Originally Posted by mnsell
Also, if you check standerized testing scores, starting K and 1st there is usually a huge difference in where the kids are, but the studies show that by grade 4 (at least at RMS) or grade 5, they are all reading well enough...the later readers do tend to catch up so that you can have a much more "balanced classroom" at the upper elementary grades. It's better for the "gifted kids" to branch out horizontally, rather than pushing them ahead to be the best reader, math student, etc. It's not such a great thing socially to be so far ahead.
So, hope you all can learn from our experiences!


To me this just sounds like more of the "all kids catch up by the third grade" that a lot of us on this board hear all the time. My son is and has always has been a very advanced reader. The other kids didn't catch up to him in the 3rd, the 4th, the 5th - they still don't read what he reads.

And as for the "pushing", that word alone has been the topic of many a post here. When you have a child with, for example, an intense desire to understand trigonometry - a topic you know nothing about - and that child asks to be driven to the library to check out a text book on the subject because he just has to know... who is pushing whom?

And as for branching out horizontally, who says that is best for a gifted child? How far horizontally can one go in, say, arithmetic? At some point, for some kids, the only way to go is up. And that is the best thing for them. Being the youngest in a class brings it's own challenges, but so does being grossly underplaced with a bunch of children with whom the only thing you share is a birthday. There have been many studies to show that gifted children who have been accelerated fare much better on tests of emotional well being than those left behind. Accelerating a child to the proper level means that they are not always the best at everything, and that they will learn the value of hardwork and they won't "always be out there" in class.


Originally Posted by mnsell
We did not grade skip our son. His birthday is the end of September so he was one of the oldest in the class. Our son has always had social issues....even standing out at RMS. He always wanted to fit in so badly, he grew tired of achieving, always being the best at everything and he mostly wanted to be liked by everyone. He burnt out at 8th grade ..and tried very hard to fail, which he did. High School was a disaster. Our son "chose" by himself to leave high school early, so it was his choice that he "grade skip." We tired, the schools tried, it was just that he is "so out there" the top 99th percentile. He HATES to hear that. Having a gifted kid like him was a curse to say the least. He's almost 19 and by being out of high school early, he has make much progress this past year (friendships, college classes). He is moving to Chicago to attend a performing arts college...and I actually feel good about it and think it will work out well.


To me, this sounds like a definitive argument TO gradeskip a child. You post that your son, after "gradeskipping" himself, has finally found his way, whereas before, when he was held in age/grade lockstep, he was miserable.

We accelerated our son to avoid the very problems that your son went through. He's still ahead of everyone, but the spotlight shining on him is not as bright as it would have been if he was sitting in the 6th grade. He fits in better with highschool aged kids that he ever did with kids his own age.

Having a child outside the norm is not easy. I wouldn't call it a curse, but it does have its difficulties. And every child's path will probably differ from someone else's. I'm glad that your son has finally found his place and is happy.