tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18330500.post5512357951098880425..comments2024-03-12T10:15:07.995-05:00Comments on What's Up With The Wheelers: DilemmaUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18330500.post-39915398743009163262013-04-09T21:07:27.772-05:002013-04-09T21:07:27.772-05:00I understand your dilemma. truly it comes down to ...I understand your dilemma. truly it comes down to what do you, Jason, and Brooklyn truly feel will be the best option for your child. Without knowing her and teaching her directly I cannot say. I have had students go both directions and be so happy. There will be trials and challenges either direction. A gifted program often requires a lot of families, out of school projects and studies. The one I am familiar with does.I have watched gifted children thrive in the Dual. They are challenged in a way I have never before seen. I will pray for your family as both are great opportunities for her. Our Familyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13408977434660907267noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18330500.post-85400573638398628112013-04-07T20:31:00.710-05:002013-04-07T20:31:00.710-05:00Tough decision. How much longer would Brooklyn be ...Tough decision. How much longer would Brooklyn be at her current school if she stayed? How long would she be at the new one if she went? If she goes to the new school, does she have friends from her current school that she could hang out with and speak Spanish? Does she ever speak/hear Spanish away from school or is it only school? Is there an afterschool Spanish conversation group that she could participate in?<br /><br />I think my biggest questions would be - Is she happy now where she is? How much do you value her Spanish? Erinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15765622517307104987noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-18330500.post-73702459734641822392013-04-07T15:52:16.399-05:002013-04-07T15:52:16.399-05:00In evaluating our experiences in our own home, if ...In evaluating our experiences in our own home, if we could do things over, we would NOT have had Heather go into the advanced placement classes. As much as we tried to help her be otherwise, she developed a strong "I'm better than others" attitude. Also, in the school she attended, it seemed their way to deal with these students was to simply throw more work at them - busy work. They still had to keep them on level with other students their age - not allowed to push them into a higher grade than their standard age group. Hopefully, that is no longer the case, but it's worth checking into. One thing we didn't need was senseless busy work. The other challenge we had was her fifth grade teacher knew nothing about math and the attitude was these kids could figure it out without teaching. Unfortunately, there were only a couple of children in the class who didn't have to take fifth grade math over in sixth grade, and though they did catch up by the end of the year, they were no where near ready to move into higher math in seventh grade. Their fifth grade teacher was placed there because she did not know how to teach but was wonderful with coming up with busy work kinds of art projects.<br /><br />Heather enjoyed the class because she no longer felt singled out as the "smart kid" and she made some great friends. But the "scholar" attitude was part of what led her to question the truth of the Church. I realize it was not the fault of the class, but more the fault of the general attitude that she was smarter than others that placing her in the class seemed to fan, that resulted in those problems, but we still feel like it was not wise to put her there. Other LDS students in the class emerged with very strong testimonies, so I can't blame the class, but we saw the changes develop as she made friends with other students who did not have the strength in the gospel that she had been raised with.<br /><br /><br />You do face a challenge. I've watched others of our children get totally bored and drop out intellectually in the regular classes, definitely getting sloppy in homework habits. I almost wonder if they'd be better off with home schooling. The bottom line is simply that you have a very gifted child who is born to be a leader in righteous things. The one who will help you with this decision is the same One who sent her to your home. Listen carefully to the Spirit. Very carefully. God will guide you to make the right decision here.Julie Lhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02537558866433902486noreply@blogger.com