Curriculum Night...

Tonight was curriculum night - the night the parents come and hear about the grade level expectations and methods used to meet the state and federal standards. I have been the Gifted Education specialist at my school for a few years and, for the most part, the parents of the gifted education kids LOVE me because their kids do and because I get their kids.

Now, there are a few high achievers that, through extra enrichment and tutoring, have seeped into the program. These parents want to rewrite the curriculum to meet their needs....to make their children's education more "elite" than that of the other kids. They bore me.

The parents of truly "gifted kids" have their hands full with a host of other issues and are simply happy if they do not get a phone call home during the day. These "out of the box thinkers" are a challenge to teach and more, a challenge to parent. The are distracted, passionate, disorganized - and many are twice exceptional. Gifted education IS a branch of special education - not some sought after goal that guarantees entrance into Harvard. Many of these kids, if not motivated, become dropouts because the "system" doesn't work for them and simply socializing with typical kids is a challenge.

I love my job - I love the fact that I get to utilize many of my skills and degrees to make for a wonderful day for my students. I do not love some of the parents that come in with a chip on their shoulder wanting a private or charter school program in a public education setting. I do not love being put on the spot by the same mother over and over again, year after year because she wants what she wants - not what the district mandates.

In our state, parents have choices and these parents have money. If they are displeased with the public school, they can opt for charter or private school. They can opt in and out of schools within the district through open enrollment. With so many options, I don't see why they have to challenge instead of choose.

I do my job and I do it well. I am the first Gifted Education Specialist to stay in the role for more than one year because of the nature of the population at this school. The role suits me and 98% of the parents dole out a plethora of accolades!

Why I let this 2% bother me is a mystery. I guess, as a dedicated teacher, I want to please everyone all of the time although I know this is impossible.