what to do when my gifted 2nd grader is slipping in school
One of the near common questions we confront when speaking with parents nigh gifted education is whether their child should or could skip a class.
I am the female parent of iii gifted children and the Caput of School at Steppingstone Schoolhouse for Gifted Education in Plymouth, Michigan. When our offset gifted child, my oldest daughter, was ready to enter grade schoolhouse, we did not know much about giftedness. We had not founded Steppingstone School yet, and nosotros had no idea that she was gifted.
Our beginning feel with skipping a grade
At the time, I felt that our daughter would practise fine in a public school. My hubby and I had gone through the public school system, and I idea, "Hey, we pay taxes for these services. Allow'southward just give it a try." My husband, Dr. Reef, kept saying, "You know this isn't going to work." I had not requested it, but the principal had decided to double-promote her then she started as a second-grade student, not a get-go-grade educatee.
While it didn't seem significant at the time, there were a few incidents that causeless greater importance in later years. Her get-go challenge was a social one that presented itself to her on the motorbus ride to school. She was asked why she was in the second class when she should have been in the first grade. Information technology wasn't just a question, information technology was also a challenge for her to explain why she was being treated differently. She asked me why they were and then upset about it. I didn't know what to say. In the end, I told her to say that her teachers at her former school had already taught her the kickoff form. I hoped this would divert their attention from her to the "other" schoolhouse.
The following year, she was placed in a third/fourth grade-split classroom with the brightest of the third-form students and the neediest quaternary-grade students. Several of these students were repeating the grade because they had failed as oft as two times. The authoritative theory seemed to be that both sets of children would exist learning at the same level so the teacher would nonetheless have only one course to teach. In reality, this type of grade is one of the most hard to teach because the learning styles and pace of learning are then different.
In later years, my daughter explained to me that in the second course she learned zippo new. She explained that it had been "okay" because the teacher was dainty. She also liked that the unabridged structure was then new and different from the Montessori Schoolhouse where she had spent her before years which fabricated things interesting. However, by the cease of the next year, her third-class yr, she was incredibly stressed. By this fourth dimension we had learned that she was gifted and I was motivated to constitute Steppingstone, rather than ship her dorsum to the public schoolhouse.
Today, cartoon from xl years of helping parents of gifted children navigate these hard situations, likewise every bit our ain personal experiences, nosotros rarely abet class skipping. Let me explicate why.
Developing the whole child
In the mission statement for Steppingstone School, nosotros emphasize our dedication to developing the whole kid: academically, intellectually, physically, socially, and emotionally. We believe that this concept should motivate the decisions that parents and other advocates make on behalf of all gifted children.
Information technology can be piece of cake to concentrate on developing the bookish knowledge and intellectual abilities of your kid. For many parents, it is challenging even to keep up! You lot might simply be treading water, trying to answer all of your child'southward questions virtually the universe and the meaning of life. Or maybe yous are scrambling to find new books for them to tear through at warp speed. Nosotros get it.
However, developing a well-rounded and balanced individual requires not only a rapid pace but also developmentally matched peers. Their peers can provide stimulating and motivating, developmentally matched interactions that lead to naturally caused social and emotional development.
Another critical attribute of education for a gifted child is assuasive them to "unlock their gifts," as nosotros like to say, at their own pace. In other words, they need to excel at their own speed in the subjects where they accept a special interest.
This is where skipping a class tin become problematic. Gifted children oft develop asynchronously or "out of sync" internally and externally. Their rate of cognitive development can be much faster than their physical, social and emotional evolution. This means that while your child may be reading at a high school level when they are 6 or seven years old, they are not emotionally prepared to handle the content contained in high school level literature.
Similarly, in that location is a big difference between social practices and expectations with age, especially in the teenage years. When confronted with the choice of skipping a grade, consider the scenario down the road when they are xiv or younger and entering high school at an early on age. Would you lot be comfortable with them socializing with 16-year-olds who are driving and dating?
What emotional and social feet looks like in a child
It is important to remember that while your kid may be testing at a loftier schoolhouse or higher level in math or reading, they are all the same children. Their maturity level is nevertheless that of a child. The quality and quantity of experiences they have accumulated are limited. Gifted children are probable to be struggling with some aspects of socialization. It is important to pay close attending to these elements of your child'south evolution. Such issues cannot necessarily be flagged by a examination.
We recently had a student enroll in Steppingstone, whom we volition call "Jimmy." He came from a school that just taught him at his grade level. They did non allow him to engage with more advanced textile. He was bored in course. He had trained himself to tune out everything else and focus on creating self-fabricated projects in an imaginary alien world.
At first, we had a difficult time getting Jimmy to pay attending and to accept our usual program. One time he realized that the fabric was engaging, challenging, and designed for his abilities and interests, he began to excel very chop-chop. He jumped four reading levels in a single semester.
