[From CompuServe, April 1994] Robert, We have contacted the N.A.G.C. and they were most apologetic about their inability to help my daughter. Christina was indentified as highly gifted by the Los Angeles School District at 4 years old. She tested on the Stanford Binet test at above 200 I.Q., and was assigned to Brentwood Science Magnate 1-3 grades at 5 years old. We have been in London for a year now where she has been attending a state school, and she was graded according to her age. She is also studying a home course from Calvert School. Although we have been trying to find a proper school for her, my wife and I thought she was adjusting to normal school satisfactorily. That is until last week when she said she didn't want to have the best report in class because the children will tease her again. We'll have to leave England if this country can't move out of the middle ages and make a proper education available for Gifted Children. This is a situation founded in a deep seated elitist society, which is afraid of what would happen if children's educational access was determined by intellect, effort, imagination and ability. The present method of giving educational opportunity, college and employment placement is by a student's ancestery, money, and social status. Intelligent working class people threaten the very survival of the ruling class of this backward feudal nation. Germany, Japan, France, Italy and most US states have recognized the great national treasure they have in their Gifted Students. I've had to get this off my chest, Robert, because what is happening in the UK is criminal. Randell --- << we'll have to leave England....>> I hadn't really realised that the situation was all that different in other countries until I started browsing this forum and discovered just what is going on elsewhere. I'm well travelled, but I've never before had reason to come across gifted children probrammes abroad. However, I don't think that the present UK situation is a class/ money conspiracy. Many ( most?) of the educational theorists and teachers who have been pushing the "levelling down" concept in state education would like to think of themselves as having "working class" origins. The Establishment is simply not concerned with the state sector, except to throw the odd sop to public opinion, since it has always educated its children privately. Basically, the state sector was hijacked by theoretical educationalists in the 60's. These people confused "equality of opportunity" with "equality" and things have gone downhill from there. My generation (late 30's) is probably the last one in the UK where children of working class parents had good access to educational opportunities. My own parents were certainly working class (although they probably moved into the middle class by the time I finished school). My father was, in turn, a window cleaner, miner, strapmaker and shopkeeper. My mother was a mill worker. I was able to benefit from a very enlightened selective secondary education system in my native Yorkshire, which selected Grammar school entrants on a combination of informal tests, assessment and project evaluation, with opportunities for the system to correct *mistakes* in years 2, 3 and 4. It was far superior to the comprehnsive state system which replaced it. I don't know what we're going to do with our 3 children, since primary school expectations are so low. Even my 7 year old spends an inordinate amount of time "junk modelling" at school... and most of his teachers are "rabidly" "working class". Sorry: I has to get it off my chest, too! Rob --- "Germany, Japan, France, Italy and most US states have recognized the great national treasure they have in their Gifted Students." Maybe the others nations have, but IMO most schools here (US) seem more interested in supressing and defeating intelligence and intellectual giftedness. OTOH, if a child is a potential super-athlete; then the schools and society are interested in helping the child achieve. (This is "getting somethingoff my chest" too.) [John] --- Greetings John, > IMO most schools here (US) seem more interested in supressing and defeating > intelligence and intellectual giftedness. OTOH, if a child is a potential > super-athlete Oh no... another illusion shattered. Here in Australia many of us were lamenting our sports fetish and "tall poppy" cutting, and envying the supportive attitudes prevalent in the US... And you tell us... I suppose the Statue of Liberty doesn't exist either? Cheers, David. --- Greetings John, _Gifted Child Today_ is a monthly, fairly eclectic magazine from the US that covers a wide range of material relevant to gifted children and their education. We subscribed (from Sydney) for a year and found it good - with the only problems being a delay for sea-mail delivery (not really a problem once the first one is received), and there not being enough time to read the good articles. One of the positives is that they list the contact addresses for the authors, and many of them respond to further queries (at least they did to me, an editor of another magazine). I have ceased subsribing but this is due to the perennial time problem and also the fact that _Our Gifted Children_, an Australian magazine published by Hawker Brownlow Education, is reprinting most of the articles by arrangement (and is available in Australia much more cheaply). The latest contact address I have for _Gifted Child Today_ is PO Box 637, Holmes PA 19043, USA with costs about US$50 pa (varies with location). Good magazine for parents, teachers and others interested in gifted kids, but I am sure there are others. Maybe the UK National Association for Gifted Children in Northampton might have suggestions for UK equivalents. Cheers, David. --- John, The American system is always handled on a local basis, wheather it's piories are developed by school districts, cities, counties or states. there is always a level of possible advocacy. That can be challenges by approaching the School board, starting a patition or by legal challenge. In reminding you of some of your options to force action, because here in Britian these processes are implied, but a thousand time hard to affect. In 1980, my son was in school in Mill Hill (a section of London), one day his school called my wife and I in to speak to with the Headmaster. They told us that he had a very high IQ and they insisted we to take him out of the school and back to the US. He was going through a very bored stage of his adolesance and thay felt his daydreaming distracted the class. I tried everything to reverse there discision and found that there is no due process. I had to quit my Engineering position, and return to the US. Well 14 years later we are facing a simular problem, not that my 8 year old daughter is being asked to leave her school. But the school system still makes no provisions for gifted childern, and if the present system remains change will happen very slowly. I've read many of the frustrations that have been expressed on this board and I do agree with them. Randell ---