Rucker vs Non-Rucker
Rob van Herk and I are having a discussion on his blog regarding Rucker vs Luigi GATE students, and their relative performance. I am really very interested in the opinions of the parents of GATE students outside of Rucker: Is your child challenged, or bored? Is there enough advanced instruction? What changes would you like to see in your child's classroom experience? I'm looking for ideas that can be translated into grant proposals.
posted by William Hudson at 9:21 AM
2 Comments:
We have 2 children identified as GATE and both may have several gifts, but we asked to have them identified because as newcomers to the District and looking at the test scores we were afraid that without the GATE label it would be a lot harder for them to get the best (and most challenging) education.
The MAP tests in the last 2 years especially seem to have made a difference. Schools are placing students based on these MAP scores (and other criteria) which should theoretically allow teachers to have a little bit less of a range of students in their class room.
I'm sorry I don't have an idea about grants. The main thing that comes to mind is that as a society we should try and find more money for our students who are not in one of the main categorical groups. Special Education, Migrants, Title I, etc mostly focus on providing money for the kids 'who need it most'. I would argue that our society also needs the GATE students and students in the top levels of academic perfomance need help. How realistic is it to get their parents to provide the extra $1000 a year for their children?
If a class of English language Learners is benefiting from Federal or State monies, maybe we can get $30,000 per year for a classroom with high performing kids and get a GATE facilitator for these children as we have literacy facilitators for other groups?
I can't tell you currently what there is for the children in the elementery schools here but I can tell you what happened to my son who is now a Freshman in GHS. We entered GUSD when he was going into 4th grade. There was no room for him in Rucker. We were told the only school available for him was Las Animas (magnet days). Sadly, he learned to be ashamed of his intelligence & it got no better through the years. Now he is getting straight "C's" at GHS & asking to be taken out of the honors classes. We really need to find some kind of a pull-out program or some type of support to follow our non-Rucker students until they get up to the High School level. In the school where he attended K-3, they had a GATE teacher who would come to the school 2-3 days a week & have combined age pull-out classes. The children were challenged to think & expand their knowledge. I don't think it was necessary to accelerate their knowledge but to get them to work on critical thinking. To push beyond what the books were teaching them. Sometimes we get so wraped up in pushing kids grades ahead (4th graders reading & comprehending at 7th grade level & such) that we forget that these kids are smart beyond book smart. One example of the previous school was they expanded their Egyptian history buy creating thier own mummies. It was amazing what the kids picked up on in so many different areas with just the one project. Not sure if this helps but it has been my suggestion that we really need to focus on the kids that are left out in the cold if they can't & or don't want to go to Rucker. The phrase of "No Child Left Behind" always comes to mind when I debate this issue. As it looks now, I am seriously considering enrolling my youngest in private school next year for this reason.
Post a Comment
<< Home