This afternoon I found myself at an informational meeting for the school district’s Gifted and Talented program.  AE’s teacher mentioned that she feels he’s an excellent candidate, and of course his father and I concur.  So off to the meeting I went.  And I learned a few things.

First of all, I would think that at a G/T meeting you would want to appear semi-intelligent.  Granted, the parents are not the ones being tested but…apples falling far from the tree and all that.  I’m just saying, if you are a babbling idiot or That Woman who asks the asinine questions, don’t be surprised if the rest of us are quietly judging you AND your poor unfortunate child.

Also, I am still apparently among the younger parents in this group.  I was only 23 when AE was born and consequently tend to feel like a teenager in a room full of his peers’ parents.  Particularly if their current kindergartner is not their oldest kid, which somehow often seems to be the case.  (Will I EVER start to feel like an actual adult?  Maybe when AE goes off to college.  Or gets married.)

N and I were both in a G/T program beginning in elementary school, but it is pretty clear that a program in a town full of college professors and other academics is a tad more competitive than ours was.  The woman giving the presentation had several slides describing the difference between a child who is merely “bright” versus one who is truly “gifted”, and it made me realize that lots of kids in my childhood G/T program were probably only bright.  Like, oh I don’t know, ME.

Presentation Lady also had a chart showing the number of children from each school that have been selected for the program over the last few years.  At AE’s school last year, 14 kids were nominated but only 4 chosen.  And the year before that, there was only 1 selected out of 15 nominees!   She was also very careful to mention that kindergartners tend not to test well so the results may not truly be indicative of their intelligence – apparently our school district only tests this age group because the state requires it.  Or something.  I think I zoned out there for a minute.

And finally, she kept going on and on about how the G/T program should NOT be thought of as an elite “club” since it is in fact more of a special education program.  As in, these kids have different and unique learning styles and abilities and therefore need specialized instruction.  Which is very true, I suppose, but it was interesting to hear it put in those terms.

I’m not sure exactly how AE will do on the tests – he tends to have trouble focusing for long periods of time (the tests will take several 30-45 minute sessions).  On the other hand, I recognized him in several of the characteristics on the “gifted” side of the chart – learning after only 1-2 repititions, applying information to other situations, a tendency to just “know” things that other kids have to learn, and tending toward obsession on subjects that interest him.  Check, check and CHECK.

I certainly do not want to put any pressure on AE, and if he is not accepted into the program this year it will not be the end of the world.  However, I think it would be an excellent opportunity for him and I do think he is more than just a bright, clever kid so I will probably have to admit to being at least slightly disappointed if he doesn’t qualify.

So to sum up, here we go with yet another tick mark under the heading Parenting Situations That I’m Not Sure What To Do With.  That column is getting long.