This is an informational e-mail from "Staying Connected", the e-mail fanout of the Michigan Alliance for gifted education. DON'T BE TURNED OFF BECAUSE THIS SAYS "KINDERGARTEN". Included are many sites (and insights) that are helpful when starting a new year for all age levels. The information here is an amelioration of personal experiences from our members online, advice from educators, web sites and articles covering many areas of concern when your child goes off to school (or when a teacher welcomes a child to school). Making the relationship between parent and teacher a positive partnership can really make a great difference for the student. Please send this information along to others who are concerned about making the right choices for their children and WITH their children. THANK YOU VERY MUCH to
all those who contributed to this message.
Marie Brucker, editor, 810-227-5379 <[email protected]>
1. What is acceleration? (Are we being pushy?)
2. When to have first talk with teacher
3. My child is "immature" (acting out)
4. Options others have taken
5. Rays of sunshine no matter what (to dos)
6. There might be a reason--slow in reading?
7. Outstanding source of more information
8. Books that help teachers and parents work together
9. Whose job is it?
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1. WHAT IS ACCELERATION? (Are we being pushy?)
John Feldhusen writes: "Acceleration is a misnomer; the process is really one of bringing gifted and talented youth up to a suitable level of instruction commensurate with their achievement levels and readiness so that they are properly challenged to learn the new material."
Acceleration in education really means taking off the brakes. There is an "average age" when a child learns to sit, crawl, walk, speak etc.; but, there is enormous individual variation as to when it actually occurs. Do we say to a 9 month old child about to take his/her first step...."Stop! You have to wait until you are 12 months old?" (See #7 )
"Outstanding source of more information" for web sites that tell you actual "options for acceleration"--there are MANY, and you can actually do MORE THAN ONE. Just because your child is "clustered", or in a "magnet class" does NOT mean that all of their needs are being met. This is especially true for students who are gifted in only one area and thus do not often meet the criteria of a "real program."
How can one describe what is "gifted." "Giftedness" is "asynchronous" development in which advanced cognitive abilities and heightened intensity combine to create inner experiences and awareness that are qualitatively different from the norm. The asynchrony increases with higher intellectual capacity. The uniqueness of the gifted renders them particularly vulnerable and requires modifications in parenting, teaching and counseling in order for them to develop optimally (The Columbus Group, 1991 in Tolan, 1998, p. 172)."
Do not be fooled by this 'asynchronous' development. Their physical, social and cognitive development is rapid and variable. "Cognitive and motor skills come suddenly. One moment the skill is not observable; then it miraculously appears!" reaffirms J.F. Smutney. It's like the children are observing how it's done and then they make the leap of logic, or suddenly come to the conclusion--"I can do that!"
Seek acceleration for these children with "flexibility". There are "exit criteria" for every grade providing guidelines for skipping. Districts have written me that, for the highly gifted, they either skip kindergarten or first grade. The determining factor is if the student needs a little more time to grow up socially and needs another year of self-chosen exploration activities. Skipping one of these grades is the easiest and far more effective than skipping a later grade. Some districts, however, have had highly gifted students START first grade and JOIN second grade midyear. If the class is not already a multiage class, then "visits" to the second grade class are a must so the child can develop friends. ALL changes should be discussed WITH the child. How do they feel? Do they know children in the other room?
Some parents, however, prefer their kids in a class with their age peers regardless of giftedness. These parents should volunteer to help the teacher. If no magnet classes are available, the teacher needs to do quite a bit more adapting. Resource teachers help immensely to challenge students, especially in their area of strength. Depending on the number of gifted students, the resource teacher could be working with pullout groups at various levels of reading and math. Having them back in a larger group each week for science/social studies/language arts projects provides additional opportunity to stimulate their thinking, creative skills.
If a resource teacher is not readily available, another alternative is to have gifted kindergartners join the 1st or 2nd grade class, or appropriate group, for reading at 10:00am if they are already at that level. A g/t program coordinator can assess students for placement. If math is their forte, have the first grader join the 3rd grade class at 9:30 am if that is the appropriate level of instruction. Honor their abilities. Does the district utilize an accelerated reading program? There are several on the market. Regardless of the options, do not let these children regress by reviewing what they learned years ago.
How does it feel to be gifted and held back? Ask Marie for the past e-mail, "Analogies."
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2. WHEN TO HAVE FIRST TALK WITH TEACHER.
There are 2 schools of thought (pun?)...
A. This is one mother's story: A wise educator told her "to let the teacher discover my child's giftedness instead of informing the teacher about it. This way the teacher identifies for herself what adaptations she needs to make to challenge the child, instead of feeling that a parent is demanding something of her. While I realize not all teachers will pick up on this, my daughter's teacher did within the first 2-3 weeks of school. She came up with ideas of ways to challenge my daughter, and any suggestions I had were made in the spirit of contributing to the plan the teacher had begun. A good partnership between teacher and parents was formed. Of course, a parent would need to address this situation proactively if the teacher did not recognize the child's abilities.
