YPSMV

Your Popsicle Stick May Vary?

erika, yup GATE in So Cal = Gifted and Academically Talented Education. My daughter was in GATE, I feel badly now because while it pushed and challenged her, now she's headed to AP classes in high school with a ton of extra homework which is good for college and stuff but the poor kid ends up doing homework until 10 every night. I tell her it's preparing her for college but I don't think she appreciates my humor.

I was Gifted and Special

And while I'm on a roll:

Dylan, I spotted you walking down Pacific two days past, when we were turning around so that Paul could go fetch his phone from his office. (There was no time to do that usually pointless and confusing to the person on the street window rolldown and shout, however.)

I probably wouldn't have heard you. I'm usually wearing my iPod when I'm walking on Pacific, since that's the walk to/from West Campus Garage.

Your Popsicle Stick May Vary?

Public School. So, close!

I always think it was sad that, while I was one of those freakish Profoundly Gifted children, it was balanced out by my being Profoundly Lazy. If it wasn't for the latter, I'd totally be World Dominatrix of Everything or something!

(Of course, if it wasn't for the former, I'd have never got away with the latter.)

I am OK with Annabel going to public school, but I'm afraid she'll never get pushed and prodded by her teachers and peers to be the intellectual superstar we all know she's going to be

Lot of public school teachers here. Just saying. I've switched over to private school this year just because of the nature of the move, and I guarantee you that I challenged the hell out of my students just as much last year as I do this year. Same for both of my 37 year+ public school teaching parents.

In terms of the rest, the article may not reflect the research she's done as well as it could, but she's been researching for more than five years, in person and using integrated statistics. Eh. I'm not her publicist, but I was impressed having been in these trenches for almost a decade.

And yes, it is that bad. Case in point (and this is one of many): today one of my students didn't have a take-home quiz that was due. Her mother had medicated her last night at 8 because she was "overwhelmed". I sent a student/parent email expressing my concern and have since spent nearly an hour emailing back and forth with them as they try to take care of the problem for her.

Belated thanks for the ~ma. Today seems particularly difficult, which I blame on PMS or the extreme weather change or something. I have an ongoing concern from now until it gets resolved or the end of the year, whichever comes first, and it's been manageable but today was just hard, and I'm ready to stop this so incredibly useless crying. Thank God for wine.

Glad to hear Jilli's surgery went well, and happy birthday!

Annabel is very cute.

vw will do well on her bio exam because she's the bug that could.

If I missed anything I apologize.

If it wasn't for the latter, I'd totally be World Dominatrix of Everything or something!

Plei. Dominatrix. Guh.

Brain broken. Please to not fix.

Her mother had medicated her last night at 8 because she was "overwhelmed"

You're joking, right? Is she ADHD/BID? Because otherwise? Wow that's a different take on parenting than I have.

I'm afraid she'll never get pushed and prodded by her teachers and peers

Both of my kids are in public schools and both have been and are challenged. We are lucky in that we have a pretty small school district. But all of the teachers that the kids have had have pushed them to do their best. There's been a healthy bit of competition from their peers too, not cut throat but it's there. My daughter and her best friend are equally matched and there's always the back and forth of who did better on a test (usually only by a point or so).

Whoa. Mommy's little helper is supposed to be for Mommy, not the kid!

Not joking. No, not ADHD or BID. They just tranq'd her.

Don't get me wrong--there are MANY parents who are fantastic. But I have experienced enough of the syndrome she's describing to not dismiss it as sensationalism.