Any parents of gifted children here ?

[tamarind]

sleepy:

a relative of mine was never in any gifted programme

although he is always one of the top students in class & a fast learner

he suprised his peers when he graduated with 1st class honours from NTU
even got a scholarship to study Masters in UK

GEP didn't pick him up.

Hi sleepy,
He is a late developer. GEP does not cater to late developers.

I guess what is important is the end result Even after completing the studies, we parents still hope that our kids can get a good job in a good company

[tamarind]

explorer:

Please feel free to leave your comments


http://constancecheryl.blogspot.com/

Thanks for sharing. Very impressive !

What is the IMTA Maths competition ?

[getz]

Hi every body… just to follow up…some GEP schools do not prepare the kids for PSLE (my son’s ex-school) and generally, the kids don’t do as well as a lot of mainstream kids. But the survival skills are there. So they’ll be able to clear PSLE with not too impressive results (when I look at my son’s and his friends’ results). Why equate giftedness with results?

[tamarind]

getz:

Hi every body... just to follow up..some GEP schools do not prepare the kids for PSLE (my son's ex-school) and generally, the kids don't do as well as a lot of mainstream kids. But the survival skills are there. So they'll be able to clear PSLE with not too impressive results (when I look at my son's and his friends' results). Why equate giftedness with results?

It really depends on what your child wants to study in university.

If she wants to be a doctor, then she must get into medical school, which accepts only the best students. So only those who have the best results will be able to get into medical school in NUS.

Actually Banking and Finance is the hottest right now. Since there is so much competition, they will of course take in those applicants with the best results.

I have seen cases where students could not get into the course they like, and ended up in courses that they hated. It is very very sad. Some students became so depressed, they dropped out from school.

[getz]

agree!! So I always tell my son he has to work hard if he wants to study in USA. Can't afford to send him there, so he's gotta make his way there on a scholarship. Or else it will be the local U. Choice is his :lol:


Can't force things once they are in their teens..motivation has to come from within.

[tamarind]

I totally agree that motivation has to come from within.


My girl, now 5 years old, wants to become a fashion designer She loves to draw all day, mostly girls wearing pretty clothes. OMG what if she asks me to send her overseas to learn fashion design ? There is no way I can afford it.

I will try to advise her to study a course in local university so that she can find a job with a steady income, then she can still design clothes as a hobby hahaha I know I cannot make her do what I want, but at least try some gentle persuasion lah.

[tamarind]

There are parents who think that it is possible to train their children to pass the GEP test.


http://www.kiasuparents.com/kiasu/forum/viewtopic.php?t=30&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=60

Perhaps if the child is really born gifted, the parents want to train him so that he is \"guarantee\" to go into the GEP ?

Actually I started this thread not to discuss the GEP, but to discuss ways of developing of gifted child. I don't mean ways to get the child into GEP :lol:

I mean ways to develop a child to make full use of his/her giftedness. For example, if the child has superb fine motor skills and draws beautifully, how to further develop this potential ?

If a 5 year old child has excellent memory, can remember words after being taught how to read them once, able to read like an adult, and can write in sentences without having been taught, should we just leave her to develop in her own pace ?

[Fairy]

sleepy:

a relative of mine was never in any gifted programme

although he is always one of the top students in class & a fast learner

he suprised his peers when he graduated with 1st class honours from NTU
even got a scholarship to study Masters in UK

GEP didn't pick him up.

There is a difference between hardwork and giftedness. With hardwork, one can still do very well and be successful in life/studies. With giftedness, one need not put much effort to get the same results.

[Fairy]

getz:

Hi every body... just to follow up..some GEP schools do not prepare the kids for PSLE (my son's ex-school)


Why equate giftedness with results?

Agree. Their first Mainstream exam in the three years in GEP is the school's Prelim! They only started preparing for PSLE after the June holidays. In short, their curriculum is different and not a preparation for PSLE. The kids will be very stressed if they are not naturally endowed with high IQ.

For parents, if a very good PSLE result is very important to you, you may want to think twice about letting your child into the stream (if eligible).

If your child has already been working very hard to acheive the current good results, think about it; do you want him to 'continue to suffer' for the next few years? If his good results come effortlessly, Then I think he will be very happy in the programme.

[sunflower]

I think most gifted children are gifted in certain areas, such as academic, drawing, music, sports etc. Of course there are some who are quite well rounded but I see most have a special gift in some specific area. However, other than focusing on the gift which the child is born with, we should also look at the other aspects so as to develop the child into a well adjusted being.


We sometimes pay so much attention on the gifts of a gifted child that we neglect other areas. I think we need to strike a balance between developing a child’s gift and the child’s other needs (emotionally, physically etc). Therefore, we need to be very careful and observe the child’s overall emotional/physically development and focus more in this area if we see some misalignment that prevents the child from becoming someone that can contribute to society effectively.

There have been cases where some gifted children have been hurt by “insensitive” remarks/jokes by their more “normal” peers. We do not want an academic sound person to be sickly all his life, or some gifted artist who commit suicide in the end because one cannot cope with the challenges of life.

Character flaws that inhibits someone (whether gifted or not) from eventually becoming a person that can lead a meaningful life is a concern and need to be addressed and sometimes, help from experts may be needed.

With regards to “training” a child to get into GEP, I think a truly gifted child will blossom, even if we do not specifically train him/her. The gifted will be able to find ways and means to satisfy their hunger for knowledge. But of course, we should not deny them the opportunity.

What I mean is we do not have to “teach” them but we can provide them with opportunities to learn such as by giving them books to read, some experiment equipment to explore or an instrument to play etc. With the right apparatus, they will be able to discover things and learn. I don’t think we should look at training them per se. The role of the “trainer” of a truly gifted child is mainly to guide and facilitate, to cultivate the child’s gift so that the gift can be developed fully.

We have to be careful to differentiate a gifted child from a talented child. We might be able to train a talented or bright child to a certain level such that he/she gets into GEP. However, the motive behind this training to get into GEP is imperative to a child’s development. As we know, GEP does not go according to the PSLE syllabus and we read from this forum that preparation for PSLE takes less than half a year. That’s why not all GEP students do well in the PSLE.

If a child is naturally gifted, the demanding curriculum in the course will stimulate and excite the child into satisfying his/her thirst for knowledge. The child will find the joy in learning due to the difference in expectations and the way things are being taught, as compared to if the child is being confined to the normal classroom environment. Hence, the GEP provides a good opportunity to develop the potential of the truly gifted.

However, a bright child who is being trained/forced into GEP may on the other hand, finds it too stressful, or needs loads of extra tuition to catch up. In this case, the child may even lose interest in studying as the focus is now not on acquiring knowledge which satisfies the joy of learning. Instead, the focus may be getting the desired grades/marks, which if unattained, may demoralise the child and affect his/her self-esteem. I think this totally defeats the purpose of the GEP and in the long run, may not benefit the child. In this case, the bright child may be better off being in a normal classroom environment and getting first every year.

Sorry for being so “cheong hei”. Just my 2-cents worth.