To read the G+T Boards

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My DS is 4 months and very average.

Its just so oddly compelling and I don't know why.

Some of the posts over there make me laugh.

would you think it appropriate if I went into a special needs section for a laugh? . If your child turns out to have an IQ way above average you will not only have to deal with it, but also deal with this sort of attitude.

What attitude FFS?

Oh, get over yourself nutty. Yes, having an unusually bright child can present a few challenges but it's not exactly the greatest problem you're likely to face as a parent.

The attitude where other parents think that because you are trying to get your child's needs addressed and are trying to help them develop their full potential you're somehow snobby or deluded or 'too good for the rest of us'. That one. The one where you have to developba thick skin for the sake of your childrens' development.

a few challenges - I wish it was just a few - DD1 has a support worker and a referral to CAMHS

Nutty I was a child with an IQ way above average, was classified as G&T. Its hardly the same as special needs.

Some parents are just so desperate to think their children are super duper, when really they're quite normal. And that's not just on here, that's everywhere.

Get over yourself. Seriously.

There seems to be 2 groups on there though those who genuinely do have very gifted children and need the help and support and then a small minority who decide that their 6 month old is gifted, or their 2 year old is gifted because they recognise a number 7.

Oops DS pushed post for me

There are some children who are obviously remarkable, and deserve the support to develop in every way that they can, both educationally and emotionally, but there are equally some parents that need a reality check.

But some of the posts on that board are funny.

I'm all in favour of parents ensuring that the needs of their children are met, I do the same myself. But some parents seem determined to make a problem out of "giftedness". Some are just incredibly pushy parents, others dress up issues such as poor social skills as an inevitable consequence of "giftedness", and others are just engaged in a massive stealth boast.

I'm not talking about all posts on the G&T boards. Some of them are clearly genuine and they get some good advice. But some are ridiculous, and as the parent of a so-called "gifted" child, I wouldn't blame anyone for having a chuckle at them.

I'm not there to laugh. I just read the threads is all. Like I said, I don't know why I find it compelling.

I think it might be partially because I tested at a very high IQ as a child. I actually bumped into the guy that administered the test the other day and was because of how little I've achieved in life since then!

I don't know much about the politics and history of IQ testing but from what I understand there are/where proponents of IQ testing who genuinely believe in creating a meritocracy with inherent intellect forming the basis for a new elite.

The bell curve was drawn in order to give a spread of scores with very low and very high IQ's in much smaller proportions, so that idea of an elite was almost written into the test IYSWIM.

I suppose what I find interesting is the way that (misplaced?) idealism bumps up against the actual social realities. Also whether the framework of the test makes a fetish out of natural human variation, and how useful is that?

So in G+T you get some threads about genuine educational dilemma's which I would never, never be dismissive about. And then also some threads where people are almost looking for entry into this G+T elite, which doesn't exist in any objective way IMHO.

And then you get people almost trolling the boards, trying to dismiss any and all achievements from other peoples DC.

The whole dynamic is just really, really weird and I keep coming back for more of it!

I don't even know why the topic was ever invented by MN. I figured it was on the back of Blair-ist education measures where schools had to write out lists of G + T kids - so even if you were teaching in a sink inner city school where average IQ is boarderline normal (I knew a teacher who did), you still had to identify the G + T ones (i.e. the top two or three in the top sets).

In the olden days we just called really bright kids precocious and they invariably went to the grammars where they might take exams a year or two early. No label needed. It seemed to work. Now everyone wants a label. If my DS turns out to be precocious (obviously inevitable ) then I would actually object to a label of this sort. But that's just me I suppose....

YANBU - I read all sorts of bits of MN that have no direct relevance to my life.

Some posts on there are hilarious though.

2 of my DS's are on the G&T register for 5 different reasons between them and even if that did cause me a problem, I certainly wouldn't post on that topic for advice because too much of it makes me cringe.

LeBFG: How did the teacher know the IQ of the pupils? IQ testing isn't standard in schools is it?

I've just had a look - words fail.

I find that there are two categories of G&T children, those that are extremely bright for their age (but will probably even out as teenagers and be on par with their age group, or just always be bright and become doctors or lawyers etc etc) and then there is the other group where the child is remarkable in one or two areas but also has other special needs, lack of social skills/common sense etc. the first group although the parent should be proud the children generally just need encouragement and a little extra work to reach their full potential, the second group however it is very hard work having a child like this, normal strategies don't work and little things are a constant fight.

I didn't know foots existence.

I'm going to look now. Because my four week old DD has just smiled or possibly had some wind. Either way she's clearly a genius [grim]

even....

the second group however it is very hard work having a child like this, normal strategies don't work and little things are a constant fight.

Yes, I agree with this, but I would argue that these special needs are a separate issue, and the giftedness itself is not the problem.

Oh God I haven't started a stamped of gawkers have I?

Don't start a board war or anything, will you?

Ooh, I didn't realise there's a g&t board on mums net......now off to have a nose

I sometimes have a look.
if I don't how can I learn about it?
there is no comparison with the SN board though.
so yanbu

No, not IQ scores as such but the CAT scores which are pretty well correlated. We just used to talk about IQ - but it's a bit sloppy.

Oh, and no one has to my satisfaction explained why it is so important the G&T reach their full potential. I mean, you read of some parents organising all this stuff outside school - tutors, music lessons, language groups - seems the poor kids haven't time to park their ass and chill out in front of the TV, ever....from the age of 8. I just don't undertand it. I wonder if it's PFB-ism on a grand scale? Or some 'thing' with the parent that needs satisfying?

I'm tarring with a large brush I realise (sorry), but I wasn't pushed/encouraged to reach my full potential at school and feel I just got on with it like so many others. I had many interests I developed on my own as I grew older and, thankfully, had parents that encouraged (but never pushed) me to do whatever I liked (even if it was sitting watching TV).