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Gifted Kids and School Selection
There are many factors
that should be considered when choosing a school
environment for a gifted child, and these factors might
change at different ages and under different situations.
Your Child
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Temperament - Extroverted or Introverted?
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Motivation - Attitude Toward Competition
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Evenness or Unevenness of Abilities
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Extent of Advanced Abilities
Some children are like
wildflowers - they can thrive anywhere. But others are
more like hothouse plants with specific conditions to
help them thrive.
Extroverted gifted children may prefer going to school
over homeschooling or independent study. Some may really
stretch their abilities with other bright children or
even friendly rivals.
Introverted children may also do well in school if they
find their niche, but others may be exhausted by the
hubbub of large classes, and just shut down.
Sometimes decisions about exclusive schools need to be
made very early in a child's development (like
Kindergarten or preschool entry), so awkward changes
need to be considered if the goodness of school fit
changes as the child matures.
Parents often underestimate the extent of a child's
precocity in certain areas. We generally recommend
assessment in order to help guide school choices. But be
aware that very advanced abilities can make the goodness
of fit difficult. Most of the profoundly gifted children
that we know have had either independent study, advanced
online coursework, multi-year acceleration, or
homeschooling / tutoring option in order to meet
appropriate levels of challenge, and be happy too. In
some cases, school allow students 'out' of classes for
their highly advanced subjects - so they can take online
courses or other accelerated curricula appropriate to
their ability level.
The main cautions with
rapid acceleration (multi-grade skipping) are child's
motivation and writing abilities be sufficient to allow
him to keep up with the increased work demands of higher
grades. Social maturity should also be considered, too,
because it also may be emotionally difficult to
backtrack on a decision to accelerate in the future.
Social factors may also contribute to the happiness of
school fit. Some children are very sensitive to social
and emotional aspects of intellectual differences. We
have seen some precocious children shunned by age peers
when the intellectual match wasn't appropriate, only to
emerge as leaders in a different school or class
setting.
Introverted children who are highly driven to areas of
their own interest may also see school as an unwelcome
intrusion, and become worn down if given insufficient
time for their personal projects.
The
Schools
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Conventional, Alternative, Preparatory
-
Flexible
for Individual Students?
-
Quality of Teachers and Turnover Rate
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School Resources, Extracurriculars,
After School
Many decisions go into the
choice of a school. There may be wide variations in the
organization of gifted programs, varying from 1 hour
pull-outs to full time self-contained TAG classes.
In general, full day
gifted programs or schools are the most desirable. Twice
exceptional, highly creative, and those with extreme
abilities may fit in better with an alternative or
homeschool format.
Often parents have to do significant research to find
out how the school has approached individualization or
grade skipping. Some schools really prefer to group
gifted children by age, and this may or may not be the
best for their child.
Many gifted or college preparatory schools have
excellent teachers, but small schools may always
struggle with teacher turnover and faculty unhappiness.
A little research can help you make plans.
Student resources can be
very important depending on your child's hobbies and
interests. The advantages of larger schools are an
increased chance of finding a best friend, more team
sports or interests clubs, and good preparation for the
next educational step.
If you might be in for a long commute, do practice
drives rush hour, and think about how your child does in
the car. Some gifted children with sensory sensitivities
may be exhausted with the long ride, while other find it
energizing and enjoy talking or reading in the car or
bus.
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