Should you send your gifted child to school?
The Orange County Register has a feature on a 2-year-old who can count to 100, name all the state capitals and look cute in pictures all at the same time.
Is Sahana a genius? It's too early to tell, said Darlene Boyd, director of the UC Irvine Gifted Students Academy, which offers intensive summer enrichment programs to the nation's brightest elementary and middle school students.But it's highly likely that she's gifted, Boyd said. There are signs that emerge at a young age: an unstoppable curiosity and questioning of how things work. An ability to communicate clearly and comfortably with adults. A willingness to sit and focus on a single task for at least 15 minutes: all are indicators of above-average intelligence, she said.
The story gets into the angst of parents of gifted children, who have a difficult time deciding whether to send their kids to school.
How to educate their children is a crucial dilemma for parents of the gifted, Boyd said. Make a wrong move, and a potentially brilliant student can stumble.“We want to keep those young students motivated and not allow their curiosity to wane,” she said. “Often they have parents who teach them and engage them and get them excited about learning. Then they get to school-age and they unfortunately are made to regress and relearn things they already know, especially with the pressures and ramifications of NCLB.”
So far, the reader comments are all about the merits of homeschooling. It's an interesting debate. Are some kids too smart for school?
Read the story.
Comments
I substitute taught at a gifted magnet school in Garden Grove once. I will never sub in a gifted class again.
Posted by: Former sub | November 6, 2007 11:21 AM