the matter, I took a chance and had her tested for giftedness. I figured she was probably no odder than Mozart as child, or Einstein, or Beatrix Potter boiling down fox carcasses in her backyard.
She scored one point shy of admission to the gifted student program at our local elementary school. Because she didn't hurry through a timed portion of the test - indeed, has never hurried through anything - a score sheet said she wasn't one of the "profoundly gifted," but just a "plain old smart kid." I was invited to bring her back in a year and have her tested again. The school was sure she would make it on the second round. I decided it wasn't that important.
Of course she's gifted. Her IQ measures in the 120 range. She's twelve now, a magnificent artist, with a mature flair for cartooning and a deep and abiding love and understanding of nature. But she can't do grade-level math to save her soul. Her sister, whom I never had tested, is also gifted. At ten, she shows "prodigious talent" at the piano and works well above grade level in math. But she gets confused with word problems on paper and her giftedness takes flight at the sight of any kind of "test." The girls' seven-year-old brother would probably be stuck in a learning disabled class. His giftedness is somewhat hidden behind a gregarious, fun-loving nature and an abhorrence of reading, although he loves to be read to and has the focus and maturity to enjoy listening to long novels with his sisters.
My friends' kids are gifted, although not all of them notice their gifts. These children are wonderful skaters, artists, inventors, budding scientists, amateur filmmakers, young architects, and more. None of them have ever been formally tested for giftedness. As far as the public schools are concerned, these plain old smart kids have to tough it out in crowded classrooms with everyone else. Fortunately, many of these friends homeschool and they don't have to worry about that.
I'm sure your children are gifted too. When my children were very little and we spent time with other friends who had children the same ages, I would watch in fascination and wonderment at the skills and talents they all showed at those tender ages. I couldn't figure out why those other parents didn't seem to see their children's talents. Indeed, over time, a lot of those talents went unrealized because they were never recognized.
How many brilliant scientists have we lost? How many doctors, how many possible cures for cancer, how many magnificent compositions and great works of art, how many inventions and cosmological theoretical advances have never seen the light of day because throughout their youth, our possible saviors were told they were nothing special? Genius isn't relegated to the domain of high I.Q. Genius, said Thomas Edison - who was considered "addled" in his youth and probably wouldn't have qualified as GSP material today - is one tenth inspiration and nine tenths perspiration. It's the result of the blue-collar work ethic, not white-collar elitism.
I am grateful that homeschooling allows me to nurture the unique genius and gifts of each of my children. I mourn the genius lost in public schools because a child hasn't yet realized his or her potential at the age of 5. I believe we get what we expect from our children - and from one another. At least, I believe we do if our expectations consist in belief in one another's highest potential. If we treated all our children as the geniuses they can be, and nurtured their innate gifts of kindness, charity, understanding, and compassion, as well as their hoped-for academic gifts, then 9,999 children out of 10,000 could brighten our future and theirs with their own "extraordinary abilities."
What are the odds your child is gifted? Probably pretty good if you believe in your child!
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Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 389
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 1:39 pm: | |
There are many well-established tests of cognitive ability, and the children who test in the top 2% or higher need special services for the simple reason that instruction designed for the broad middle doesn't meet their needs.
Later in life, as young adults, they have some power to choose who they will be with, and what kind of classes they will take. As grade school children they must go where the grown-ups put them.
If you have a child of normal abilities, imagine what you would think if the school told you that your child was being placed in remedial class because "the experience would be good for him". Imagine how your child would feel at the end of the day.
Denying gifted children the chance to be with their peers is a form of child abuse, all the more evil because it can be masked by the most sincere of good intentions. |
Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 10
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 1:44 pm: | |
Thanks Viva.
We were looking at GCS more as a place for my 5 year old to meet other kids his age with atypical interests, rather than as a stepping stone to Harvard.
The article's a bit trite and incredibly defensive though, don't you think? (I'm always suspicious when someone claims not to be doing something they quite obviously are.)
I thought Tom Wolfe did an excellent job in "A Man In Full" (mediocre novel otherwise) of summing up the dangers of that fallacy- I forget the details, but basically he went off on how a job with a large corporation is the logical conclusion to a stellar academic career- and that it's rarely those kids who take the risks, etc.
