How much did you "push" your kids

owlice
Mon, 21 Dec 2009 01:13:59 +0000

As others have mentioned, Talent Search, Talent Search, Talent Search. Johns Hopkins U’s Center for Talented Youth (CTY), Duke’s Talent Identification Program (TIP), Northwestern University’s Midwest Academic Talent Search, and so on – whichever one covers your geographic area. Once your son has participated in a talent search, you will learn about resources that are available.

My kid, who has been a voracious reader all his life, did not study for the SAT. He did read part of a prep book (Princeton Review) and take a sample test, one section a day, not all at once, before he took the SAT the first time (in 7th grade). That was it, total, for SAT prep; he got a 2020 that time, took it again in 8th grade and got a 2180, and then the last time in 10th grade and scored a 2350.

He attended special ed schools through 7th grade, and rarely got even grade level work at these schools. His dad and I supplied him with a lot of resources at home; he taught himself a lot of things. Once he went through the CTY talent search, we had a lot more resources to draw on, including the CTY summer programs, family academic conferences, and distance learning options, which my son used for math instruction in 6th and 7th grades.

We may have had to push him to do/finish/turn in school work, but we never had to push him to learn; that he does easily and well.