Help - they want him to skip a grade
My son is in grade 2 at a state primary school.
I recently got offered a place at a Private school but when they assessed him they found that he was already at the end of a grade 3 level for maths and his reading, writing and comprehension were that of grade 4.
They want him in grade 3. Socially I don't think he is ready but then he has nothing in common with his grade 2 peers as he seems to think they are very silly. He has no friends in grade 2.
He started school when he was turning 6 (march baby) as he was behind socially at Kindergarten and lacked fine motor skills (left handed).
He began reading in kindergarten and could read and recognise numbers up to 100.
Is it dangerous to skip a grade? He is extremely difficult in his class at school in grade 2 as he tells me they don't teach him very much. He is becoming very disruptive.
Please help as I don't know if it the right thing to do.
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
Hi mummydianne,
All the research suggests that the more gifted a child is, the more s/he will gain from acceleration and being with intellectual peers. Think about it: even as grown-ups, we're more at ease with our intellectual peers. By accelerating, he will be *more* likely to fit in socially, not less.
The other perspective is this: gifted children are, almost by definition, asynchronous in their development (ie different rates of development between social, cognitive, physical domains). Therefore whichever grade he is in, it will be a compromise. If he has no friends in grade 2, then he has nothing to lose by moving to grade 3!
Your son's school seems to be taking the proactive step, so good luck to you and him!
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
Thank you so much for your reply.
My son loves being in Grade 3 and now because he is finally challenged is enjoying learning again.
He currently is doing Grade 5 maths with some other clever children and next they will assess him in literacy to see what level he should be working on.
He has some friends at this school and thoroughly enjoys the choir. The extras they offer at this new school seem to stimulate him more. He still thinks some of the Grade 3 boys are silly. He hangs around a lot with the girls.
He doesn't have a problem with being the youngest in the class.
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
i have recently been put in a simular position. my duaghter in currently in prep and there is a consideration of moving her in to grade 1 for the rest of this year and grade 2 next yeari am not sure what to do? i don't want to hurt her by putting her up and i don't want to hurt her by holding her back. any suggestions please?
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
My son had the same situation. In the end, he moved to grade 1, but does his best subject, Maths, with the year 2-3 class. This works for everyone. He is not frustrated by being held back in his gifted area, and is not put under pressure to perform at a higher level in his avgerage subjects. Talk it over with the teacher, principal, school councellor. Together, there is a solution to benefit everyone.
Good luck
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
You dammed if you do and dammed if you don't.
Problem with staying in a lower grade is that they get bored. They are not challenged and therefore don't learn to acheive anything.
My son was beginning to get lazy. He wouldn't try as there was nothing to try for. The new school know what he is capable of and he will work one on one with a special teacher 30 to 60 minutes each week.
His classroom teacher also gives him work to challenge him. Mind you if they didn't he wouldn't say anything.
I didn't want him to be the youngest in the class which is why I was so against the move however, he had nothing in common with the younger children. To him they were childish and silly.
He still thinks some of the children in Grade 3 are childish and silly but can at least have some form of conversation with them. (especially some of the brighter girls).
He is very emotional compared to the other Grade 3s but that is all part of being gifted.
I suppose if you leave your daughter in prep she will just get too bored. I think if I'd known better I would have looked at a school with an accelarated program earlier.
My son use to just go to school and sit and do nothing. No one made him do anything because as far as the school was concerned he'd already reached the standard for the level he was in. They weren't going to extend him because they are not a school that does that. That is why I changed schools.
At least your school are trying to figure out what is best for your daughter. Gifted children will never quite fit in with the other children because they are just so much more brighter and their vocabulary is usually equal to an adults. Mine usually tries to tell everyone how to do the work. (mini teacher; major problems).
Hope it helps
Dianne
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Re: Help - they want him to skip a grade
Hi Mummydianne,
My son is also left handed and had many social and motor skill issues as a young child. This also made me nervous about accelertion. However dealing with a child from the perspective of their strengths is very important as it is this what we ultimately want to define them. It is great that you have found a school willing to look on the bright side.
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