Clever children - do you sneer at them, somewhat enviously?

[hunkermunker]

Why?

oh how lovely scummy she sounds fab!!!
i do that and some friends have crticised me but i know and dc's know what i mean!!!!!

I think kids always know these things, otter.

yeah !! they know when their Mammy loves them - whatever!

Aw, Scummy - that's lovely!

Thanks hunker. It's not all good though- I once inflicted a word by word reading of my son's rather fine rock song "I'm in the meadow drinking wine" on a lovely friend on the pretext that I was worried he would become an alcoholic.

Oh, that's BRILLIANT, SM!

ROFL scummy

I had a slightly different experience at primary school. The teachers would make a point of lauding my abilities on a regular basis (good at maths, english, french, science, sport etc).

The teachers loved me, and would always compliment me, or sit the 'naughty' children next to me in the hope it would 'rub off' on them.

This of course made all the other children hate me.....

By the time I got to secondary school I was one of those awful inbetweeny folk - not cool enough (teachers pet) but not serious enough for the 'studious types'.

It kinda went downhill from there.

College taught me A LOT about how teachers and lecturers stereotype students though - I ended up dropping out of college after a while because of my awful awful tutor.

Just had to say - hunker, you and I had the same school experience. I did have experience of the private sector, and went to dreadful and terrific state schools (we moved a lot)

I had one teacher say to another class (same year group, same subject)

"Do any of you know Humph? It's so annoying. She sits at the back, messes around, never does any work and she managed to pass the exam. And then there's X, who sits at the front and works hard, and she didn't pass. Useless Humph."

wtf

Obv, the people I knew in the other class had pretended they didn't know me, and relayed this back to me.

So now I think, there was I, passing without doing a spot of work and the teacher was criticising me. Why didn't she move me to the front and encourage me? Because she was the useless one, the numpty.

Rant over.

No, but I do sneer somewhat at parents who think their quite obviously not that fabulous children are much brighter than mine.

Well that is most likely because they have an 'inferiority' complex, MI

we are lucky with our state schools here and i appreciate it
a lot is down to personality - both my kids seem quite eager to do well and want to be seen to be at the top
strange though....my ds who is regarded as very bright at his school was very slow starter and run -of - the - mill .Around -7 he crept up toward top of class (his birthday end august) and by 9 years was being pu in with year above for maths.

i inwardly snurk at parents on here and in rl who comment on childs ability at 4 and 5 as ime there is an awful lot of room for change in all drections before it matters

children pre 6 should be playing in mud and water with no regard to how well they hold a pencil or write their name

i have come full circle and truly believe this to be true

i am also a GREAT believer in nature. Genetics matter a lot more than many seem to believe

Otter - yeah, totally agree with genetics comment.

My dd is about average in her reception class - some of the (mainly autumn-born) kids are so ahead - reading books meant for age 7, writing 4-letter words (lol, not the rude variety).

are they gifted/talented? I was always ahead at school and got good A-levels, degrees but am still of only OKish intelligence, IMO.

sorry, not really adding much to this thread- just wittering!

Your DS is exactly how I was otter.

I didnt take off until I got into juniors and then just surged forward. (Possibly why the teachers were apparently so impressed???).

Either a child has got aptitude for a subject or it hasnt, however, I do feel that the environment they are in, at home or at school has a huge impact on how their natural talents develop, and their own self respect for that talent.

I know I always felt far more respected by peers and my dad for being good at sport and sciences, more so than English and Maths.

In fact being good at Maths was deemed positively geeky.

And actually, the one thing I really really wanted to be good at was art and similar topics and I was always utterly crap at it.

i am terrible VVV when my daughter tells me about a physics/maths achievement my ears prick up!
English etc i carry on mumnstting!

Anyone know anything about water meters, she said, hijacking own thread...

Sorry, OP

Yes.

Ah, but then there's regression to the mean, Otter... and the children of geniuses aren't often genius material themselves. Who's heard of Mozart junior, or Darwin, Newton... who would have heard of Sean or Julian Lennon, bless them, if we didn't know about their dad?

LOL! DD has expressed an interest in playing the violin!

how the feck am i going to 'encourage' that one - i am tone deaf and cant even use a tambourine very well

oooh, dd starting violin on year 1 (school do it)

year 1?????

i do believe in home environment too but just think genetics is crucial - envionment kind of - tips the balance!

Dinny - My first child ( Monsieur of the Slow Starter) is endAugust bithday

my daughter and ds2 are Start and end October

It was a doddle for dcs 2 and 3 - they went into school miles above the poor little summer mites and were socially capable - able to read /write/ more physically able etc - one year is a huge ( well 25%) difference at that age

This has stayed with them to a greater or lesser degree. I felt teachers formed a very quick opinion of them due to 'baseline' ability on entering school at almost 5

Now 10 and 12 they are lazier than ds1 who had to fight his corner so to speak and 'really try' to get up their with the big wigs
My daughter has had a real shock on enetering a grammar school - she was tip top of her primary ( which was 9th in UK on performance tables when she was there) She was top without ever trying

ds1 - however- worked his cotton socks off as a babby and is now flying in a great school and finding tough stuff a breeze

I have reaally digressed! Anyway dc's 4and 5 were born jan/feb which puts them dead centre of the year group !! Good thinking Otters eggs!

eh Edam!! Michael douglas!!!! The Freuds!