How to tell if a child is gifted?

[cnimed]

sleepy:

My dh's simplistic theory is if a child is more advanced, lagi should stay in same level, no need to study till face 'green green', got mood & time to enjoy scenery, day dream a little, why not? :lol: I tend to lean towards the other spectrum. If a child is able to progress at an accelerated pace, why not?

Both views are valid. I think at the end of the day, it depends on your child's personality and inclinations. Some want to go fast, some are more reflective or prefer to have time to do their own things. I think our system can suck up a lot of time. If the child is not very academically inclined, he may prefer to go at normal speed so he has lots of time to do his own stuff.

For those interested in parenting stuff, I would recommend reading up on Terry Tao's father. TT is a maths prodigy and has two younger brothers, one of whom is ASD. His parents spend a lot of time considering what is the best way to bring him and his brothers up. His father spent a lot of time talking to researchers of gifted children/gifted education, and decided that rather than full-speed acceleration, they will go for what he described as a pyramid model of education.

Through train acceleration is going through the levels as quickly as you can, and the results is deep but narrow knowledge base. The Taos chose to hold him back at certain levels, BUT during these time, he did more courses than his peers. ie, he ended up with a much wider knowledge base, but of course greatest proficiency in his area of passion, ie knowledge base is pyramid shape. Studies have shown that the most innovative minds are usually well versed in a number of different fields - maths/music, technology/biology etc.

Socially, they didn't want him to be too far from his peers, especially during the teenage years. The pyramid model helped to slow down his transit through the upper grades, but of course, he being a prodigy, still earned his PhD at a much younger age than his peers.

It's a very interesting read.

[keroppi]

sleepy:

My dh's simplistic theory is if a child is more advanced, lagi should stay in same level, no need to study till face 'green green', got mood & time to enjoy scenery, day dream a little, why not? :lol: I tend to lean towards the other spectrum. If a child is able to progress at an accelerated pace, why not?

Having experienced the scenario your DH painted, the reality is that the teachers will generally do not allow that - daydreaming, feeling bored & restless in class ... the child finishes the work fast, he tends to talk to others, help or disturb others. Understanding, perceptive teachers will allow him to take out a book to read or give them other tasks to occupy themselves - no-nonsense teachers will give your child a really tough lower primary life (until GE streaming).

I believe that gifted kids will progress at an accelerated rate by himself even if the parents did not realize the child's potential and step in to intervene. However, it's just amazing how much further they can go with a little help.

[2ppaamm]

keroppi:

I believe that gifted kids will progress at an accelerated rate by himself even if the parents did not realize the child's potential and step in to intervene. However, it's just amazing how much further they can go with a little help.

agree! Lower primary was like hell. However, ge was the deep blue sea. He continued to do work quickly, dream etc... I guess this little help has to come from somewhere else.

[pingsped]

2ppaamm:

This one is kind of funny. I remember having to seat my son down on the day he had his first outing with his uni friends. I had to explain statutory rape to him, etc. He told me he already knew and he was not going to venture into those things, anyway.

Sending a kid to college early, like in all things, will have its ups and downs. Whatever decision we take, we right it. Always tell the kiddos there's no such thing as a right decision. We RIGHT every decision.

This post is funnier. Can't imagine you worrying abt statutory rape.

I don't know how to cut & paste posts quickly & there are so many posts in 1 day.

Your son certainly sounds ready for college cos he has a generous disposition to life. I still think 16 is a safer age for most kids. Agree there are exceptional kids and parents. Your family seems to have a strong internal locus of control.

It is not meaningful to aim to be popular.
It is no point trying to be someone else. Being comfortable with oneself is more impt. People enjoy the company of people with sunny disposition & avoid unhappy/depressed persons.

I'm not sure if a unique sense humour can be taught. It may help a bit if one interacts with a humorous person. Probably having a diverse interest in many things may help a bit more.

Personally I don't like being mediocre. Either I don't do it, do enough to get general social acceptance (remain anonymous) or I do it very very well. I hope my girl shares my worldview.

