I still wonder why the IAS says all bets are off when the child is against the skip. I would give more value to this with an older child, but in early elementary, I would lean toward the parent and school staff knowing what's best.
Because - hold on to your hats - the 'end user' child of the IAS is most likely not a PG kid. The target audience of IAS is Optimally and Highly Gifted kids.
And so - that is why we families of PGlets break 3 rules of IAS all the time -
1) No skipping into a grade that contains a sibling.
2) No skipping a kid who doesn't want a skip.
3) No skipping a bridge year (although I wouldn't skip a bridge year for some 2E PGlets - having done it myself!)
Or as a friend of mine says,humerously: We would never skip a PG child who doesn't want an offered skip after we've twisted their arm 360 degrees and offered them their very own pony!
It is true for example, that my son didn't want to skip while he was with his friends at the public school (which didn't offer one anyway) but after DS moved to the private school and didn't know the kids anyway, he was happy to skip. My bottom line: Do ask about the specifics of why a child doesn't want to skip, because often those can be adressed, BUT, it's still up to the parent to go with their best guess about how to get the most reasonable fit. Gradeskipping is too large a topic not to expect the kid to have some mixed feelings, unless you are lucky enough to have be at a school where subject accelerations and full skips are 'just normal.' Sigh - wouldn't that be wonderful.
There was this one school were first thing every morning, the kids all filed out into the hallway to get to their Math class, all the kids, aged 5 to 13. Sigh.
Love and More Love,
Grinity
