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#1 gadget

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Posted 05 August 2010 - 02:08 PM

Hi,

My son will attend Folsom Middle school (6th grade), and we received a letter from the Folsom Cordova united school district that he can participate in the GATE program. We need to decide: Should we let him join the program? Any feedback/experience/suggestions?

Thank you,
gadget

#2 4thgenFolsomite

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Posted 05 August 2010 - 02:12 PM

QUOTE (gadget @ Aug 5 2010, 03:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi,

My son will attend Folsom Middle school (6th grade), and we received a letter from the Folsom Cordova united school district that he can participate in the GATE program. We need to decide: Should we let him join the program? Any feedback/experience/suggestions?

Thank you,
gadget



why not? I don't think it will be too different from the regular curriculum, with the exception of some enrichment. I was a GATE student and loved it. Got to see plays in San Francisco and took enjoyable english classes, rather than the regular grammar. of course, this was a long long LONG time ago so my experience may no longer apply.
Knowing the past helps deciphering the future.

#3 2kids4me

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Posted 05 August 2010 - 02:32 PM

I can't think of a reason why he shouldn't. Honestly, I don't think they get a whole lot extra out of it, but it is something.

It's not a great program like when we were young, 4thgen.

#4 swmr545

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Posted 07 August 2010 - 01:25 AM

QUOTE (4thgenFolsomite @ Aug 5 2010, 03:12 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
why not? I don't think it will be too different from the regular curriculum, with the exception of some enrichment. I was a GATE student and loved it. Got to see plays in San Francisco and took enjoyable english classes, rather than the regular grammar. of course, this was a long long LONG time ago so my experience may no longer apply.


Plays in SF? When I did it, the only thing that I had different from non-GATE students was I was placed in an advanced math class, and had honors English in middle school.


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#5 JoAnne Reinking

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Posted 07 August 2010 - 04:47 PM

QUOTE (swmr545 @ Aug 7 2010, 02:25 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Plays in SF? When I did it, the only thing that I had different from non-GATE students was I was placed in an advanced math class, and had honors English in middle school.


Yes, Honors English and Enriched Math ~ but many of the kids in these classes are the ones who become the "Natural Helpers"(8th grade) ~ and the "National Junior Honor Society" Club students. Those two clubs are still offered at FMS. Can't think of anything wrong with having your child with students who want to do well.




#6 MrsTuffPaws

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Posted 07 August 2010 - 04:52 PM

A million years ago (ok, maybe just 25 years or so), my mother decided not to put me in GATE. I wanted to be in it, and I still kinda hold a teeny tiny bit of resentment over it. My mom is not big on education (but I am), and didn't want the extra pressure on me to produce excellence. I understand her concern, but I know I would have loved it.

So, like most things, it depends on the kid.

Have you asked your son if he wants to be in GATE or not?

#7 l479

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Posted 07 August 2010 - 05:03 PM

QUOTE (MrsTuffPaws @ Aug 7 2010, 05:52 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
A million years ago (ok, maybe just 25 years or so), my mother decided not to put me in GATE. I wanted to be in it, and I still kinda hold a teeny tiny bit of resentment over it. My mom is not big on education (but I am), and didn't want the extra pressure on me to produce excellence. I understand her concern, but I know I would have loved it.

So, like most things, it depends on the kid.

Have you asked your son if he wants to be in GATE or not?



The only thing that I have seen from this program, is extra work. My GATE child does not need any extra work. He can barely get through the work he has. Not all GATE children are organized and over achievers. There really is not enough money to do anything fun with this program. It's another label.

#8 glad2Bme

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Posted 11 August 2010 - 03:14 AM

My daughter was in GATE last year for the first time (4th grade). When we were at another school, the GATE kids loved the program because they said it was fun and got to do cool stuff.....When my girl had it, she never said it was fun or that she couldn't wait to participate because there was nothing special about it. She had her choice of "packets" to do, like different math packets or reading material, but it was NOT exciting, hands on stuff like at her old school.....I was very disappointed. I haven't asked her if she wants to do it this time and I'm not even sure if it will be different as a 5th grader. At her other school, the GATE kids were taken to another class room for their special instruction. Last year she was just given different work to do independently....how fun is that? Where is the human connection that inspires and enhances the learning process? Perhaps this school district just doesn't have a good program. Our old school was in San Juan Unified and a friend of mine has GATE kids in Sac school district. Their program was awesome also, but it was a title 1 school, so they had many more cool educational opportunities, and FREE at that! I'd look into what kind of special things FMS's gate program has....if it's just a bunch of extra reading material and packets, my kid wouldn't enjoy it very much. Neither would I......