I feel super KS as she is only 18 mth old.
:love:

[2ppaamm]

pingsped:

Personally I don't like being mediocre. Either I don't do it, do enough to get general social acceptance (remain anonymous) or I do it very very well. I hope my girl shares my worldview.
:love:

I share the same view. I hate competitions and I dislike to have to conform to ONLY ONE way of doing things.

More often, when I see everyone else stepping on each other trying to achieve one thing, I'd look for something else that no one is interested in, work hard and excel in it. Easier on myself and happier that way...

Another funny thing is, often, once I managed to excel on that unpopular option, many other people will want to work on my unpopular option as well (presumably thinking they can do better?). Then, I'll start looking for something else again... Life becomes interesting every time this happens.

[corneyAmber]

2ppaamm:

Another funny thing is, often, once I managed to excel on that unpopular option, many other people will want to work on my unpopular option as well (presumably thinking they can do better?).

hahaha I can identify with that for my shopping experience. :rotflmao:

Whenever I walk into a quiet shop without any shoppers, within minutes the shop will be filled with shoppers. Even my little one notices that and she has verbalised it before to me....\"How come like that?\"

[vlim]

2ppaamm:

pingsped:

Personally I don't like being mediocre. Either I don't do it, do enough to get general social acceptance (remain anonymous) or I do it very very well. I hope my girl shares my worldview.
:love:

I share the same view. I hate competitions and I dislike to have to conform to ONLY ONE way of doing things.

More often, when I see everyone else stepping on each other trying to achieve one thing, I'd look for something else that no one is interested in, work hard and excel in it. Easier on myself and happier that way...

Another funny thing is, often, once I managed to excel on that unpopular option, many other people will want to work on my unpopular option as well (presumably thinking they can do better?). Then, I'll start looking for something else again... Life becomes interesting every time this happens.

yup..it does happen in everywhere..when one's business bloom, you will see more and more competitors coming out... ..that's life.. right :imconstipated:

[2ppaamm]

Funz:

I think kids must be thinking we adults are a confused bunch.

Aren't we? :oops:

I think my kids are often more right than me. We adults are probably well accustomed to the world (rightly or wrongly), kids are more pure and they probably are more right often. In fact, I think most all kids, before they get tainted by the world are geniuses. We adults de-genius-tised them. Think about all the things they learn the 1st 6 years of their lives. Now, how can we adults ever do so much:
1. From not being able to talk to comprehending 2 or more NEW languages.
2. From not moving the head much, to crawling to sitting, to walking to running.
3. Many learnt to swim.
4. Lean a new sport.
5. From not knowing 1-2-3 to adding and subtracting
6. Supporting his own weight
7. Learning anything 2ce faster than an adult

If we adults stop building boundaries around a child's learning abilities, then perhaps they can continue to be geniuses for a longer period of time.

How I wished I can get my genius mind back...

[Busymom]

ksi:

hahaha I can identify with that for my shopping experience. :rotflmao:

Whenever I walk into a quiet shop without any shoppers, within minutes the shop will be filled with shoppers. Even my little one notices that and she has verbalised it before to me....\"How come like that?\"

You must have been a magnet!

[joylly]

Hie everyone


My hubby and self spoke to my son's principal on Wednesday morning. We really thank God he's very supportive !

The principal knows my dear son probably he \"caused\" a lot of problems for the school, the complaints ( from mummy ) and the various stuffs that he did.

Anyway, we're discussing and apparently there are also another boy who's like my son, exhbiting the same behavior as him. So school has experience dealing w such children.

Well, the principal proposed to put my son in the school's Strategic Board Game ( namely chess, weiqi, and scrabble ) next year. So at least he will have proper training from the teachers and have more opponents to play with. And the Innovation and ENtreprenuer Club the year after ! ( usually these are for the upper primary. These activities at least, in the hope of giving ds motivations and challenge in looking forward to going school. The princiapl even spoke to ds, getting to know his likes and dislikes.


His P2 form teacher next year will also be working closely w me, to explore further to challenge him. I really pray his P2 form teacher will be a pleasant person to speak and work with.



Once again, I'd like to thank all of you again for the idea of speaking with the principal.

God bless you all !