Any parents of gifted children here ?

[sleepy]

kiasulang:

In this thread, we are blessed with children that are bright. Since we already know that, why do we need to send our children for professional assessment, and let a third person to point to us that \"Your child is gifted\"? It is like I do not need my doctor to tell me that I'm having a fever but you need a MC to show your superior. It is not necessary to know your child's IQ score or assessment report but it is essential when you need it. It is a must if your child intends to join Mensa Singapore.

Besides Mensa, where else can we use the assessment report?
For direct admission to GEP? or skipped levels in primary school?

What would be the school principal's typical reaction if parents submit an assessment report?
If the child is identified publicly as gifted in school, would he or she faced sneers or negative comments from others eg. 'wow you are gifted but don't know how to do this problem sum?!!'
Gifted doesn't mean know-all. Such negative remark is definitely detrimental to the child's self-esteem

Or maybe I worry unduly

tamarind:

Sleepy mentioned that MMI allows her child to be promoted to a higher level. I think this is purely base on teacher's observations, and not on any professional assessment (Sleepy, am I right ?) Personally I feel that teacher's observations are perfectly fine. However, if the child's intellectual development is already at P3 level, then even K2 at MMI is too easy for her. A program specially tailored for such children will be better.

Yes, based on teacher's observation

[sleepy]

radiantmum:

I actually sent my kid for the IQ professional assessment - for a dumb reason but no, not for someone to confirm his ability though I must say I did learn new things about my kid through the assessment. Not sure how to apply it though :oops:


Generally IQ scores are relatively stable if you take them > 5.5 or 6 yrs old as I understand. But of course there's always a debatable topic of nature vs nurture and that's why enrichment classes are so popular :lol: I was told that you can maximise 1600cc car to its potential but you cannot expect it to run like a 2000cc car. On the positive side it means we need to have realistic expectation of our child and let him/her shine in her areas of interest. Motivation & persistence beats all ......

What is in the assessment report? like identifying child as visual learner, or audio learner, that sort of stuff?

Where do you send him for assesment? how do you select which pyschologist to consult?

Thanks for sharing

[radiantmum]

About 500 bucks. Some as high as 1000+ depends on the #/different types of tests taken I guess. Always check that the person performing the test is registered - check under singapore psychologist’s web.


The one my kid had has verbal IQ and non-verbal IQ results. Suppose to give you overall IQ score but not available for mine 'cos the 2 test scores are so significantly different that it does not make statistical sense to produce an overall score (apparently this is pretty common).

Report 3 - 5 pages only, include strength & recommendation.

[kiasulang]

Hi Sleepy,


I believe your answers are here.

\"You may wish to send your child to a registered psychologist for assessment. Your child will be required to sit an individually administered standardised test of intelligence. The tests used should be recognised instruments for assessing giftedness, preferably the Stanford-Binet (SB-4 or SB-5 or L-M version) or Wechsler Intelligence Test (WISC 111 or IV). You will receive an assessment report that should include information on your child's cognitive profile, his/her social emotional development, adaptive behaviour, academic attainments (e.g. test scores on previously conducted tests) and medical history (e.g. any diagnosed illness, long-term medication and health issues). To ensure that a suitable psychologist is engaged, please refer to the list and guidelines provided at the Singapore Psychological Society website\"(MOE).

Source: http://www.moe.gov.sg/education/programmes/gifted-education-programme/faq/exceptionally-gifted/

To my knowledge, there is no direct admission to GEP using IQ assessment report. Every child at Pri. 3 has to clear the selection test.

I believe the principal concerned will not go around advertising your case. Most likely, the vice principal and the class teachers will be made known. I'm sure the school can work with you to maximize your child's potentials.

[kiasulang]

tamarind:

kiasulang,

You have given very good points about getting professional assessments for children to find out whether they are gifted.

However, even if a 4 year old child is found to be exceptionally gifted, are there any pre-schools in Singapore that caters to this child ? The child may be at P3 level intellectually, but he may not be emotionally ready to enter P1.

If the pre-schools in Singapore have special programs to cater to these gifted children, then it will be worth while to have the child tested professionally.

Sleepy mentioned that MMI allows her child to be promoted to a higher level. I think this is purely base on teacher's observations, and not on any professional assessment (Sleepy, am I right ?) Personally I feel that teacher's observations are perfectly fine. However, if the child's intellectual development is already at P3 level, then even K2 at MMI is too easy for her. A program specially tailored for such children will be better.

That's why early admission to primary school and skip level are not encouraged by GEB. Unless the child shows, not only exceptionally high IQ, but emotionally and socially ready. Who can predict their outcomes twenty years down the road?

