Any thoughts re: how the school can challenge him without making it seem like he is being punished in the classroom by having extra work?
It seems the current choice is advanced work OR being part of a group? There ought not to be a dichotomy;
The practices of pairing advanced work with social isolation and pairing unchallenging work with social inclusion are the problem. Each child needs work at his/her appropriate challenge level and pacing
AND also true peers (intellectual peers, not just chronological age peers) if the child is to thrive in the learning environment.
In order to challenge a child without making it seem like a punishment, the teacher/school/program would cluster group children. A cluster group may include students from the same classroom, a combination of students from multiple classrooms, or students from various grade levels, who are similar in ability and readiness.
By cluster grouping, the school is not forcing the child to choose between academic challenge OR social inclusion. Cluster grouping provides both appropriate challenge level curriculum and true peers.
Kids need both
-
appropriate challenge-
academic/intellectual peersHere's a post including
reasons which some schools have given for
not cluster-grouping children by similar level of ability and readiness.
These are examples of working
against the continued growth and mental health of the gifted pupils.