Later on a few weeks, Jimmy told us that he had stopped going to his imaginary alien world. In hindsight, we believe that he had developed this fantasy world because it reflected how he felt —like an alien.
It could have been easy for his parents to chalk upward his fantasy to the creative imagination of a young child. Fortunately, they were very attuned to his social and emotional difficulties, and we addressed the issues.
Beingness able to socialize with peers their age around topics advisable for their maturity level is critical to developing the "whole" child. Skipping a grade makes such development incredibly challenging.
Okay, I get it. Skipping a grade has its problems. Merely what other options do I accept?
Gifted children need academics with a footstep, structure, and content which are inherently unlike from what is benign for the boilerplate child. Gifted children brandish an ability to learn quickly, retain information, and understand complexities.
This type of customized learning feel is hard, if not impossible, to implement in a traditional schoolhouse setting. The entire structure is designed for children who learn in a different way. For example, in a traditional school setting, the beginning iii months after summer suspension are ofttimes dedicated to reviewing previous material. Review periods are excruciating for a gifted child! They practise not need them and become bored.
Gifted children need an educational feel with a rapid learning stride which continually challenges their intellect.
At Steppingstone Schoolhouse, we use teaching approaches and in-depth studies that integrate a range of subjects to bolster their interest and motivation and then they can attain their full potential. Academically, we have developed a student-centered, differentiated curriculum. Our program is designed effectually the characteristics of the gifted/high potential learner; we accommodate their academic, intellectual, physical, social and emotional needs.
We keep our students in classes with their historic period group. They demand friendship and emotional back up that tin be difficult to achieve in a typical classroom. Putting your gifted child in a school designed to run across their needs volition allow them to feel the satisfaction and joy that comes from beingness challenged by infrequent peers.
We also have our teachers stay with the same set of students for 2 years in a row. This allows the teacher to found a deeper connection with and a stronger understanding of the pupil'south learning fashion. Additionally, information technology gives us better insights into each kid's needs. The teacher has the fourth dimension to get intimately familiar with each educatee.
If you decide to skip a grade anyway
If enrolling your child in a school like Steppingstone is not an option for you lot, here are some other ideas:
i. Exercise your inquiry. If you are going to go along your kid in the traditional school setting, it will be vital that you advocate for what they demand. This means finding literature that is challenging enough for your child. This will undoubtedly exist dissimilar from what is existence taught at their course level. There are other of import and non and so intuitive aspects to consider.
For example, mathematics becomes abstract, beginning with algebra. Abstruse thinking ofttimes doesn't develop strongly until high school. This means that algebra every bit a sixth-grader is sometimes not appropriate even for a pupil with exceptional math potential. This was truthful for my daughter who won the "Women In Engineering" award in her loftier school equally a inferior and a senior. It is basically a recognition of exceptional mathematical skills and ordinarily awarded only to a senior.
She institute algebra frustrating as a sixth-grader but was bored with the repetition of earlier skills. So we provided her with a year of math applications or hands-on engineering science projects in the 6th class. In the 7th grade, nosotros gave her introductions to different math categories such equally algebra, geometry, trigonometry, statistics, calculus, etc. We did this considering the introductory period of studying those skills doesn't become besides abstract until subsequently in those studies. She was then able to complete algebra as an 8th-grader and to excel in all subsequent math studies through college.
However, her passion was music. Musical talent is supported in the same part of the brain that provides a talent for mathematical skills. She acquired a Doctorate in Harpsichord Performance and Early Music. Although, the math and engineering part of her brain recently resulted in her apprenticing with a Master Harpsichord builder in Amsterdam. She now builds harpsichords in add-on to performing on them!
2. Consider after schoolhouse or summer activities where they tin can socialize with kids their historic period.
If you do make up one's mind to have your child skip a form, exist extra sensitive to his or her social development. Try to find different forums in which your child can still collaborate with kids their historic period. However, exist careful not to overcompensate by cramming their schedules with back-to-back activities. They are still kids, and they need downtime. That's when they apply skills and creatively problem solve.
Equally your child enters college grades, be on the warning for inappropriate content, and be proactive nearly addressing information technology. Mayhap this means speaking to the instructor most a particular lesson plan ahead of time. Or maybe finding sensitive ways to address some topics to which your child might be prematurely exposed.
three. If your child is expressing difficulty coping with the changes you have made, yous might also consider counseling. A well-matched therapist can be invaluable for relieving feet, stress and/or depression.
The most of import thing is to provide a safe place for your gifted kid to discover and enhance his or her gift to the fullest extent while non ignoring any other aspects of personal development needed to live a fulfilling life.
We believe every child deserves a satisfying, challenging, and joyful learning feel.
Source: https://www.steppingstoneschool.org/skipping-a-grade/
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