Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy Grade acceleration for gifted but shy child?

Nbpoirier, I am not sure how going to first grade is even considered an acceleration here since your ds is already spending a 1/2 day with the K's this year? Is it just because of his age?


Are the educators saying this about your ds specifically, or just as a generalization? How I feel about it's meaning differs - if they simply have that opinion re acceleration, I'd listen, think it through, then toss it away and go with my own gut feeling. OTOH, if they are seeing something specific in your child that leads them to say this, I'd give it more weight in my decision - and I'd also want to ask specifically what it is re your ds that leads them to this conclusion.

I actually don't think staying with your age peers and using subject acceleration is a bad idea if you can do it - it's what we chose for our ds. We've had some bumps along the road where the acceleration didn't happen (in elementary school) and we've also found overall that acceleration isn't usually all that it "could" be - ds could have learned more faster and quicker than he's had a chance to, and he's found that sitting in his subject accelerated classes can be boring too, because the overall pace of the class isn't accelerated So that's one thing I'd consider if you're on the fence re accelerating - is your ds, with acceleration, going to have an opportunity to learn at his true pace, or is he simply going to be one year ahead in a classroom that moves slower than his brain moves? That might be a good (best for the situation) solution, but if you're weighing other factors against acceleration, I'd keep that in mind.


You're right, that's not the only side of the decision. I will tell you though, that two of the families I've known who were eager to grade-accelerate in early elementary found that this type of situation mattered much more to them than they'd predicted once their child was actually in middle school. It's not that they hadn't thought it through earlier - it's just that once their children were actually in middle/high school, and actually around older kids going through puberty, learning how to drive, going out on dates... they (parents) weren't really happy about their children being in the midst of all of that. Please note - this is a 2 family sample - totally statistically meaningless! Just something to think through. It's possible that it might not bother your ds or you that he doesn't drive or date as early as his friends... but it might worry you that he's around all these kids who are moving through those stages. Does that make sense?

Good luck thinking this through -

polarbear

We are dealing with the grade acceleration question too. My daughter started K reading at almost 3rd grade (guided reading level @ M), then when she was tested at school after getting a recommendation from a private test for gifted programming, her reading process is at High School level and she is multiplying and dividing having not been sat down and "taught" more than counting by 2s,5s and 10s ect. So, when we went into the school grade acceleration was presented, and when we talked to her about it, she said "No". I was held back in the 4th grade and did not want to be and spent many years angry and refusing to do my school work. I think that the child's feeling on grade acceleration should be the biggest factor in the decision.