I think CKS should post a pix of himself (overgrown and in primary school uniform with pulled up knee length socks!!! ) ..... Hmm come to think of it... Looks like one of the students from MINDS* rather than GEP :?


However for you to be able to administer to such a forum here... You are certainly more gifted/brighter than most of us here

* No offence intended but for the fun of it

tamarind:

I am glad that we share the same views ! I totally agree with what you wrote above.

I also don't use derogatory remarks at home. One day, I was reading a book with my girl, and we came across the word \"stupid\". My girl has never heard of the word \"stupid\" ! I am happy that her teachers at her PCF kindergarten also do not use this word

We cannot control what our kids learn from others outside of home... What we can stress is what phrases are appropriate and what are not.

My son knows the word stupid but he knows that he should not use it on anyone... I guess it actually not the specific words but more imptly the appropriateness and when the word is used... We were at a Harrods toilet overseas and they have an attendant there... I was so embarassed when my son asked me within ear shot of the person why that person was so FAT?? :oops: ... When we were alone together, I just pointed out to him that it's not appropriate and rude to say that of a person ... Reason given was that the person could feel hurt and sad over the remark.

My son actually felt bad after hearing that... Not heard him say again of anyone yet... If so, just need to remind them gently again

tamarind:

Some parents believe that \"gifted\" can be trained. But being \"gifted\" has nothing to do with how hardworking you are.

Hmmm.... To me I feel there is a distinction between being gifted and being bright.

Gifted is nature's gift and cannot be nurtured... For many of us parents here... I guess all that we are doing is to make our kids brighter assuming they are not gifted

In any case... I would prefer my child to be bright and not gifted... As we are mainly concerned with them being able to make a better living for themselves and survive the rat race.

tamarind:

The problem with the gifted programme in Singapore, is that the educators seem to think that a gifted child can do every thing from maths and science to literature and poetry. I think that this is not the correct way to develop a gifted child.

By my definition above... MOE should rename their GEP to BEP >> Bright Education Program ... Based on what you have reiterated above, a gifted child should not be expected to excel in every subject... These expectations should be more appropriate for a bright child :roll:

wwcookie:

Pls click on the following to see the differences between a bright child and a gifted child. Bright children almost always top the class but not necessarily so for gifted children. Their motivations are different.


http://giftedkids.about.com/od/gifted101/a/bright_gifted.htm?once=true&

Thanks... The chart is very useful as a reference for parents to know what to expect of their child

lizawa:

He missed one question in the paper but didn't know until the end, so all his answers in the OAS (optical answer sheet) did not match the question number.

How can the system train/develop gifted children when the system is so rigid and flawed? I thought the the right thing to do is to accord the scores as though he had skipped one question and grade him accordingly :? ... Or rather an interview may be conducted to ascertain his understanding of the questions and what his answers were.

jedamum:

I guess the title 'uncontrollable child' does not do the kid any justice when the situation cited merely refers to the difficulty to get the kid settled into a school setting. My personal view is that categorising the kid as being naughty (and henceforth exercise the naughty corner or cane) when he/she is just going through a stage of adjustment is uncalled for.

Haha yes of cos... The naughty corner or cane would only be used in the appropriate situations... Dun think we have any sadistic parents here since we treat them as precious little gems

ChiefKiasu:

One trick which I learnt from my friend whom I think is a great daddy is the \"naughty corner\". If the kid is naughty, put him/her to face the wall and make him/her stay there. Ignore the crying and screaming. Just make sure they stay there until the sulking stops. Do this once or twice and the child will learn the concept: naughty = naughty corner.


Next time, just say \"naughty corner\" and the naughty behavior will magically stop. It generally works pretty well with my daughter :). No need to slap or scream.

Mine is the cane and it works fine ... My son can throw into tantrums that you would have thought that he has lost all senses :roll: ... Anyway... I'll start with a warning and if he still does not heed... Then the cane comes in... Usually a whip on the bum is all it takes ... Of cos after the caning when he has come to his senses... Must be followed by a hug and kiss

I know some parents are against caning or corporal punishment... But I'd rather rein them in now when they are young and teachable than for them to grow up out-of-hand.

