Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy WPPSI-III - Are results accurate?

I am not against grade acceleration, actually am probably for one but...here are some examples from a friend of mine who accelerated his son because they had no other options. The boy skipped first grade. No problems till he hit middle school - seventh and eight grade. He was still on top of his class academically,but looked very small and underweight compared to classmates, especially girls. This lasted about four years, started looking more like his classmates around 10 grade. Then came the driver permit issue. For some reason it was torturing to him that he couldn't drive while all his friends did.
He is now a a senior at an IB school. He is not a shining star any more, had a bout of depression requiring medication.
Now, I am not saying that this is all happening because he was accelerated. This has most likely nothing to do with acceleration, but that fact that he was accelerated DID NOT help his situation. Every case is different. But while considering grade skip we should not forget that our 5-10 year olds will be young men and women sooner than we think.
Grade skip does not put our kids with smarter ones, it puts them together with older ones. This is an important point to consider.
Ania

Okay, lots more good information to digest.
My initial thoughts on reading everyone's responses:
1. I see the value in starting new threads..I lost this one for a while, and only saw the new handwriting one.
2. I feel much better equipped to answer concerns over bullying and social issues. I do agree with many of you that parents need to stay very in tuned to these issues.
3. I am a little confused on what seems to be a majority opinion on possibly "one skip at a time" or "baby steps". This is at the heart of our angst over starting school. My premise is this, and perhaps I am wrong: Why spend the huge amount of money on a private, gifted school so he can "formally" begin his education opposed to preschool where he would be if we kept him in the public school system, if the placement is not correct?

Is it any better to be unchallenged in 1st grade then it is in pre-school or kindergarten? If a child already knows all the material, isn't the only option at that point to either send them strictly for socialization and not academics or home school?
I ask this with all sincerity. I respect your collective experiences in areas we are just beginning to explore.

I am fearful that if we don't provide a challenging environment his incredible spark and quest for knowledge will be extinguished like so many other gifted children I have read about.

To answer some questions posed earlier - the school has already agreed, in fact, suggested the 1st grade placement. They are a gifted school but their criterion is a bit more relaxed than the public school gifted program. You need a score of 130 on an IQ test in any of the one areas, your full score does not need be 130. Also, they have a preschool and 75% of the students in preschool, which is does not require IQ scores for entry, are accepted into the regular school.

They do say that their curriculum is one year ahead of the public school. We have taken that into account when looking at what curriculum our son is ready for and the achievement tests place him there as well.

Hi Zia's Mom!
I like how well you summed up the question - Is it better to be unchallenged with a 3 year accleration (1st grade) than unchallenged in preschool?
(Am I counting correctly if you add a year due to the school being one year ahead curriculum-wise?)

It is much better! Most classrooms have about at least a 3 year spread in terms of "readiness level" and differention. Many of us observe that "in-class" enrichment is realistic when one is with in 2 years of "where they should be." I'm not saying that 2nd is bad for your son, just that you are not at risk for his "de-sparking" by keeping him in 1st for a few months to see how it goes for him. School is quite different from learning. I would like to see your school offer you a flexible "combination" approach, where he has "one from column A, one from Column B and 2 from Column C" choices amoung all of his ages.

You have to ask yourself if you are willing to be flexible, and perhaps fail, versus going slower and adjusting as you see the need. Your job is to monitor and love. You will know if the spark is fading. Homeschooling is the only "safe" alternative in this regard, but if you want to play the school game, then give it your best shot, put together the best plan you can, and let the experiment run! There are always unexpected benifits from a good school with good teachers. Expect to make corrections because life just isn't as simple as "take a test, be assigned to a grade." - I wish it were. Ask the school how they would feel about letting him tape record his written product 30% of the time. Their response will indicate if they "get" his intellectual/abstract reasoning needs, or if they want each child to be "a 2nd grader" or "a 1st grader."

Ask them what signs they look for to know if a child is at a proper "readiness level."

10 WPM is terrific "for his age" - but it still isn't "the real deal" in terms of having a way to communicate. (yet)

Has he memorised his times tables?

You have to remember that since most children his age are not much able to do "abstract thought" you son will not be appreciated for his ability to do so. He is in the position of the slowest runner in a school, he happens to be able to fly, but that's not considered a big deal, because there are not flying races or flying lessons, flying isn't something that people are thought to be able to do. ((BTW - this isn't true for all teachers or all school, but be cautious)) And it must be noted that learning to run is a useful skill - when he is physically ready to learn it - even for a boy with wings. The trick is that the regular running lessons may or may not be enought, because it is trick to learn to run with those big wings hanging off the back, ruining your balance, yes?

I'm sad to say that there isn't any "turnkey" school situation, where you can get everything figured out at once, and then sit back. Don't stress yourself out by trying to get the whole thing figured out at once, it's a process, yes?