You can try some private preschools,perhaps they can accommodate. My son was in one of the preschool who allow him to stay in their K2 class for 3 years. They allow him to learn at his own pace, in fact, the school allow the children to learn at their own paces. He graduated 3 times and had to say goodbye to his best friends time after time. He was coping fine, made him emotionally strong and more sociable.

[metz]

Being 'Gifted' is overrated


TO PARENTS who rush to get their children into the Gifted Education Program (GEP) so they can get further in life, I say, relax. It's overrated.

I'm gifted.

Or more correctly, I was Gifted, according to a letter I got from the Ministry of Education telling me so when I was nine. (This, after I checked a few boxes on a worksheet full of tetris-like blocks.)

But I have often wondered if being selected to get a headstart in life meant my missing out on some sights along the way.

For example, while other kids spent afternoons at Far East Plaza figuring out the birds and the bees, my idea of fun was staying back in school to dissect frogs.

Or, while my friends chipped their nails waitressing in pubs or chasing celebrities in their holiday time, I pursued resume-boosting internships with the aim of landing a scholarship.

If I have had one more date, one more party, or spent one more 'unproductive' hour daydreaming or doodling, life might have been more colourful.

But opting out was not an option then. If nothing else, it was pure pride that fuelled my dogged determination to excel. I had to justify why I had my nose stuck up in the air.

I remember clearly an incident in Secondary 4, when our teachers herded my sobbing, perfectionist classmates and me into the school lab after we had just sat through a devastatingly difficult O-level science practical examination.

'You are gifted girls. If you can't do it, nobody else can,' our teachers rahrah-ed by way of encouragement after they had shut the doors tight.

We were told we were capable of achieving extraordinary things, but had to remember to give back to society.

It turned out most of us did well in the O levels, except that I did not score straight As which made me question if I was gifted at all.

During my junior college days, whenever I felt intellectually stumped, I would scrawl in frustration on my A-level revision notes: 'Come on, you're in the GEP!'

But gradually over the years, it became a non-issue. In my university days overseas, I kept mum about having been labelled gifted. I aced no sport, mastered no musical instrument and derived no mathematical formula.

I sought self-definition from opinions and hobbies, which I had sidelined in my academic pursuit. I also learnt to let my hair down. I befriended people from diverse backgrounds far beyond the boundaries of my sheltered circle of friends back home and learnt how narrow-minded I was.

At work, I have realised that a headstart is just that: It gets you off the starting block, but winning the race is still a matter of how you pace yourself.

Gifted, top boy, scholar, overseas-educated - all these labels quickly fly out of the window as the playing field is levelled. The quality of work one produces speaks for itself.

I also learnt that getting something wrong was not the end of the world, and that other factors like teamwork and humility counted, too.

So whether or not my children will be gifted does not matter as much to me now. I just want them to discover their own gifts in their own time, and on their own terms - hopefully, by standards other than just correctly checking off a few boxes in a test.

Debbie Yong
Mon, Oct 22, 2007
The Straits Times

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/Office/Ask/Story/A1Story20071029-32922.html

[tamarind]

chamonix:

Being 'Gifted' is overrated


TO PARENTS who rush to get their children into the Gifted Education Program (GEP) so they can get further in life, I say, relax. It's overrated.

I'm gifted.

Or more correctly, I was Gifted, according to a letter I got from the Ministry of Education telling me so when I was nine. (This, after I checked a few boxes on a worksheet full of tetris-like blocks.)

But I have often wondered if being selected to get a headstart in life meant my missing out on some sights along the way.

For example, while other kids spent afternoons at Far East Plaza figuring out the birds and the bees, my idea of fun was staying back in school to dissect frogs.

Or, while my friends chipped their nails waitressing in pubs or chasing celebrities in their holiday time, I pursued resume-boosting internships with the aim of landing a scholarship.

If I have had one more date, one more party, or spent one more 'unproductive' hour daydreaming or doodling, life might have been more colourful.

But opting out was not an option then. If nothing else, it was pure pride that fuelled my dogged determination to excel. I had to justify why I had my nose stuck up in the air.

I remember clearly an incident in Secondary 4, when our teachers herded my sobbing, perfectionist classmates and me into the school lab after we had just sat through a devastatingly difficult O-level science practical examination.

'You are gifted girls. If you can't do it, nobody else can,' our teachers rahrah-ed by way of encouragement after they had shut the doors tight.

We were told we were capable of achieving extraordinary things, but had to remember to give back to society.

It turned out most of us did well in the O levels, except that I did not score straight As which made me question if I was gifted at all.

During my junior college days, whenever I felt intellectually stumped, I would scrawl in frustration on my A-level revision notes: 'Come on, you're in the GEP!'

