How to tell if a child is gifted?
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EN:
Yeap, I second that opinion.[/quote]EN! Looking high and low for you! I called the international school just now. So funny. They are no longer allowed to take Singapore students because they have reached the quota of 10% and MOE has not been approving those on the waitlist for 6 months.:hugs: 2ppaamm
I understand your frustration and utter bewilderment at what has been suggested. I do understand your plight.
I feel that in local context AS has been mis-defined. Besides having a chat with the local school principal, how about checking with international schools here? Of course need to get proper exemption for not attending the Singapore local school.
Pathlight? That's definitely not a right place.
[quote] He needs to be in an environment that can challenge him and motivate him further.
The lady on the line told me that Singaporeans are encouraged to go to Singapore schools. So I asked her, what if the school think our kids are not suitable for their schools, and we cannot go to international schools, so where do we go? She's very nice, but she does not know an answer. Of course I do not expect her to know the answer. I was just voicing out my frustrations.
So I put my son on the waitlist and hung up so I can look for other alternatives. And I'll keep searching. -
2ppaamm:
Indeed very frustrating. I believe as parents, we simply want to nurture our kids accordingly. Yet seem to encounter road blocks at every corner!The lady on the line told me that Singaporeans are encouraged to go to Singapore schools. So I asked her, what if the school think our kids are not suitable for their schools, and we cannot go to international schools, so where do we go? She's very nice, but she does not know an answer. Of course I do not expect her to know the answer. I was just voicing out my frustrations.
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2ppaamm:
kekeke...you din know I change nick ah?Wah buddy, long time no see, and you 改头换面 until I cannot recognise you! All of us have to be forced to be compliant at one point or another, just to survive the system and not stick out.
Sad... but reality. But with what's happening these few weeks, I have new insights to things. I guess, if we choose to look at the brighter side, it is not so bad. I'll share my insights one of these days with you guys!
Look forward to your sharing of new insights.
You got PM for a contact. -
ksi:
Yah, and I'm still stuck with mine.. no time to think leh... maybe really change mine to mama-san. Ha ha! Then DH will really ban me from this site!
kekeke...you din know I change nick ah?2ppaamm:
Wah buddy, long time no see, and you 改头换面 until I cannot recognise you! All of us have to be forced to be compliant at one point or another, just to survive the system and not stick out.
Sad... but reality. But with what's happening these few weeks, I have new insights to things. I guess, if we choose to look at the brighter side, it is not so bad. I'll share my insights one of these days with you guys!
Look forward to your sharing of new insights.
You got PM for a contact.
I have replied your PM. Thanks! -
Hie everyone I desperately need HELP and glimpses of answer here ...
Background :
I'm a stay home mum who have a 7 yr old son. I've been teaching him since young. He learns and pick up ideas and concepts fast. At 15 mths, he picks up his books to \"read\", 18 mths he talks, around 24 mths he could do puzzles after looking at them for a while ( visual ). Remembered very clearly, there's one occasion, in the morning, the first thing he'll do is to take out the puzzle i did with him the day before, and he'll insist i help him, and teach him. He'll do this everyday, til he's able to complete the whole puzzle within 15 mins ! the puzzle : a long one, that puts numeral, english words, and chinese character together as a column. From 1 - 20.
Learns music at 4 yrs old. Teacher say he has musical talent. He learns faster than others, he play fast, he picks up the nuisance of the music fast, and he could recognize the chords that teacher plays and play back. Til now he's able to focus and play back almosty exacty as the piano teacher play !
When he's 6, we brought him to the Child Development at KK Hospital, went to child doctor. Reason why i brought cause he's active ! Couldnt sit still, likes to fidget and daydream, dont seem to focus. However when teacher ask him, he's seems to know and could answer the question w right answer !
Means he's daydreaming, fidgetting but listening to teacher at same time !
Doctor couldnt say anything, ask for childhood educator give him a few class preparation lessons in preparation for p1. Her advice : tell the teacher that yr child need more challenging and stimulating works and questions to keep him going.
Now in P1, he likes to read History and Geography. He's well read with all kinda subjects that interest him.
Teacher say he's very strong foundation in both English and Maths.
I'd also noticed he's more mature than friends his age, and most times doesnt really go along well w his classmates. Usually he plays better with children 2 yrs his age or girls.
And yes, he articulate and speaks well.
There's a few occasions in this year he asks me to homeschool him instead of him going to school. Said he'd known what teacher taught cause mummy had taught him. ( Maths tutor said P2 Maths would be more challenging for him. ) He's bored !
I'm worried that he'll not listen if I teach him in school. Thats what happened too when he's in K1 and K2 ! I dont want the cycle to continue again and again !
We seriously need help !
Should I bring him for IQ test ? If so, where ? Then what will happens next ?
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Hi Joylly! Welcome to KSP!
I actually post this not because I have an answer. You see, I’ve never had the same problems as you. My kids were never asked to do something more advanced when they were in P1, probably because I have never sent them to any enrichment class, so no enrichment teacher ever told me that. In P1 all the way to P6, no teacher ever told me that, too, because they are just happy my children cope. Nobody ever noticed them. Most of my kids never learnt a day of spelling but got full marks anyway, nobody commented. They would do their Maths and score full marks in lower primary, nobody commented anything as well. So I have never thought my kids were gifted or smart. We were all very happy.
It was only when my kids have problems that the teachers would complain. So they sent my son for IQ tests, that’s when we found out he is different.