Love and More Love,
Trinity

[quote=Trinity]

Has he memorised his times tables?

Yes, most are memorized but some that he doesn't have down cold he uses reasoning to figure out. 7x6 for example - he'll do 7x5 then add 7. The psychologist who tested him last week taught him the 9's trick with his fingers - That was worth the money. :-)

Trinity, I see you're in Connecticut. That's where I grew up and I know they are one of the states with a later cutoff to begin Kindergarten. If we lived there we would only be talking about a 1 -2 years skip (3 for gifted curriculum) not the 2-3+ in our state.

Zia�s Mom,

I always benefit from considering dissenting opinions when I am trying to crystallize an idea in my mind. I assume you are interested in all the pros and cons for your argument, so let me play devil�s advocate here.

Obviously, you know your child best. Around here, almost 5 means one more year of pre-school. Almost 5 and starting 1st grade is a two year skip. Almost 5 and starting a 1st grade class which teaches a 2nd grade curriculum seems like a challenging start point for a very gifted child.

If you are looking for your money�s worth in an elementary education, you won�t be satisfied with even a 2nd grade placement. I think it may help to consider that you are investing in your child�s grade placement for future use. Utilizing a scribe for a gifted child without a learning disability may be an over-extension.

My analogy would be to compare this decision to the current mortgage fiasco. Just because you qualify for the 1.5 million dollar house mortgage, doesn�t mean it�s a wise choice. There are other factors that you may not have fully considered, such as an ARM (God forbid) or spiking insurance rates, property taxes and utility bills that are out of your control. If you chose slightly more conservatively, these other factors may still hurt, but will probably not result in foreclosure.

Wonderful analogy.
And yes, I do want all opinions.
You make some excellent points. One of the first questions for our meeting tomorrow is to confirm that they really are a full year ahead in the curriculum. That seems like an important ingredient in all of this and from my limited observations I can't be sure it is truly the case.

Zia's mom - do check all of the info for yourself, eg. sit during classes, as some schools will claim that they are really advanced in all subjects and later you discover it not being so.
Be cautious and double check everything. Talking to other parents at the school is always an excellent eye opener

That's how I do 7 x 6, too! Keep guiding in the direction of automaticity, only in self defense - these are the "running" tasks that tend to be the lens that teachers see smartness in. My son seems to have been more "uneven" able to discuss ethics at 4, but unable to read an analog clock until everyone learned it in first grade. You son seems to be more even in his gifts, which makes grade jumps more workable.

I find this so confusing, but yes CT has a January first cutoff, although I was allowed to go to K at 4 and 3/4 with a late January birthday. a mildly "early enterance" by CT standards, real early enterance by usual standards. Still boys with "Summer Birthdays" are routinely held back for later starts in my town. My July DS shouldn't have been the youngest boy by months in his elementary classes, but was. I call it his "unofficial" gradeskip. He and I both had the too easy/too hard "Goldilocks Problem" in elementary school, to immature to be "fast runners" and no place to flap our wings in school. I'd really really like to see more schools where each child has their own IEP and works at their own readiness level in each skill and knowledge level. But it doesn't seem like your son will need that. Many PG kids just get their gradeskips and are able to benifit and blend in without giving up the vital parts of themselves. Let's face it, learning how to get along in "non-optimal" environments is a good thing, in moderation.

Well, Zia's Mom, I'm glad you found us, and wish you all kinds of good things at the meeting tommorrow!

Smiles,
Trinity

Delbows -
Loved your morgage analogy. We certianly ran into that last winter.
Smiles,
Trinity

It ocurred to me as i read this thread, that one of the quesions to ask yourself is "what does our family believe school is for?"
This may help as you are considering your options and I think the each of us would give a different answer.

Of course, none of us wants our chilren to be harmed in school; we want them to be relatively happy, and we want them to learn things.

But, beyond that, what do you think is the purpose of school? Is the goal to have your child learn lots of academic skills and be challenged? Do you want them to have school be a place where they make connections and develop skills which will help them be competitive in HS, College and beyond? Do you want them to participate in a microcosm of the larger community, learning about families that are different than they are? Do you want them to be well coached in sports or other activities? Do you want them to be with people who are mostly demographically like them? Do you want them to be exposed to things that you might never think to expose them to at home (I remember being amazed at how much pride DS took in learniing the Pledge of Allegiance--not something I would have thought to teach him)? Do you want them to get a lot of independence early or do you feel they need more protection at first? Do you think that learning to cope with boredom is an important skill or a frustrating waste of time?

I don't suggest that there are right answers to these questions, but that thinking about what is important to your family is key to making a decision you are comfortable with and able to support even when there is a bad day or two (which there are bound to be no matter which decision you make.)