I have a 4yr old who's been diagnosed as gifted cant afford private ed! but main stream 2slow?

Question

my 4yr old is in reception and im at a loss of what to do! he was diagnoised as gifted at 3yrs old, we sent him to private nursery but cant afford private school education. the primary school know the sittuation but dont want to help, they think were being over protected parents!

Answer 1

Nearly every parent thinks their kid is gifted and since the school doesn't know him personally you can see how they might think you are just biased and pushy.  A giftedness test for a 3 year old doesn't cover what is really important to the school: reading and math.

The school usually needs some objective evidence that a child is gifted in terms of the school's academic program.  For example, if your child is starting kindergarten but already reads 3rd grade books, and can add and subtract, the school has to see that he needs advanced opportunities.  

My advice is to give the school a year or two to see for themselves how gifted your child is.  Do as much as you can at home to foster his learning even if it is beyond the current grade level.

My son was in the same situation.  In 1st grade we had outside testing that showed him at the 8th grade in reading and 5th grade in math.  When we showed that to the school they immediately created an assessment team that recommended skipping 2nd grade.  

You don't want to put the school on the defensive in your approach (e.g. "you aren't doing your job").  The conversation should be more like "what can we (school and parents) do to best meet his needs?"  You will get the best response if you treat it as a partnership in the best interest of the child.  

Also, it was the testing combined with what the teacher saw in the classroom that prompted action, so it's important to wait long enough for your child to display his advanced abilities.

The grade skipping has worked well for my son, though we still need to make an effort with the school to keep him challenged.  It's a good option for the public school with limited resources, since it doesn't cost them anything, unlike a special program for gifted kids.

One great resource is the Davidson Institute for Talent Development: http://www.ditd.org/  They have lots of free services for children who qualify for their Young Scholars program.

And I agree with those who say private school may not be any better than your public school for meeting his needs.  We looked at several private schools, even one specifically for "gifted" students, and were disappointed.

Good luck!

Answer 2

You need to put your child in public school.  If your child is indeed gifted, he will be allowed to take courses with older kids for some classes, but stay with other peers his age for regular activities such as art, p.e., lunch, etc.  My children also are highly intelligent and score highly on tests and they are at the top of their classes.  My sister was a grade school student who attended classes with a few other kids at the high school because of her math abilities.  Your son will be placed where he is comfortable and where he will learn the most.  Sending him to a private school does NOT ensure a better education by any means!  In some cases, private schools are lesser in many regards as they do not have government funds or all the facilities and programs that public schools do.

Answer 3

'Diagnosed' that's an odd word to use - how was this decision actually made and by whom?

Answer 4

Main stream is best. Your child will grow up well (emotionally) balanced. But since he is gifted keep him stimulated - extra homework, challenging tasks - that sort of thing.

Answer 5

TI do not know but I have heard of the National association for Gifted Children NAGETY.  They might be able to help but your child might be a little to young I know they help secondary level but not if they help Infant

Answer 6

they are probably used to all parents thinking their child is the best.

teach him stuff yourself. kids learn all the time doing all sorts of different activities.

Answer 7

If your child is ready to start soaking up information, languages make a great sponge.  The optimal time to learn languages is early on before their brain turns to concrete.  Spanish is the easiest to learn and you probably have some spanish stations on the tv. and radio.  I don't normally recomend plopping a child down in front of the boob tube, but even normal children pick it up so fast that you can move right along to books.  If you can get them to learn a little Greek or Latin too, someone will take notice

Answer 8

Your sending mixed messages, gifted means alot lol. Is he a prodigy? Anway just teach him yourself and I'm assuming he is smart if your talking about main stream being slow. If its easy for him just take the test to skip a grade, if not don't worry about it. X_x mainstream is slow and my parents won't let me skip a grade :/ cus they think I'll miss out on the experince, when I'm just gonna come back to the town we live anyway lol.. Work hard and advancement will be fine. Teachers get tired of smart kids who make everyone else look like and idoit because they have a greater understanding..

Answer 9

I myself work in a mainstream school with children with all different abilities.

There are many children in the school who are way ahead of the other children in there age groups, but 1 girl is doing secondary school work and she is only in primary 5. It is possible to ask the school to try pushing your child to his full potential and if he is still way ahead in future years of attending primary school, they could consider bring some secondary work into play. There are teachers there for a reason and there are no excuses for letting a child's full potential go unnoticed. Good luck to you. Im sure he will go very far.

Answer 10

Not sure why you would be labeled as over protective just because you have a gifted child. the emphasis in classes today is individualised learning so your child will be given tasks which match his ability. Your job is to ensure he is stimulated at home where you can play games. provide books and outings which will stretch his intelect and give him the best possible start.

Each school has a TLR post for Special Needs, this includes Gifted and talented as well as the usual help given to children who need a little extra help.

Once he is settled in school his class teacher will assesshis needs and should refer him to the SN co-ordinator if she feels he needs it. At open evening you can discuss this with his class teacher and if you are still concerned make an app. to see the Headteacher

Answer 11

His teachers will hopefully be able to meet his needs. If he's in a hands on environment that's very stimulating and helps him meet what he wants to learn about he should do fine. Providing a lot of opportunities at home are good too, try to meet his interests through books and toys.

You don't need to send him to a private school for a good education. Also, he's only 4.

Answer 12

i would try and get in touch with the fee paying schools some of them will take in kids who need more stimulation than a normal child of the same age  even if the parents can not afford it  some what like a scholarship but they do not advertise it  you will need to do the leg work

Answer 13

I do not intend to dimish your childs intellect however I have seen some places where they identify children as gifted to enroll in their program that is quite expensive.  Hopefully this was not one of those places.

At this age - gifted is rather relative - your child is too young for most standardized testing.  Enroll your child in school and look for enrichment opportunities on your own - I can't imagine how you could know that regular education is 'too slow."

Answer 14

I agree that diagnosed is an odd term to use. Also I don't mean to be rude but whhaaaaa, poor you! My son has a learning disability.

Answer 15

my sympathies to u.

this the state of education for our brilliant kids here.

both my girls are gifted and talented but the school did v little apart form putting them in a register that was created to include gifted kids. Only a handful were on this list.

there is no special funds or facilities to encourage these kids, it is really sad!

gifted children are teased and taunted and made to feel different and even lose friends so much so in the end they just fall back to the class average for peace and quiet.

my little one who is 11+ has taken the Mensa test achieved the top 1% and i am so glad i entered her.

a child has to be over 10 to take the official test.

the one thing is that at least now the school will take notice and hopefully do something and cannot just say that there is no evidence.

even private schools do not do a lot to push these kids or promote them to higher levels because they say it puts too much pressure on them and they are v likely to develop emotional problems!

the first 5 yrs of a child's development is the most important and i made sure that i did all the very best of stimulating them to use their brain. they were both of them reading and able to write and count etc when they started school.

it is true tht a child is born with it but a lot goes into how a child is brought up in those first 5 yrs.

In short you the mother are the best teacher for yr child -just take him ahead in yr own way.

it is a brick wall!

wish u all the best!