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The Edutopia Poll
by Sara Ring
As the No Child Left Behind Act forces schools to focus resources on underachieving students, some teachers and parents say schools are leaving their gifted kids behind. Limited funding means enrichment programs for gifted students have been scaled back or eliminated altogether. Advocates for the gifted contend that the education system is neglecting the needs of these students, and that, in the face of this neglect, grade advancement is the best way to alleviate the problem. A report by the University of Iowa argues that skipping a grade has a positive effect on students who are feeling bored and unchallenged at their prescribed grade level. But opponents believe that sending young kids into higher grades may harm them socially, and that all students benefit from interacting with classmates of varying abilities and talents. They emphasize that mentoring, special assignments, and single-subject acceleration are preferable to wholesale advancement into higher grades. Is skipping grades the best solution for exceptional kids? Tell us what you think!
The student should be the one to choose
I have raised my children to be very open minded and to speak up about what they think will either benefit, or hurt them, in the long run.
My daughter is 12 years old and very gifted. She is currently in the 7th grade, with her peer group. To give you an idea of her current academic level, the child will come over and help me with a math problem. Currently, I am taking Statistics and Discrete Mathematics, as I am completing my BA in Computer Science.
As well, she reads on a college level or beyond. Currently she is a straight A student ( Even after missing over a week of school due to illness).
The point here, is that I have let her choose where she wants to be. She is happy with her peer group and is developing on a NORMAL emotional level. Does she get bored? Yes sometimes she does. But NORMAL children get bored as well at some point or another.
One can not always be entertained in life. This just prepares the child for life as an adult. If they learn how to handle the boring moments as a child, chances are they will be able to handle those moments when they arise in adulthood.
Keeping her where she is most comfortable is what I believe is the most important. The result of letting her choose?
I have a very bright little girl that is stable in her surroundings. She has friends and is enjoying school, and loves going. She does not struggle to maintain a grade, and she is extremely happy.
Listen to the kids, don't make the choice for them.
To add on to the last post
In addition, I believe that parents should wait to consider advancing a child grades until a child is older and can have input in the matter. I believe that the child should be on a level where they can exercise a sound level of maturity and be able to outweigh the pros and cons of skipping ahead a grade or more.
Re: Skipping Grades
As a person who went through first grade in two weeks and entered second grade because I desired to learn cursive writing early, the act of being skipped went unnoticed by me until I entered high school. When I was a junior, I felt much more comfortable with the sophomores or seniors, not with the juniors. In fact, at one point I became so disenchanted with those in my grade, that I stopped speaking to them for a month. I felt completely out of sync with them.
I feel that skipping grades might be a positive things to do, but it should be done only if a student is given counseling to understand the adverse feelings within themselves that might be encountered.