B. The other approach taken: One parent found, through experiences with the first children, that waiting for the first parent-teacher conference was much too late. Here's her plan for her next kindergartner: With a very positive, helpful and cooperative attitude, she is going to meet with her child's kindergarten teacher BEFORE school begins when they are still setting up their classroom. She has purchased the book "Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom", by Smutney, et al. (see BOOKS below) and will offer that to the teacher with enthusiasm and offer to help in any way. She will ask to have another meeting with the teacher towards the end of September with the purpose to talk about how the teacher specifically plans to meet the needs of her child and other high ability children in the classroom. The parent will again offer to help in anyway she can. Then when parent-teacher conference time comes they will discuss how the plan is going.
If the district has not offered some training for teachers in ways to "differentiate" the curriculum, empathize with the teacher and go to the principal (hopefully with an organized parent group behind you) and the superintendent and school board. When the span of abilities in the classroom is so great, how can parents and administrators expect the teacher to perform miracles without help?
Other parents have gone to the G/T teacher or coordinator for the school or district to get advice and assistance in putting together packets of challenging materials that the coordinator can offer to teachers to use in classrooms and offer when kids get the "regular" work done. [CAUTION:
Choices are still needed here for students--some really do not like the thought that "whee! now that I'm done, I can do MORE of the same or harder!"] That way parents help without confronting the teachers themselves. Another district offered inservicing in differentiation and curriculum compacting as a lunch time educational activity. The parents of G/T kids brought in soup, salad and dessert for these "Lunch and Learn" sessions.
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3. MY CHILD IS "IMMATURE", ACTING OUT
There are MANY reasons that children act out. The main reason being that they do not fit. Are we trying to put a square peg in a round hole? If the child's needs are not being met, what has he/she learned at this point in his/her life on how to respond to this? It is a known fact that gifted children are HIGH ENERGY people. It is part of their makeup and often require much less sleep than an average child. Going at a snail's pace is bound to drive them nuts. Many gifted children are quickly viewed as ADHD. Please be advised that they do look very similar but there are great differences. [Write Marie if you need a flyer comparing the two.]
Consider the child who has in their mind enough material to write a book, but has the body of a 5 year old who has not developed the fine motor coordination sufficient to write those a, b, c's. Thus they refuse to write because they know it will not look "perfect" like it ought to. FRUSTRATION BOILING! Understand and help the child understand that their body is very out of sync with their mind and their emotional and social growth. This is why one moment we are talking to what seems a 12 year old and the next minute their back to being 5 years old again.
Socialization can be a concern. One parent became a "sitter" for an older child, thus providing an opportunity to learn to get along. Get the child involved in theater or sports. There are things parents can do to help their child mature socially.
Consider the child who is crying. Is it really immaturity or is it the sincere pain they feel for their friend who fell or was scolded unfairly. They have such deep emotions. "Boys aren't supposed to cry." Quite often gifted boys can't help it. Fairness is a big issue for these children. Honor their emotions. And again, seek acceleration for these children in appropriate areas.
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4. OPTIONS OTHERS HAVE TAKEN
If the public school has not provided a program that is a suitable "fit" for a child, some parents have chosen:
a. Catholic, parochial schools
b. Charter schools
c. Montessori
d. Private schools for gifted, especially if child is 160 IQ+
e. Homeschooling
These are all personal choices and should be made after a full investigation as to what is best suited to the way your child learns. Does the student/teacher ratio make a difference? Are they being given the opportunity to make choices and thus learn how to choose? Will they be given respect as a worthwhile individual and thus develop self confidence? Do they need the rigor and directives for instruction or are they self motivated? What kind of environment best suits them? Homeschooling is not as ominous as you might think. There are many sites on the web that practically do it for you--BUT you obviously need time to be there for your child daily.
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5. RAYS OF SUNSHINE NO MATTER WHAT
This is a list of "enrichments" that parents have used to enhance what goes on or does not go on in school. These sometimes make the rest of the day bearable.
--Computer programs such as Reader Rabbit, Math Blaster, and Thinking Things
--Math games that have increasing difficulty
--Visits to the local teachers' store or educational toy store (Channel 56, etc.)
--MadLibs, Monopoly, chess, other games
--Trips to zoos and museums
--Letting them read at their own level and reading TO them
--Create a notebook of papers brought home (worksheets, drawings, etc.). Every week, sit together with your child and go through the notebook, talking about what your child recalls and answering any questions.
--Taking a trip? have your child keep a journal [are they doing that in school?]. As you travel, together map out your progress, write notes about the different states and sights seen along with brochures. Have your child share this with the class when they return.
