Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment How long to 'catch up' after a grade skip.

Hello,
Thank you for all your replies. It is very interesting to hear about the different responses of children. I also grateful to have people whose children have done similar things- i can't really speak to anyone here as most think we were crazy to do it.

HowlerKarma's comments about personality affecting is work are pretty spot on with my son. He is extremely determined- which is great when he is determined to do what you think he should be doing but extremely frustrating when he chooses not to do something. Also the comments about work load changes are true too. The amount of writing for instance is much greater in yr3 than yr1 and requires him to put in much more effort. Not something he is used to having to do.
Master of None : you comments about a different culture are true too. It is very different in yr3. I also agree that it is strange not to stretch him given that is what he is there for.

The main purposes of the skip were so that he was learning with other children and that he would be challenged. I guess i felt that was happening until i did a couple of reading groups with the class and realised that the work was less challenging. I think it has made me realise that i need to talk more to the school about how they are approaching his allocation to groups and what other support he is receiving.
His teacher is very supportive- she was his teacher in year one so knows what he is capable of and was a big advocate for grade skipping him. But, like most teachers in main stream Australian schools, she doesn't have much experience with whole year acceleration and i wonder whether she is approaching him differently or just like another member of the class. I know that she is supporting him when they are doing work that he has missed but that is not really all the support he needs.

When he was in yr1 his 'case' was always discussed at the learning support/G&T teachers meeting but i am not sure that is the case now. Which makes me wonder whether his teacher is being supported/advised in how to approach it.I have regular casual meetings with his teacher but it sounds like it might be time for a more formal review of how he is progressing and what support he is receiving with the whole learning team.

What sort of support has been put in place for your children when they grade skipped? Mum of three, i saw that you are also in Oz. What support did your daughter receive? What do you think makes the difference?

I guess it does also make me question, as i did when we made the decision, whether he is that different from the usual kid and really needs this. Certainly he is gifted/moderately gifted by this boards standards. ahhhhh i dreamt about him being back in his grade last night- so i guess it is worrying me right now.

Thanks again,
HHBELLA.

HHBELLA - my DD didn't really receive any support at all last year. She had a teacher who was extremely tolerant of her weaker areas as she caught up and never suggested she shouldn't be there because her handwriting wasn't ready (biggest weakness). DD thrived having so much headroom to plough through. This year she has the same teacher, but is in a straight class with no grade above her, so after one fabulous year of being "bright but normal" she's back to being top of the class and cruising. And it's not going so well. This year has involved a lot of meetings and not much progress yet. I am thinking about pushing for partial home schooling.

There are a lot of complex issues with the teacher's style and personality that made her ideal for transitioning DD to the new grade - so there really wasn't any need for any support or intervention last year. But that same approach seems to be pretty badly suited to keeping her going at a similar pace now that she's caught up in her weaker areas and her strengths are well ahead of the curve. At a meeting recently with the principle when I was trying to explain that it's not OK that my DD has had only two spelling lists in 17 weeks of this year she looked at me confused and said "But you do know she's the best in the class already?". Yeah I do know - but she still deserves to learn to spell AT HER LEVEL, and to experience WORKING on her spelling. The school does believe in teaching spelling, the other kids are learning spelling, why isn't my DD? However much time the other kids are spending on spelling she should be doing to... And though I didn't say it - WTF is my kid doing when the other kids are working on spelling?

But I think you have a different child AND a different teacher issue to us. I suspect that your DS's teacher thought she'd help him settle by easing him in to something she sees as a big deal (ie lets not make the work too hard so he can use his energy for adapting). And has continued on as she started without too much thought.