Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Recommended Resources boredom and restlessness in kindergarten

I'm trying to help a friend advocate for a profoundly gifted kindergartener (reading 6 years ahead) in an immersion school setting who is already complaining of boredom and developing behavioral problems just two weeks into school. The teacher recognizes that the girl is gifted, but wants to ignore that and focus on the behavioral issues. She doesn't get that the two things are connected.

Can anyone recommend some short, pithy articles that connect the dots between giftedness, boredom and behavioral problems in clear and simple terms? Maybe something you found effective in educating your own teachers/schools?

Thanks!

I've never found an article that wasn't already preaching to the converted....instead I would ask, in writing, for a reading test to determine what the child's actual reading level is. (Common practice is to test a grade or two up and then stop, because, afterall, 'what difference does it make')

I would suggest that your friend down load the davidson manual on advocacy, and put together a portfolio of work that shows how the child compares to the 'scope and sequence' documents for her school - and ask for the school to start testing for a gradeskip. Even if your friend is totally against the skip, having the child evaluated for a gradeskip is the best way to let the school folks 'see for themselves' that they aren't dealing with a run of the mill gifted child.

Best wishes,
Grinity

I will look when I get home. I know my DS5 is profoundly gifted and the tester talked about that sometimes being a problem in her evaluation of DS, and I am sure she quoted some sources. She put that in there mostly for the schools knowing that they were going to need that evaluation for appropriate planning for him. We worry about that as well with DS5. He went to first this year...but it still may be an issue. He has had 2 good days and one not so good one so far. We will see how today goes. I will give you the source later tonight after the kids are in bed.

The Davidson manual on advocacy is a great idea. I'll pass that along.

It's a language immersion school, so I'm guessing a grade skip isn't an option, but I also don't know much about immersion schools.

Myth #9 sounds pertinent: They are good students, rarely causing behavioral problems of any kind in class.

http://cfge.wm.edu/conference%20documents/Myths%20about%20Gifted%20Students.pdf