What makes a child “gifted”

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Forum -> Chinuch, Education & Schooling

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amother

Yesterday at 12:06 pm

What would qualify a child to start school younger? How would you get them tested to see if they’re gifted?

giftedmom

Yesterday at 12:09 pm

Gifted children shouldn’t start school younger

mha3484

Yesterday at 12:11 pm

I only tested my son because we were evaluating for ADHD, ASD and getting a real IQ number was a side bonus. It explained a lot but I am not sure I would go through all of that if he was not struggling.

I think to start school early you need to be the unicorn ie have exceptional academic and social emotional skills. My son is not that and most gifted kids are not.

watergirl

Yesterday at 12:13 pm

It is when their IQ measures at least 130.

amother

Orange

Yesterday at 1:01 pm

amother OP wrote:

What would qualify a child to start school younger? How would you get them tested to see if they’re gifted?

Gifted children often have exceptional intellectual abilities but obvious deficits in their social-emotional skills and behavioral problems.

amother

Pewter

Yesterday at 1:06 pm

amother Orange wrote:

Gifted children often have exceptional intellectual abilities but obvious deficits in their social-emotional skills and behavioral problems.

Some do and some don't. But if you take any child then start them school early or skip a few grades you're most likely going to end up with that sooner or later.

amother

DarkYellow

Yesterday at 1:08 pm

My son may or may not be’gifted’ by technical terms. He’s BH above what most people consider ‘smart’. Taught himself to read at 3. We didn’t start him in school early because socially and emotionally, he was exactly at grade level. We considered putting him into high school early because he spent his elementary years extremely bored in school. Ultimately, his social experience and needs come first. We made sure to enrich his curriculum ourselves throughout elementary school. his teachers let him do his own learning during class as well. He’s right now in the high school that on a very high academic level, and that’s perfect for him. Glad we didn’t put him ahead earlier. It’s such a rigorous schedule.

amother

Forsythia

Yesterday at 1:18 pm

amother Orange wrote:

Gifted children often have exceptional intellectual abilities but obvious deficits in their social-emotional skills and behavioral problems.

This is completely false and I don't know why the stereotype continues.

Gifted children in the appropriate environment are no more prone to social or behavioral issues than "average' children.

Problems can arise when they are in environments in which they are bored and may act out because of boredom or if they are in an environment in which they are bullied for being smart

When they are in classes with other smart children they tend to blossom because they are surrounded by their peers and are being taught up to their capabilities so they aren't bored.

In terms of the original question, starting young may or may not be appropriate as I think finding a school that caters to gifted children would be the best solution.

amother

Cornsilk

Yesterday at 11:52 pm

I'd ask the school(s) you're considering sending your child to.

As a BT I thought about starting early, too, with one of my kids - I skipped an early elementary grade in my public school, and I saw the same potential in my kid. But the culture, at least in Chabad in my city (I live OOT), and possibly in Chabad in general, is to supplement in the classroom, and not skip grades. For struggling kids, too. When applying for mesivta, camp, etc, I see it almost always advertised by age, not grade.

(technically, for that kid, I started him in online school a year early, but he basically slept through 4th grade online, and when a new school opened up in my area the next year, the highest they had was 4th grade, so he ended up at grade level for his age after all - it's funny how HaShem works!)

Kids born in the summer sometimes have a bit of wiggle room in which grade to choose, rather than a strict cutoff date, and in schools with small class sizes the principal might recommend one vs the other, given the ages and personalities of the other students in the grade.

amother

Outerspace

Today at 12:02 am

amother Forsythia wrote:

This is completely false and I don't know why the stereotype continues.

Because gifted kids often do not find same-age social interaction rewarding, since they have few intellectual peers. So they don't seek to engage in more of it, and therefore don't practice and pick up on the skills. When gifted kids have a good reason to learn social-emotional skills, they do. Like any other kid.

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