From: Andrew.Probert@f20.n772.z3.fidonet.org (Andrew Probert)
Newsgroups: k12.ed.tag
Subject: Gifted Children       1/
Date: Thu, 28 Jan 93 01:28:14 PDT
Organization: FidoNet node 3:772/20 - IBM NZ Ltd Gate, Auckland

Hello, Lori. I hope you had a good Christmas holiday. You said

  =8>;^)  Ah yes, the concern about socialization. You are not the first
  to voice  it!  My daughters and I attend martial arts school
  =8>together; they participate in library and zoo programs,
  =8>community education classes, etc.  They are more active in =8>their
  communities than most people- the county fair, the =8>local Nutcracker
  production, even local politics.  They've =8>learned to communicate
  and get along with all types and =8>ages of people.  We also get
  together with other =8>homeschoolers for field trips, social times,
  etc.

I am very glad to hear it.  It is important to 'belong ' to society. I
myself among other things am presently doing some volunteer work with
the local Citizens Advice Bureau, the job of which is to inform people
who ask about what services are available in their community, and to
help people arrive at decisions that will help them. This work fits in
quite well with my legal training in that it helps me to improve my
'people' skills.

  =8>While I have heard horror stories about public schools in the cities, we l
  =8>in a very rural area, with "good" schools.  I just don't
  =8>think the "system" is the best way to become educated; the
  =8>whole idea that learning should be dissected into
  =8>categories, doled out in 40 minute increments, seperated
  =8>from "real life", and then measured by some standard above
  =8>which we must not rise, and below which we must not fall,
  =8>in any given subject at a particular age: while the process
  =8>miraculously manages to produce a certain amount of
  =8>learning,it's just not my idea of the best education.

I think you have a good point here. I myself was educated in the
'normal' school system. While I survived, I wonder if I might not have
been happier and have developed my abilities to a greater extent if i
had been educated in a gifted childrens programme or been home educated.
For example, I was pretty good at maths when i was young, once I
discovered it ( i was more interested in ancient languages and history
at first). However, I was switched off maths when I was at secondary or
high school. I assumed that I was no good at maths, because I found it
difficult to 'learn' it in the way I was expected to.
However, when I go t to college, and started a degree in economics I
found that I needed to acquire a knowledge of quite high level maths.
Thus I taught myself calculus, linear algebra, basic stats, etc. I found
that by learning these topics in a way which came naturally to me, I
could pick them up in no time at all. In fact I have now come to think
that i should have done a degree in science and maths ( I won't go in to
how awful the science teaching was at the school I went to and how I
gave science up as a subject when i was 14 ). In fact I think i would
fit into a career in maths and science much better than into a law and
business career. However, it would be difficult for me to switch career
training at this point, for money rerasons in particular.

I guess what i am saying is that i agree with what you are doing, and
with the whole concept of a TAG education programme like you have in the
States. Unfortunately, the 'culture' we have here in New Zealand is very
much resistant to such things. Here, it is socially acceptable to be
gifted in some sporting ability alone. However, it is only acceptable to
be talented intellectually here in New Zealand if you apply
your gift in one of a restricted number of areas such as becoming a
lawyer or a doctor, or applying the gift in business . Any intellectual
gift which lies outside these bounds and is applied outside these bounds
will not be recognised as valuable by society, whether ornot it is in
fact valuable. However, if you are also good at sports, and exhibit the
right laidback Kiwi attitude towards life, then you may be able to 'get
away' with having such an otherwise socially unrecognised gift.
This is the sort of thing I was up against all through my schooling
years, and even to some extent , though in a more subtle sense, now that
I am at university.

You said

 =8>The "rule" is that they must be gainfully occupied- ie, not bugging someon
  =8>else, etc.  Whenever they are not so occupied, we offer
  =8>choices or ideas.  We often arrive at projects by a sort of
  =8>informal brainstorming- one comment or idea leads to
  =8>another, and another...We are always available for
  =8>questions or assistance.

Have your kids shown an interest in languages, particularly languages
such as Latin, Greek, and the Celtic group? I found these languages, and
the histiry of the peoples who spoke the languages, fascinating when I
was young. I am sure your kids would too.

You also said,

  =8> AP> What sort of books does Amber read? Has she discovered the Earthsea
  =8> AP> trilogy by Ursula Le Guin? This has got to rank as one my alltime
  =8>The Left Hand of Darkness is one of my favorites.  No- she
  =8>hasn't read these yet.  She likes mysteries, books with
  =8>weird titles, myths and legends...
  =8> AP> has Amber yet come upon the Dragon books by Anne MacCaffery. I myself
  =8> We got into dragons a year or so ago and I'm sure we read
  =8>some of her stuff, but my memory fails as to titles.
>>> Continued to next message
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