But gradually over the years, it became a non-issue. In my university days overseas, I kept mum about having been labelled gifted. I aced no sport, mastered no musical instrument and derived no mathematical formula.

I sought self-definition from opinions and hobbies, which I had sidelined in my academic pursuit. I also learnt to let my hair down. I befriended people from diverse backgrounds far beyond the boundaries of my sheltered circle of friends back home and learnt how narrow-minded I was.

At work, I have realised that a headstart is just that: It gets you off the starting block, but winning the race is still a matter of how you pace yourself.

Gifted, top boy, scholar, overseas-educated - all these labels quickly fly out of the window as the playing field is levelled. The quality of work one produces speaks for itself.

I also learnt that getting something wrong was not the end of the world, and that other factors like teamwork and humility counted, too.

So whether or not my children will be gifted does not matter as much to me now. I just want them to discover their own gifts in their own time, and on their own terms - hopefully, by standards other than just correctly checking off a few boxes in a test.

Debbie Yong
Mon, Oct 22, 2007
The Straits Times

http://business.asiaone.com/Business/Office/Ask/Story/A1Story20071029-32922.html

The above should be posted in this thread instead.

All about GEP.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30&start=120

It will be helpful to those who are interested to their kids into GEP. As I mentioned before, this thread is for parents who think that their children are gifted or exceptionally bright, and to discuss about how to develop them from a very young age. Not everyone is interested to get their kids into the GEP.

[tamarind]

kiasulang:

You can try some private preschools,perhaps they can accommodate. My son was in one of the preschool who allow him to stay in their K2 class for 3 years. They allow him to learn at his own pace, in fact, the school allow the children to learn at their own paces. He graduated 3 times and had to say goodbye to his best friends time after time. He was coping fine, made him emotionally strong and more sociable.

Doesn't he get bored learning the same thing over and over again ?

Don't you think that a special program that suits his intellectual capability will be better for him ? For example, if he is capable of learning fractions, why only learn addition/subtraction of whole numbers over and over again ?

[metz]

tamarind:

The above should be posted in this thread instead.

All about GEP.
http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30&start=120

It will be helpful to those who are interested to their kids into GEP. As I mentioned before, this thread is for parents who think that their children are gifted or exceptionally bright, and to discuss about how to develop them from a very young age. Not everyone is interested to get their kids into the GEP.

I'm responding to Sleepy's question on getting the kids tested for giftedness.

Quoting from the article -

\"Gifted, top boy, scholar, overseas-educated - all these labels quickly fly out of the window as the playing field is levelled. The quality of work one produces speaks for itself.

So whether or not my children will be gifted does not matter as much to me now. I just want them to discover their own gifts in their own time, and on their own terms - hopefully, by standards other than just correctly checking off a few boxes in a test.\"

Hi Sleepy,

Whether a gifted test is required at preschooler age, it depends solely on the parents. Other than giving the parents an idea and better understanding about their kids, it's just a number that shows where the child stands in relation to kids of his/her age. Well, unless the parents can justify to MOE that their kids warrant special arrangements. Of course, it would also come in handy if the parents prefer their kids to be accelerated at preschool level. But I'm not sure about the gain though. Ultimately, the kid still starts on the same footing with his/her cohort when he/she starts formal education in primary school.

To understand what Gifted Tests and the results mean, it might be of interest for you to read this http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests.htm and http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/tests_tell_us.htm.


Hi Kiasulang,

I heard of one case whereby a P2 kid was accelerated directly to P4 GEP. However, I'm not clear on the actual events leading to this acceleration.

[kiasulang]

tamarind:

kiasulang:

You can try some private preschools,perhaps they can accommodate. My son was in one of the preschool who allow him to stay in their K2 class for 3 years. They allow him to learn at his own pace, in fact, the school allow the children to learn at their own paces. He graduated 3 times and had to say goodbye to his best friends time after time. He was coping fine, made him emotionally strong and more sociable.

Doesn't he get bored learning the same thing over and over again ?

Don't you think that a special program that suits his intellectual capability will be better for him ? For example, if he is capable of learning fractions, why only learn addition/subtraction of whole numbers over and over again ?

During his 3 years, I'm playing a supportive role. I'm just a driver who drove him around to places of interests. e.g. Zoo, Bird Park, Science Centre, Discovery Centre, Wild Wild wet, Theme Park, Museum, Sun Yat Sen, etc....

He is not bored. In fact, he loves to go to school. He is able to explore freely. Every day is different for him. There is no repetitive work there. Children learn to play and play to learn. Children learn faster when they are able choose their area of interest to learn and be able to explore at their own pace. The school worked very closely with parents and have very good PT relationship.