#9 Darth Lefty

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Posted 11 August 2010 - 07:09 AM

I was in a program like you describe, glad2beme, and it was my favorite thing about school. It was in a separate classroom. "English" class was reading and writing instead of grammar. Math class was beginning algebra and geometry and logical puzzles. I think it definitely put me on track for Honors english and math, and AP tests, and BS and MS. My very first year in 3rd grade we tore into the symbolism in Alice in Wonderland, and I still have the edition with my third-grade handwriting in it.

But this business about just getting harder packets sounds like punishment, not a favor.
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#10 stacycam

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Posted 11 August 2010 - 07:51 AM

I agree that our GATE program is pretty weak. It reminds of when I was a smart kid in school and they just dumped extra work on me to keep me occupied.

I guess this is just another area in which our school district is so behind.

Darthlefty - that sounds pretty awesome!

#11 Sonny

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Posted 11 August 2010 - 08:23 AM

I was in a program like you describe, glad2beme, and it was my favorite thing about school. It was in a separate classroom. "English" class was reading and writing instead of grammar. Math class was beginning algebra and geometry and logical puzzles. I think it definitely put me on track for Honors english and math, and AP tests, and BS and MS. My very first year in 3rd grade we tore into the symbolism in Alice in Wonderland, and I still have the edition with my third-grade handwriting in it.

But this business about just getting harder packets sounds like punishment, not a favor.

So is the GATE program now just extra work or is it still a seperate class? I mean are the GATE program students in the same classroom as non-GATE students and just given more work? That doesn't sound fun.

A million years ago I was in GATE and enjoyed it. The main reason I liked it was in a big school the GATE kids (nerds and jocks alike) all became friends because we were in the same classroom year after year. It was a tight fun group to be a part of.

#12 stacycam

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Posted 11 August 2010 - 10:36 AM

The GATE students are just given extra work - nothing else. I think there are too many kids to be placed in a special class. It seems like many kids qualify for GATE these days. It would be nice if there was some way to encourage the GATE students. I know many of them, my daughter included, are not very challenged, and sometimes lose interest. I'd like to see those students challenged more, plus somehow try to get them more excited about learning. I have a friend in a suburb in Chicago whose child is in a GATE program and it is fantastic. Then again, their classrooms have less than 20 kids. I guess it all comes down to the fact that CA doesn't think education is a priority. Pretty sad.

#13 glad2Bme

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Posted 12 August 2010 - 06:51 AM

My friends kids were in a GATE "class" so all the kids in the class were GATE identified and therefore all were given special instruction, field trips, at the same time and by the teacher, not some packet. They went through year after year in the class with the same kids. This is at the title 1 school in Sacramento school district I spoke of earlier. My daughter was 1 of 5 kids in her class that was "GATE", so they were in with the other students, and just given "GATE" material via packets. I don't think there was a special time for this; I think it was given to them as busy work or when they completed their regular classwork. I would have preferred it if they were in a separate class with all the GATE kids so that they could all have their regular curriculm stepped up a notch with other cool stuff in addition. Or, like the kids in the San Juan school we were in, they were taken out of class 2 days per week for maybe and hour, and did cool stuff, not on-their-own read-at-your-own pace packets.

Wow DARTH, I'm glad you got so much out of your GATE experience. I will ask my daughter if she feels the same way. It's possible that she found the packets interesting and never told me about it. I guess when I hear other kids talking about cool projects, field trips, experiments etc. that they get in their GATE CLASS and my kid just gets paperwork, I make assumptions. But sadly, I'm pretty sure they're correct.

#14 Darth Lefty

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Posted 12 August 2010 - 07:20 AM

Glad2beme,

Mine was called SAGE and was in the Deer Valley school district in north Phoenix 25 years ago. Not sure it's directly comparable! Basically during English and math periods we went out of class to the SAGE classroom instead. Since there were about 100 kids in each grade it was possible to pull out enough nerds to fill the room. I'm trying to remember details... I think it went third through sixth grade and there were two SAGE teachers, one for math and one for English, and they also had other special-class jobs (like speech therapy) to fill out their day.

If I were only being given more work I'd probably have mutinied.
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#15 Folsom Guy

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Posted 12 August 2010 - 12:52 PM

So is the GATE program now just extra work or is it still a seperate class? I mean are the GATE program students in the same classroom as non-GATE students and just given more work? That doesn't sound fun.

A million years ago I was in GATE and enjoyed it. The main reason I liked it was in a big school the GATE kids (nerds and jocks alike) all became friends because we were in the same classroom year after year. It was a tight fun group to be a part of.

In Folsom district, they try to keep all the GATE students in the same class(es)....

But, it is primarily more and additional worksheets to do in the class and at home.




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