Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy grade acceleration

Hi,

You received lots of good advice. Here is my two cents. Last year, we had our child (boy) go from first grade to third/fourth grade class in a different school. He was a summer boy and the oldest in his first grade class(7 years old).

Bottom line, it did not work out for us. The older children (8 to 10)were socially very far ahead of our child. He stopped reading and only wanted to play video games and such.

Finally, we decided to home school and it is working out great. We are in our 8th week and really enjoying it.

Just another opinion...

The funny thing for us is the teachers are all saying the reason he is being teased and harassed by his classmates is because he is socially much more mature than they are.

The reason they don't want to sponsor him is because they feel he's not gifted, even though his tests indicated he is and he is 2e.

Socially he's not going to fit in anywhere, imo. Unfortunately for us homeschooling is not an option at this point. We reqally wish it was.

WG -
Whenever a person mentions the word gifted, I always remind myself that that particular word means something to them, and it may have nothing to do with what I see it as. So I alway ask and ask and ask, till I get them talking. I do try not to cross examine, but yeah, a bit of that goes on also. It helps me stay sane.
Trin
BTW WG -
You mention that you were active on usenets back in the "Rite" days - any cautions or stories about reprocussions from that?
Thanks in advance -
Trinity

Really back in those days (about 88-94) things were mellow on the usenet and arapnet. My youngun was actually kinda famous for the stories I wrote about him.

Interesting thing was anything that I wrote and asked about giftedness was ridiculed. People were very down on me for thinking he was gifted.

So things have changed, WG, from your perspective? That's good to hear! Did the "fame" have any reprocussions?
Trinity

only good ones. people still email me and ask how he is doing. they still want to hear his stories, but he's 15 now and stuff isn't quite as cute...though he is very witty and sarcastic (runs in the family).

We used to have get-togethers. Most of my posts were in the misc.kids group. I think some are still archived somewhere. Those used to be such intense discussions. People weren't quite so PC back then; so, things weren't considered flames until they really hit a feverish and hateful pitch. I quit when everything started to be hateful.

I learned so much from those people. They really helped me raise the kiddo.

That's so sweet.
Thank you Willa Gayle

SF Parent:
That is partially what I worry about as for grade acceleration. Also, I just realized it the other day, one of those 'aha' moments....when we accelerate our different/strange/bizzare/gifted children through the grades, they end up being in the class with exactly the same kids, just older. 4th graders are not smarter than 2 graders, they are just older . I so stronly believe that PG kids should be grouped togehter, this would probably facilitate an experience of a lifetime. Why do they like so much summer programs for the gifted? Because that meet they intelectual peers, not older children.
I also think that learning should be broadened as much as possible for those kids, not necessarily pushed forward. Having said that, I am still a mother of an 11 year old who is taking geometry :-) and am just fine with that.
Ania

I think a grade skip will never happen. I think Mite will never socially fit in until he's with his intellectual peers. I agree that a child's intellectual peers are not necessarily the children in the grade level in which he can learn. Nor are they necessarily his chronological age mates.

Mite's peers are other gifted children.

Now I just have to find where those might be geographically. In the meantime, I have to make the public school work for him or at least make the day to day activities of public education less painful for him.