Guiding Your Gifted Child
by Marty Nemko
by Marty Nemko
(Originally appeared in the Mensa publication, The Intelligencer)
The government incentivizes schools and teachers to improve low-performing students' achievement. As a result, too often, bright and gifted kids' needs shortchanged.
What's the parent or other caring relative of a
gifted child to do?
Choosing a School
One option is to try to get your child admitted to a school
with a large percentage of high-ability and/or high achieving kids: a school in your district or an
inter-district transfer.
Whether or not such options are available to you, as the new
school year or semester approaches, find out if there's a teacher of your
child's grade who would be much better with kids like yours than would the other
teachers. If so, ask the principal or counselor if your child might be placed
in that class. You'll be on safer ground if you couch it as, "I visited
the classes my child might be in next year and it really seems that Ms. X would
be the best fit for his needs. Might you be willing to place him there?"
You can't request that too often but do it once or twice during your child's
stint at that school and you can make a big difference in her education without
undue effort.
Skip a Grade or Four?
Consider acceleration, grade-skipping. Especially with
today's focus on low-achieving students, acceleration works better for many
kids than does badgering the on-grade teacher to accommodate to your child's
needs. Often, despite incessant tactful requests from the parent, above-average kids
sit stultified in today's mixed-ability classes. And if a kid is active, s/he
gets in trouble and too often put on a Ritalin leash...at a ratio of eight boys for
every one girl.
Many parents worry that the academic benefits of
grade-skipping will be outweighed by social mismatch but generally, if the
receiving teacher is enthusiastic and has the child sit next to a supportive,
respected student, the result is superior to the aforementioned badgering.
If the idea of grade-skipping appeals, schedule a meeting
with the principal in which you don't blame teacher or the school. Couch your
request as simply trying to get an appropriate-level education for your child.
Support your case by showing a portfolio of the child's work in and out of
school, test scores, and a supporting letter(s) from the child's teacher, head
of the district's gifted program, and/or a private educational consultant.
After School
While we parents like to think we're most important to our
child's development, recent research suggests that peers may have more
influence. That means that one of our most potent interventions is to
facilitate good friendships. If you don't know which kids to invite to your
home or on trips, etc., visit your child's class and watch the kids not only in
the classroom but at recess. Of course, ask your child who s/he'd like to
befriend.
Parents of gifted kids tend to overschedule their kids after
school. Be selective. Not every kid needs exposure to soccer, flute lessons, religious school, and community service. Gifted
kids are still kids, and they, like all of us, can use down time. Some of my
happiest childhood memories are simply of watching clouds, or snowflakes land
on the window. That all said, some supplementation of course is wise. Hoagie's
Gifted (www.hoagiesgifted.org) is a portal to an amazing range of options for gifted
kids and their parents and teachers, from ten-minute activities to summer
programs.
Emotions
Even some well-adjusted gifted kids suffer emotionally.
Especially if they're in a school with few intellectual peers, they may suffer
from the Hobson's choice of being disliked or dumbing themselves down, for
example, by not raising their hand often. Even though it's contrary to today's
egalitarian ethos, I think it's wise to often remind your child that s/he is
intellectually superior. Of course, that doesn't justify their being obnoxious
to others, but quietly recognizing their superiority can balm against the slings
and arrows.
Don't assume that because a child is intellectually
advanced, s/he's not below average in some emotional or social area. Despite
having a Ph.D. in educational psychology and a school psychology credential,
except in severe cases, I'm not a big fan of therapy. If my child were mildly
depressed, socially anxious, or simply socially clueless, I'd focus on simple
behavioral strategies: giving gentle feedback on their behavior, modeling the
desired behavior, encouraging them to work to their strengths rather than
focusing much on weaknesses, and encouraging some non-academic area that feeds
them: in the arts, sports, helping others, whatever.
Of course, significant dyslexia, spectrum disorder, bipolar,
etc usually require professional assistance. Severe hyperactive (ADHD) kids may
benefit from Ritalin, Adderal, etc.
I know I'm preaching to the choir here but I believe that a high-ability child is one of society's greatest treasures. I wish they were
more valued by today's schools but they're not. That leaves it to us. It may be
some of our most important work.
Dr. Nemko is an
education and career adviser to people young and old. His seven books include How
to Get Your Child a Private School Education in a Public School and How to Do
Life: What They Didn't Teach You in School. Reach him at mnemko@comcast.net.