I have read some other forums where they complain that their child just would not listen etc... I feel that parents cannot adopt the attitude that everything is ok and nothing will happen... For me, from the time my son knows how to walk...
1. He knows that the kitchen is out of bounds and he has never ventured into the kitchen with or without our presence.
2. Whenever he is in the car, he needs to be belted up in his car seat and seat belt cannot be released until the car is parked properly.

To date, I have not encountered problems in these two areas. I cannot reconcile the fact that I still see parents belted up driving and the kids are happily jumping about in the back seat unbelted :shock: In my opinion just waiting for a bad accident to happen :?

Ling:

Hi,

This has been interesting reading for me. I used to teach in the Gifted programme so I have a couple of comments on what I have read thus far:

1) Nature of gifts vary: We do come across a pupil who is gifted in all respects i.e. in math, science, english, second/third language, music, art, drama, sports. Often, the pupils I am in contact with would excel greatly in two/three subjects (disciplines) and fair just above average on the rest. Some have no aptitude in a particular subject so they do not do as well during exams but when pitted against the mainstream pupils during common exams, they would still score or average well. Some develop their interests in these areas at some tipping point later on. The key thing is, they develop at their own pace and pursue their interests according to their needs. We should never stifle their quest for knowledge, skills or answers.

2) 10-year-old first : While they may be gifted, all the pupils undergo the angst of being 10 -year-olds first, regardless of their gift. They face the growing up anxieties of being a child of that age even if they are gifted. We must not lose sight of that. Just because at times they think like adults or respond like one, we forget that they are still children. It is important that as parents we do not neglect 'coping strategies' i.e. teaching a gifted child how to cope with his gift, the peer pressure from other gifted kids, as well as those from mainstream pupils. See Little Man Tate where Jodie Foster put up a stellar performance in that movie.

3) Value system : Without the proper parental guidance and value system, our kids can become gifted criminals too.

I was told by a parent that her gifted son had enrolled into a prestigious university overseas and had hacked into the department's computer system, changed the passwords and some assessment scores, 'for fun'. Fortunately, the Head was an understanding person and channelled her son's ability to more productive use by getting him to re-write a security programme.

The gifted programme in schools is an alternative to nurture high ability, gifted children to achieve their gifted potential. The curriculum is based largely on enrichment, expanding the mind and stretching the individual.
I used to tailor my lessons to the learning abilities of my pupils (some are more audio-visual, some more experiential) while balancing the requirements of MOE from the school (X assignments per term etc). Each class of pupil is different so there is a lot more preparation involved to pitch the learning at the right level. Too high and you lose those who are not interested in that subject matter, too low and you lose their interest.

Today, I hold fond memories of having touched their lives, many of whom are friends who hold successful jobs in both the civil service and in the private sector.

Thanks for sharing your experience and the insight on the GEP

EN:

Out of the box thinking skill. Hmm...at A level, we have to sit for General Paper. When a topic is open for discussion, I can just hear a pin drop & nobody have any opinion on the subject discussed. We happily sit & wait for the teacher to feed us with the necessary paper, book list & read memorize from there. Drive the teacher crazy.

I do not have any personal experience but I have heard that students are awarded marks if and only if they solve a question in a particular method... So if answers were derived using other methods. They are not awarded marks??!! Not sure how true... I'm sure there is more than 1 way to arrive at a solution ... And in everyday life, there are 101 ways to get things done.

If this is really the type of environment that our kids are subjected to... I wonder how then will they be able to think out of the box? Is there any surprise then that as adults... We tend to see situations in a 1-sided manner :roll:

wwcookie:

ZacK:

One thing I could never understand about our local schools' context of being gifted... To me it's so narrowly minded that as long as you do well in your academic subjects and score well in it... You are gifted. :roll:


A kid's gift could be in so many areas or faculties that could not be ascertained or assessed by mere grades/results on the report card.

If my child is bad at academic subjects but has a gift in the arts, music or even sports... How does the current education system reconcile that? What I cannot and do not understand is the way kids are streamed into a particular education route simply based on academic results... :?

Erm.. I think MOE recognises these other non-academic gifts and is coming up with ways of developing these kids such as by setting up specialised schools like the sports school and the arts schools.

These special schools are available only to those classified as \"gifted\" ... I just feel that there shd be a curriculum that is applied uniformly so that the general population of kids will benefit and not just the privileged few...