My baby boy (age 10, so maybo not really a baby any more) has been selected to go to a special event for "Gifted and Talented" children! He is one of only 4 kids from his school that have been chosen, so we are really proud of him. Number One Son is also a member of this organisation, so it looks like we will soon have 2 members!
Meanwhile, my daughter likes to keep her talents a secret but it is now clear that she is at or near the top of most of her classes. This is quite amazing as a couple of years ago she was only making average or just below average grades. Funny, we always suspected that there was more to her than she was letting us see, and it is now finally showing.
Number One Son continues to shine, having just taken his AS Level Maths exam at 15 (normally done at 17) and found it "quite easy". They are now planning his next 3 years at school, hoping that he can complete not only this maths A Level, but also another one in applied maths before he leaves the school. This in addition to studying other subjects as normal, of course! We sometimes worry that he being pushed too hard, but he is more than happy with things so that is OK. We do our best to keep the pressure off, being pleased with his achievements but not expecting anything. Mrs RC has even said that if he gets to 18 years old and decides that instead of Uni he wants to run away with the circus that is fine, so long as he is happy - that is what life is about after all!
8 comments:
You shouldn't feel the need to apologize for being proud! You deserve to be proud! You've got some great kids, which should come as no surprise. And I LOVE, LOVE, L.O.V.E. Mrs. RC's attitude about the kids doing whatever it is that makes them happy. My dad always pushed us kids to choose something that pays well. (And of course, his pushing backfired.) I know he meant well, but the constant insistence to only choose a financially secure path led us to believe that happiness was secondary to anything. I've really tried to instill in my kids a sense that the most important thing is to be happy. And if they can make lots of money at the same time, that's great, but not essential. I just want them to be comfortable.
Kids. They can amaze and astound you. It is great to be proud of their accomplishments. We all want them to be successful and happy in what they do (even if it is a trapeze artist). Of course, having them excel in scholastics is always great. No need to appolgize for being boastful. You've earned. Now, standing on the rooftop and shouting to the rest of the world about it might be a bit over the top...but go for it.
Terri - That sort of pressure often does backfire. Glad you aren't passing it down to your kids!
agg79 - Shouting from the rooftops is a good idea! Except I get vertigo, so maybe not!
As someone who was TAG (Talented And Gifted) in my elementary school days, got fed up with being treated like a lab experiment, tossed the whole thing in the gutter, and became simply (and very apathetically) "above average" by my high school days, I hope your kids have a better time of it than I did.
The Moody Minstrel - Well my eldest has been doing very well out of it. The school is doing everything in its power to help him, and are hoping he will go to somewhere like Cambridge Uni. It basically means that he gets to study what he wants in his own way, often on his own with one to one tuition thrown in, which suits him fine. If we thought they were pushing him too hard we would step in straight away. Don't want him burning out at 17!
Brag it up Rock Chef! Your kiddies are awesome - and obviously little geniuses (yay Clare! hehe) - so you may as well talk about them :)
A huge congratulations to your son.
He will enjoy his new classes. As a child I was also selected as a talented student for bio and science. I had so much fun, so many good memories of learning much more then you could in normal classes....
xoxo
Ali - Thanks, I will remind you of that at some point when you ask me if I will ever shut up about my kids :-)
SiS - I think that is what is so good - being in a class that is all thinking at the same speed where the teacher can really get to grips with a subject. He will soak it up.
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