But the fact that the GCS has been around for a good long while is reassuring, so thanks. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 348
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 4:59 pm: | |
It is the essence of the article that I find to be a breath of fresh air. I did not try to overanalyze her intent, really.
Glad to help if only a little.
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Deb G
Citizen
Username: Deborahg
Post Number: 771
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 6:54 pm: | |
I know nothing about the program but I am chiming in because I work in Glen Rock, and I can tell you it's a SOLID 45-55 minute drive during the morning and evening rush. Assuming no pile-ups, of course. I'd rather spend that time tutoring my kids myself!  Seriously, just something to factor in. |
Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 11
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Sunday, February 1, 2004 - 8:29 pm: | |
The classes are very early Saturday AM, Deb G.
So it's more like a 25 minute drive on an fairly empty GSP.
And like I said, it's all about socialization with like-minded, not teaching anything extraordinary. |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 349
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 8:23 am: | |
if that is the case, why don't you see if you can organize a Saturday morning "playgroup" with kids around town with similar interests. MOL might be just the way to go about it. |
Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 391
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 6:26 pm: | |
It's worthwhile going, partly because it's reassuring for gifted children to know that there are others like them, and that there may be other kids who share their interests as well as their giftedness.
I'm sure you also know that the NJ Association for Gifted Children is having its yearly conference soon, and the children's program is also a chance for your child to be with other gifted children (and to meet other parents).
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AGD4
Citizen
Username: Agd4
Post Number: 17
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 9:59 pm: | |
I sent my older son to Gifted Child Society's programming 7 or 8 years ago. Their offerings are nice and they are fairly strict about the entrance requirements.
After a while, my son wanted his Saturday mornings back to himself for creative play & I always believe in following the child's lead, so we did not continue at GCS.
By the way, GCS's workshops/conferences are very good as well.
If you are looking for excellent programming closeby, you should check out Montclair State University's Gifted Programs. MSU also runs summer enrichment programs. All of their programming has a solid reputation. Their criteria for admission is less stringent than GCS's. Personally, I think MSU's criteria is fine, but GCS is openly critical of MSU's criteria. I would see if they have any links on the MSU website. |
AGD4
Citizen
Username: Agd4
Post Number: 18
Registered: 2-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 10:00 pm: | |
I sent my older son to Gifted Child Society's programming 7 or 8 years ago. Their offerings are nice and they are fairly strict about the entrance requirements.
After a while, my son wanted his Saturday mornings back to himself for creative play & I always believe in following the child's lead, so we did not continue at GCS.
By the way, GCS's workshops/conferences are very good as well.
If you are looking for excellent programming closeby, you should check out Montclair State University's Gifted Programs. MSU also runs summer enrichment programs. All of their programming has a solid reputation. Their criteria for admission is less stringent than GCS's. Personally, I think MSU's criteria is fine, but GCS is openly critical of MSU's criteria. Check out MSU's website, the probably have a webpage for their gifted programs for youngsters. |
eab
Citizen
Username: Eab
Post Number: 28
Registered: 10-2001
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 10:18 pm: | |
My children have each experienced the MSU program and it is a fine program, but these are organized classes! There are only limited "socialization" opportunities in many of them. If a child is young, I think trolling for "gifted" children for a playgroup is a better idea. A child who truly wants to learn more about specific topics might well love the MSU programs. |
Montagnard
Citizen
Username: Montagnard
Post Number: 395
Registered: 6-2003
| | Posted on Monday, February 2, 2004 - 11:18 pm: | |
My recollection is that the more interesting MSU classes are aimed at older children. |
Copperfield
Citizen
Username: Copperfield
Post Number: 14
Registered: 1-2004
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 10:59 am: | |
AGD4: Thanks for being the only person to actually answer my question.
I will also check out the MSU program and the GCS workshops.
Thanks again- I was beginning to doubt I'd ever get an actual answer.
Copperfield |
viva
Citizen
Username: Viva
Post Number: 350
Registered: 5-2001
| | Posted on Tuesday, February 3, 2004 - 6:08 pm: | |
we did the best we could, copperfield.
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