Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy what more can I do?

I'm sort of new to all of this. My oldest DS is in 1st grade. His school has a gifted program, where entire classrooms are gifted children. I use the term "gifted" loosely, because we live in a city where the gifted phenomenon has gotten out of control. It seems that every parent has their child tested for gifted during their pre-k year, and unfortunately, the psychologists in the area who do the testing seem to find so many of these children "gifted." I cannot tell you how many children are in these gifted programs at the local public elementary schools. Obviously most of these kids are just advanced, and it ruins it for the kids who actually need the gifted placement. So, this is where my problem lies. My DS6 is actually one of those kids who needs the gifted placement, and I feel that his classroom is not giving him what he needs. That would be fine if his teacher was able to individualize the material, but it seems that she doesnt do that. His Kindergarten teacher was amazing, and went far ahead of where she needed to go. My DS was challenged and loved school. My DS is strong in math. This year's math started with such easy work. I waited, assuming that it was just review. By the beginning of November (school starts end of august) when they were still working on simple addition, I spoke with his teacher. I assumed all the kids in this "gifted" classroom would be bored. She told me that my DS was much more advanced than the rest of the class in math. She assured me that he is being challenged in her classroom, though, and I should not assume that what I see coming home as homework is the same thing that they are doing in the classroom. She said that her lessons in the classroom are much more challenging (doesnt really make sense to me, but...ok). Well, fast forward now to the end of January. I see the tests that DS takes in the classroom. They are all based on the common core standards for first grade math. He gets 100% on almost every one, unless he makes a careless mistake for rushing through it. My DS tells me that all the children in the class learn the same thing for math. There is no differentiation. They all get the same worksheets, and she teaches to the class as a whole. So how, then, if my DS is more advanced then them is he being challenged? I'm not sure what to do? Some friends tell me to leave it alone because this way my DS can feel confident and gain self-esteem knowing that he's one of the smartest in the class and it's a good thing he's not struggling in school. I have not seen any negative consequences other than him saying it's boring, because his behavior has always been good in class. I just sort of feel like he has so much potential and it's being wasted. I want to talk with the teacher again, but I dont want to seem like "that parent" who keeps complaining and challenging the teacher. I wonder if I was just spoiled by the amazing kindergarten teacher, or if I should be expecting more. I also wonder if it's because of this new common core. Is she mandated to teach this stuff? I dont see any difference between what she's teaching in this gifted class and what the regular classes are learning. What should I do?

For starters, this is toxic.

What a kid gets out of that is that he never has to do a thing, never learns how to study, and when he finally comes up against something he doesn't know immediately, he decides he must be stupid and gives up.

What tests do they use, and do you have any test results for your DS that would tell you where he needs to be?

He was tested before starting kindergarten in order to qualify for the gifted program. He was given a wppsi for IQ he got 134. He was also given a reading and math achievement test. Can't remember the name but I know he scored in the 99th percentile on both. Once in the gifted program I don't think the school does any further testing. They do assessments to place the kids into reading groups, but I don't think that's anything formal.

Here's what I wish I'd known when DS9 was in 1st grade: Kids learn things that are much more important that curriculum in 1st grade- but their ability to learn those things is tied to curriculum.

Let me explain. In 1st grade, kids learn how to actually work. They learn how to approach work that is new and challenging without freaking out. They learn how to feel challenged without feeling threatened. They learn how to apply themselves.

The gifted child without appropriate challenge learns different lessons. He learns that a typical learning experience should involve no effort. He learns that challenge can only be found by attempting perfection. What you end up with is a kid who may be years ahead of his peers when it comes to intelligence but behind when it comes to work habits.

I think most of the parents in this forum went through the same thing. It is easier when the teacher recognize the giftedness of the student. It is hard to go in the battle (for differentiation) with IQ number alone (unless the number is >99.9 percentile or >145-150 depending on which IQ test).

The school will counter with how many other students who had the same IQ score as your DS. It would be beneficial to take above level testing such as SCAT (from John Hopkins CTY), or EXPLORE (from NUMATS or Duke TIP, etc..) although EXPLORE will be phased out after 2014 and SCAT starts in second grade.

My advice for you for the time being is do enrichment activities at home. My kids did Study island through school (the school got them their grade level but they could do above grade level because the account was not restricted), Khan Academy, etc....

And take SCAT next year. SCAT test is 2 grade above level and with the good score, you will have better chance for advocating for your DS. My personal experience was that everything started rolling only after my DD's SCAT test result. I am sure not every school operates the same way and I hope your school does better.

+1 Well said!

Thank you. I'm new to all of this so I dont even know what all of these tests are. Those are good points about the study skills. I honestly didnt even think of that but it makes sense. He doesnt even know what studying is. He has tests every friday in math and spelling, but he never studies for even a minute. I'll ask him to spell his spelling words, and he knows them on the first try. His memory is incredible, so it's as if the first time he sees the word he can spell it. The math is so easy for him, so I dont even ask him to review that. Because he's in a gifted classroom, I really couldnt have imagined that this would be the case! How do you teach your kids study skills at home?

Study skills can also be taught, in a way, through an extracurricular activity. I have found music lessons to be great for providing a challenge to my son, anyway.

Music helps instill a work ethic and self-discipline, and also provides an outlet for self-expression and creativity, working both "sides" of the brain, if you will. It is also one of those activities which require work, even if you have talent, so my son has learned he can't skate by in everything.

Thank you GinaW - that is one of the most illuminating posts I have ever read on underchallenged gifted kids.
OP, we had the same problem. My child was accelerated 1 grade ahead and it was still useless. He started developing an arrogance that he was very good at everything compared to peers (his verbal abilities alone was a light year ahead of his peers and he could do multiplication and divison of 2 digit numbers in K). He also started developing a very poor work ethic. And he was looking for ways to while away his time in the classroom - not disruptively, but more on the lines of a caged wild animal that goes round and round and round for the lack of anything better to do - he was sharpening pencils, going on bathroom breaks, singing songs out loud for entertainment, chatting up his neighbors, pretend playing in the middle of a classroom session - the list go on. I volunteered in his classroom to observe him and I know quite well what happened there.
Here are some strategies that helped immensely:
1. We afterschooled intensively using rich curriculum and enriched him in his areas of interests - I can post what we used for each subject if you are interested.
2. Involved him in many enrichment activities where he needs to develop a work ethic, study skills and learn what losing and not being the best feels like. We did this with intensive piano studies, a serious chess club and martial arts. They have helped teach him that there is always room for improvement even if one is good at something. And he spends a lot of time each day poring over chess tactics, piano practice etc.
3. We found a tutor for the Japanese Sorban mental math technique (anzan) for which he has developed an obsession. It requires intense focus and concentration.
4. We read aloud literature to him that is way above his level and have deep discussions on them - as a way to improve his language comprehension, vocabulary and exposure to styles of writing.
5. I sarted a blog for him - he can make posts on topics of interest with parental supervision.
6. I started him on Mindstorm robotics, Scratch programming and Logo programming.
7. Got him educational math, reading and science program subscriptions for his computer.
These are some things that you can explore to see if you can implement them. Don't depend on the school to provide for 100% of his educational needs. If you feel that they are slacking, you can make up for that in your own time - atleast that is how it has worked out for me so far. Good luck.

PS: We are in a private school that is advanced in academics, and still, I afterschool intensively.

My son was in the equivalent of 1st grade last year - exactly the same problem. Luckily he his only on level in writing due to the fact he can't think what to write. This meant he couldn't be best at everything. I still wish I had pushed more but the teacher was determined he was right and quite agressive and intimidating about it. I am not good at standing up to intimading men.