So, I was watching a re-run of Judging Amy yesterday (this seems to be the only show, besides Desperate Housewives, that I watch anymore) and an interesting subject came up. Amy was trying to get her daughter into this "gifted" program in school. Well, she found out after having an independent test done that her daughter is not gifted. She was just an average, normal child.
So, I've been thinking about this a lot. For the last several months, I've been feeling like I'm trying to keep my daughter up with the smartest kids in her kindergarten class. Doing extra work with her every night. Re-reading books. All that stuff. So, why is it that we all want our children to be the smartest or the most gifted?
I was an average, normal child. Not the smartest, but not the dumbest either. I turned out okay. And everyone has different gifts--many of them not noticeable in school. So, what does it really matter if my child isn't gifted in reading and writing and math?
As I try to reason this out, I know that it actually doesn't matter. And that even if Bianca is the least advanced in her class, I'll love her just the same. So why does it still make me anxious? Why do I still feel like this is a race to get her to read more or to get her into the math-group at school? Will it change anything if she is gifted? Or if she's not?
Obviously, I'm still trying to mull some things out in my brain. What do you think about this?
