Is AG a good program or does it take away from the instruction we need to give to kids?

I think my AG experience was great for me coming through the early grades. It was my first opportunity to really explore the world and question why things happened the way they did. If I had not gone through AG I’m sure I would have had a later start questioning the way things were and the motivations behind the people that influenced the world.

I feel that AG is good for the kids in AG, but it is a way to separate the cream of the crop from the rest of the students. I think this is wrong. Other than that, I have no real beef with AG programs.

AG is a good program for the students who need an extra challenge that they do not get in their classrooms. I feel that it is important however to make sure that these students are not overly praised to the point that other students feel as if they are failures.

The reason that I ask this is because I was selected for the AG program in elementary school, but saw that it took away valuable time for me to finish my classwork. I said that I would rather get my homework done than have to do it when I got home. I believe that I was able to tackle the challenges of the program, but did not wish to do the extra work.

On a secondary note, when a child in a classroom sees his peers leave the classroom to go to another activity, the natural inclination is to want to see what's happening. When told that he or she is not able to go, it brings about feelings of disdain in the child. I know that I always wanted to go see what was occurring in the AG room. One group built, yes built, the inside of a space shuttle cabin. Okay, so it was only paper but it was still an awesome piece of construction to a ten-year-old.

I think that AG can be good for kids that need to be challenged, but i think that there is to much emphasis placed on this program. This program can make other children that are not in it feel less important. I think that it should not be so seperated and make other children feel less of themselves because they aren't in this program and maybe their best friend is.

Oops! the above post is mine!
Katie

Back in the day, AIG was called GT (for Gifted and Talented). Teachers decided that wasn't PC, so now we have AIG (Academically and Intellecutally Gifted). There is a difference, cause we're all gifted, right??

In the late 70s/early 80s, my brother and several of my best friends were in GT. I tested, but placed 2 points below the IQ range. I was disappointed because they did some really cool things, like learn how to develop pictures, use telescopes, etc.. --things we did not do in the classroom. It was cool to be in GT because you got to do extra things.

Now, my 11 year old daughter is served in MATH AIG. She goes once a week and does MORE MATH. She also has to catch up on what she misses in the classroom, as Travis pointed out.

Personally, I liked it the old way. Now, the AIG program, at least at my daughter's school, focuses on supplementing reading or math. There is no science, no history, no extra curricular stuff.

I am glad that my daughter is exposed to more challenging math problems, but I think they could do so much more with these kids....

I agree with many of the above posts that gifted programs are excellent for the students that are in them, however it does seperate them from the rest of their class. When I was in elementary school in TN our program was called AT's, Academically Talented. Many of my friends were in this program and although I made better grades them some of them I was not invited to be in it. My friends loved the program, but for those of us who were not invited in we felt left out. So, I think it is a good program for those that are in it, however I do not think it is every okay to have students feel left out and less smart.

I was tested for AG when I was in 3rd grade and I thought it was cool then. But now looking back I don't even remember doing anything important. I just remember getting out of class to discuss a book we had to read extra from other students. Then in middle school the only thing I liked was being able to leave class as soon as I finished my work to go do different projects for the AG teacher. Oh and the best part was going to New York and the Space Center with the other AG members. But I really don't think it was a big benefit to me academically.