Therefore, my advice is, since he is doing so well, do nothing. Blending in is the greatest gift you can give to your child. And then, if you really think he needs more stimulation, then do something at home. DD1 and DS3 (also in P1 now) would pick up books a few levels up (DS3 does P4 Maths now) from the book store. He would do them and ask me to mark. Or, his sisters would mark them for him. Of course, I used to put him on some online courses because he couldn’t even add in the beginning of the year. Now that he reached grade 5 (P5) level, I decided (to the surprise of his online tutor) to stop him. There’s no hurry. That’s all we do, and we are all very happy. He is scared but ok going to school. Teachers never noticed his Maths is good, because he does get careless mistakes, and I am fine with that.
Since your child is so young, you can probably get an accurate IQ test done. What next? If he scores really high (maybe 150? I’m just guessing here, because there’s no fixed number, really), than MOE will classify him under exceptionally gifted. So what? I’ve learnt it does nothing except some connections, and some free courses. Then again, maybe because now that I have those connections I’m taking them for granted. If he does not score high enough, you will be a disappointed mother.
The best help comes from you. Yesterday, I was discussing with DD1 about her university plans. And we talked about giftedness. She said something that made my day. "Mummy, I’m not gifted, I’m here because my mummy is gifted." What did I do? I only tried to find their passions, and then seek out opportunities to match their needs. She’s also going to university at 14.
The world can help, but none better than you. Look within yourself first. What can you do? The resources are everywhere around you. Seek them out.
Start with the library and the book stores. We go to the bookstore at least once a week and my kids are always happy with the armfuls they bring home. Then let them read at will. Let them make friends their own age and keep that friendship. They’ll need this very badly during their teenage years, especially if they are clearly different. There will be enemies - from parents, from jealous friends. IQ is just one SMALL part of a person. I’d want my kids to excel far beyond that. And when they are ready and want to go faster or higher, then help them chart their path at every cross road. I’ve learnt to be there for my kids. We don’t need people to tell us how smart or capable our kids are. And certainly, we don’t need to know how they are against the norm (which is what IQ test measures, really). I don’t think my kids are that gifted. They are just ordinary kids to me. Maybe just more motivated.
KSP has some great parents whose kids are far smarter than mine. They’ll probably have better advice. You’ve come to the right place! -
[quote]Reason why i brought cause he's active ! Couldnt sit still, likes to fidget and daydream, dont seem to focus. However when teacher ask him, he's seems to know and could answer the question w right answer !
Means he's daydreaming, fidgetting but listening to teacher at same time ! [/quote]This sounds exactly like my boy, now 6 years 1 month old. But to me, he is perfectly normal.
He is only of average learning ability. He could not recognize all the 26 letters even at 3 years 3 months old. But he could read long English novels like Charlie and the chocolate factory when he just turned 5 years old, because I taught him using effective methods. Now at 6 years old, he reads extensively and often amazes me with the general knowledge that he has learned on his own.
His Chinese teacher at Berries told me that he day dreams all the time in class, but he could read all the lessons and do all his work independently. I am teaching him Chinese at home using excellent resources from China, and he is able to read Chinese very well compared to other kids his age.
I believe that all kids of average and above ability, can be trained to do very well, especially in languages, if parents put in the effort to teach them at home, using good resources and effective methods.
So what differentiates a gifted kid from the rest ? It is what he can learn on his own, without the need for parents or teachers to teach him.
If you think that you have a high ability kid, then you should actually stop worrying about what to teach him academically. Because these kids can spend very little time studying, and still get near perfect scores. Personally, I feel that one of the worst thing a parent can tell a kid is : \"You are gifted\", even if it is because IQ test results proved that he is gifted. He may think that he is a genius, and so he does not need to study. Even a genius needs to put in a lot of hard work in order to achieve something extraordinary.
The best thing to tell a kid, if you suspect that he is gifted, is : \"You may be the smartest child in you class. But there are many other kids out there who are more intelligent than you are.\"
I agree with everything that 2ppaamm wrote. And I also want to add that, parents need to teach kids all the good moral values, like being helpful to others, compassion for the less intelligent or poor kids, honesty, kindness, politeness, and why they should be humble even if they think that they are very intelligent. It is so rare to see kids like these nowadays, because most parents only focus on academic results, and forget to teach good moral values.
Here is a very good Chinese proverb for all gifted kids as well as their parents :
人外有人、天外有天、真人不露相、露相非真人
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Correct me if im wrong, being smart and intelligent is different from gifted?? :?
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I cut and paste the following:
There are many reasons to find out if the child is gifted
Many parents feel that there is little practical value to get their 'potential' gifted child tested. But there are potential risks with putting off the testing, these include:
1. Knowing the pattern of cognitive strengths and weaknesses that
can help parents to plan the best learning experience.
2. Waiting till the school tests the child can risk a ceiling effect on the tests, one that gets more pronounced each and every year.
3. Many gifted students often appear to be troublemakers and often challenge authority figures by questioning classroom rules. The behavior of a gifted child is sometimes confused with attention disorders such as ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder). Hence, the test would identify between a gifted child and a possible learning disorders kid such as ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and other problems as early as possible. Did you know that Asperger's children have some of the characteristics of autism but at the same time many Asperger's children are intelligent and insightful too?
4. Children who are gifted are more comfortable with children and classes that deal with them at their own level. Research has shown that gifted students thrive when placed with students of similar ability. In the wrong learning setting, giftedness can be as paralyzing as a learning handicap. Unfortunately, these gifted children are terrible introverts, misunderstood by peers and parents, with their undiscovered exceptionality leading to a dead end. Bored and unchallenged at school, they may drop out and choose a direction that will never make use of their exceptional abilities.
Hope it is helpful.
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Hello all ,
I am so glad to find an active thread on giftedness here. My DS took the SB V. I wonder if anybody’s child took this test,too?
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