Josiah did OK during his second grade year at Ridgeview Elementary, especially after getting glasses so he could read what was being written on the board. We didn't expect anything when we got an announcement that the students were all offered a placement exam to qualify for the KOG (Kennewick Opportunities for the Gifted) program. After a brief discussion of whether we wanted to opt out of the testing, there seemed to be no reason not to have Josiah participate. Somewhat to our surprise, he was chosen as one of the candidates for the expected eight third grade positions open for the 2004-05 school year. Because there are 13 elementary schools in the district, each with several classrooms for each grade, it was an honor to be selected to be in the one classroom for that grade.
Fortunately, we were somewhat familiar with the program, because one of Josiah's first-grade classmates who rode the same bus had been selected to enter the program starting in second grade and was continuing in it. After we went to the program open house and drama production in the spring, we were willing to have Josiah enroll for the fall if he thought he was up to it. Homework was the biggest drag for him in second grade, and the prospect of more of it was discouraging ("Age six and age seven were my not-so-good years," he recently admitted). However, the possibility that the work would be more interesting might be a motivation, because part of the second-grade homework problem was having to practice handwriting and coloring pictures.
Prospective parents were invited to sit in on classes during the spring, and also invited to the drama production. We tried to have Josiah understand and weigh the pros and cons of each school option, and he was still undecided. We even had a poll of the stuffed animals, and of course the dogs and the wolf were in favor of his remaining at Ridgeview (whose mascot is the coyote), while the orca slippers were definitely in favor of Amistad (whose mascot is the orca). The school district was hoping for us to decide quickly so that if we declined that some of the alternates on the waiting list could be notified. We parents did a self-check to be sure we weren't pushing him to feed our own pride, then decided to accept the KOG assignment with Josiah's mild concurrence.
The initial experience is that this class is where Josiah belongs, and he has been reading at a very high level (when Gilbert was reformatting the computer hard drive after some persistent problems, Josiah asked, "Did you call Dell Technical Support?", because he had looked through the manual and seen what was recommended) and doing math at a high level. He has been more challenged by the material, and his teacher thinks he is getting into the practice of listening during class because there was discussion of things he didn't know or is interested in. She also understands his frequent disorganization and inattention, because she said, "my daughter was like that- very smart, but in her own world." Computer activities are among his favorites. He has also participated in the chess time before school on Fridays, which Gilbert also attends on Fridays he is not working.
