Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy How normal is this ?

I just found out from DS that his average waiting time for each subject is about 30-45 minutes . So when given an assignment , he'll be done within 15-20 minutes , ( might be longer or shorter depending on the subject or the test ) .

Once he's done with assignments or tests , he has to wait for other students to finish ( obviously ) , i just didn't think that it he had to wait that long ( in my mind before i found out about this .. i thought it'd be just like 10-15 minutes waiting )

Is this normal ? why am i feeling like why do i even send him to school if he has to spend 30-45 minutes doing nothing but reading . For language , math , science / social studies , that's like 30 or 45 minutes times 3 !! 90 to 135 minutes average of waiting on a daily basis !!

In the previous school , he said he finished about the same time like everyone else did ( and he barely got in trouble in that school ) .

Is this waiting period this long considered normal ? Does any of your children have to wait this long after they're finished their assignments before given or moving on to the next one ?

Thank you

Sounds about right to me. This is why most of the kids we talk about on this board are bringing books to read.

Yes, that's what I've seen in my kids' elementary classes. Teachers seem to deliberately go incredibly slowly with instruction, particularly in the lower grades, and then they give a lot of time to complete the subsequent work, which most kids actually take. This is one facet of the quintessential problem of our kids' learning much more quickly.

Dude is right. You need to work with the teacher to come up with a solution, and usually it winds up with the student reading on their own out of a book from home.

The other option is troublemaking.

I was shocked hearing this from DS few nights ago , when he said he had to wait in my mind it would be only say 10-15 mins max .

I've talked with his teacher during the beginning and middle of the year about this and that she needs to keep him busy and keep his mind stimulated , because there is only so much reading he could do .

Well so much for that , she doesn't do much of anything , and at the end , DS is the one suffering , and being labelled trouble maker .

So much time wasted !

jaylivg, have you looked into whether there is a more appropriate classroom for him for next year? Subject acceleration or grade acceleration? Have you or the school looked into achievement and ability testing to determine exactly how extensive the misfit is between your DS and his current placement? I'm forgetting what you've said about your DS on other threads, but it definitely sounds like there is a problem that might require a different solution than having him entertain and educate himself for so much of the day.

mnmom23 , i've talked with the school , but i didn't bring up the subject or grade acceleration straight up , although i brought some proofs all the stuff he did last summer at home . ( basically his portfolio ) . The school just said that we should nominate him for a testing . DS took the test i believe it was last week , but we didn't get anything about the result yet .

I also think the teacher is not a good fit for DS but principal insisted the teacher is a perfect match for DS .

This school year has been a bad experience for DS , and for the whole family too . Earlier it just occured to me that i remember his homeroom teacher said she is the gifted teacher , and if DS were to go to gifted program next year , that means she could be his teacher again *sigh*

I have to say DS is no angel , but he's not a bad kid either , but the teacher or the school just makes it like DS is a really bad kid . While the problem might be just laying on giving him something to keep him busy , stimulate him , he's not the one who can sit and wait . Reading yes he loves but maybe there are days he's not into reading that much and because there is nothing for him to do , hence he's talking .. or disrupting the class .

This is the exact thing that caused DD9's issues in school to start and what causes her the most trouble still - all the "free" time with nothing to do because she has everything done. If someone doesn't find something creative and interesting for her to do then she will find something herself and they probably won't appreciate what she will find to do.

We try to make sure she always has a good book to read and she will usually read when she is done. However, even with a good book, sometimes she just doesn't feel like reading and ends up getting into trouble. The gifted teacher gave her a bunch of "Think Sheets" which were fun for DD at first, but she hasn't done any of them for quite some time now. She is also allowed computer or Ipad time when she is done with her work and that gives her something other than sitting and reading.

DD7 has told us recently that when she is done she gets to help the other students. I guess this has been going on for a while, but she had just never mentioned it to us. This is a double-edged sword to me, but she seems to enjoy helping out, so we will leave it alone for now.

I agree that it might help to talk to the teacher to come up with some different options for your DS during his "free" time. One thing that was mentioned to us would be having DD come up with a project she wanted to do or a presentation she wanted to make to the class, then when she is done with her work she could work on her project or presentation. This would still be academic and gifties seem to like/need learning the in-depth knowledge that researching for a project or presentation would give them.

moomin , i think that's a great idea if the teacher could just give students who finished first something else to do . Like you said just to use up that time , because it's a long time for not doing anything but reading . Although DS loves to read , but i said it many times , you can only read so much . I also love to read but i have days and times where i don't feel like reading .

I think giving the students who finished first extra work is the key , whether it's puzzles , word searches , something else to stimulate their mind , etc . A while ago , DS asked his teacher is there anyway that he can earn extra credit ? LOL .. being only a 2nd grader , i kinda figured what the answer would be .. his teacher told him NO .

1frugalmom , you said it all . DS is like your DD9 , exactly like that . And yes most of the time when he's not reading , he writes , or draws , even that . Sometimes what he writes offend the teacher , although he writes it in his own paper or journal ( i let him bring journal ) and he got in trouble because of that . For example , he wrote in his journal and gave nicknames for his friends and his teacher sent me a note home , she said she doesn't mind DS write during free time , but not for things like this . Other time , he'd be very creative and because of so creative it distracted the whole class .

About helping , back in 1st grade he was allowed to do this , like going to kindergarten and help reading to them , or just in the classroom helping other students . But in this school he wasn't allowed to . Even helping a friend in a car rider line , he got scolded for doing that .

I've begun talking with DS7 about thinking bigger than what is presented in class. There is always more that can be explored or learned as long as you keep curiosity stoked. More complex math problems to make-up; wondering about the next level out in science; looking up synonyms, antonyms, and word origins. I would not expect, rely on, or count on the school to provide this material. Meta-cognitive skills and an inquisitive mind can turn anything interesting.