--Special interest fair--Students make posters for their school fair demonstrating something that they have an interest in. Since no age limit was given, even the kindergartner participated. Older students gave this kindergartner positive feedback making all the effort VERY worthwhile. Advice from a parent: Don't hold back on activities that might seem like they are for older kids--let the kindergartners participate on a level that works for them! [like Odyssey of the Mind type programs and Mathematics Pentathlon]
--Allow students to pursue their creativity. Kindergartners were asked to bring in a 100 somethings for Day 100 at school. Rather than a "bucket of a 100 seashells", this kindergartner made a poster of a beach scene, sand castle, people and water using all 100 seashells. =) Allowing them to be inventive and creative at home is developing a special part of their brain that often gets ignored at school.
--Get them enrolled in special classes, challenging camps. Get them together with others who share their interests and let them see how excited they can be when they are learning!
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6. THERE MIGHT BE A REASON--SLOW IN READING?
We sometimes see our kids as such clever people that we sometimes do not realize that they are good DESPITE their deficits. We do not even see it. Sometimes students cleverly cover up their handicaps because they are so smart. Some of these handicaps which you will want to check out REGARDLESS of how well your child is doing:
--look out for ocular-motor dysfunction, a brain/eye muscle problem
--other eye disorders (being able to see well AND with correct eye movements is your child's most efficient way of learning--check it out!)
--check out your child's hearing early on (they are very good at adapting to make up for a hearing loss so that you can't tell)
--any suspicions of ADD/ADHD? Be sure to get flyer from Marie with questions to ask yourself before you put your child through all kinds of testing.
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7. OUTSTANDING SOURCE OF MORE INFORMATION:
http://www.hoagiesgifted.org/kinder.htm
[The articles in quotes will lead you directly to the full article AT THE HOAGIES SITE by clicking on it THERE. Warning: not all sites there are working.]
CONCERNING EARLY (OR LATE) KINDERGARTEN "It may be concluded ... early admission to school of mentally advanced children who are within a year of the ordinary school-entrance age and who are generally mature is to their advantage.... There are few issues in education on which the evidence ... is so clear and so universally favorable to a particular solution. (Reynolds et al., 1962, p. 16) Nancy M. Robinson and Linda J. Weimer, "Selection of Candidates for Early Admission to Kindergarten and First Grade,"
"Academic Acceleration: Knowing Your Options", CTY Publications & Resources [available for purchase through University--CTY was formerly IAAY], Johns Hopkins University
"Acceleration: A legitimate means of meeting the needs of gifted children" by Sarah Evans [has table of "options"]
"Acceleration: an expanded vision" by Lynne Mackenzie-Sykes [has table of "options"]
"Meeting the Needs of Able Learners through Flexible Pacing" - ERIC Digest #464 by Neil Daniel and June Cox [printable]
"Starting Kindergarten Late: How Does It Affect School Performance?" This is often raised as an alternative when we enroll our gifted children in school, and the answers discussed here by school administrators may surprise you. Although "gifted" is not mentioned, some parents are thrown this "option" because their child is "acting immature"--which could be acting out because they "don't fit", they're frustrated with their situation. Parents need to trust their "gut feeling" about their child and NOT what the school suggests.
ANOTHER ARTICLE at the Johns Hopkins site: "Acceleration: Evaluating the Controversy over Higher-Speed Education" by Lesley Mackay http://www.jhu.edu/~gifted/pubres/accel.htm
ARTICLE: "Finding and Serving the Young Gifted Child: A Crucial Need in the Schools," by Joan Franklin Smutney, Sally Yahnke Walker and Betty A. Meckstroth. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, vol. 12, No. 3, Summer 1998.
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8. BOOKS THAT HELP TEACHERS AND PARENTS WORK TOGETHER...
--Smutny, Joan F., Walker, Sally Yahnke, and Meckstroth, E., Teaching Young Gifted Children in the Regular Classroom [ages 4-9]. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit. ISBN# 1-57542-017-7. A good follow-up to Winebrenner's book especially for the younger students
--Tomlinson, Carol, The Differentiated Classroom. Alexandria, VA, ASCD: 1999.. Used by consultants to train cluster teachers to meet the needs of gifted.
--Winebrenner, Susan. Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom. Minneapolis, MN: Free Spirit. Very practical guide for later elementary
--Tolan, Stephanie S. Beginning Brilliance. In J.F. Smutny (Ed.), "The Young Gifted Child: Potential and Promise, an Anthology" (pp. 165-180). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press, Inc., 1998.
--Educational Leadership (magazine), September 2000 issue dedicated to "How to Differentiate Instruction"--GREAT!, volume 58, No. 1, published by ASCD (Association for Supervision and Curriculum) probably the number one magazine of administrators in the United States (www.ascd.org) Both Tomlinson and Winebrenner have articles in this issue!
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9. WHOSE JOB IS IT?
When parents are looking for a program to fit their clever, gifted child, they look for programs that are "developmentally appropriate" with flexibility. They know that "one size does not fit all". For students who learn very quickly and learn differently, a parent NEEDS to be pushy--NOT in a rude way, but positively, cooperatively, and very persistently. Keep smiling until you wear them down. KNOW the teachers before your child enters a specific grade, and request (by substantiating WHY the request is being given) teachers that know and like bright kids and have a history of "going beyond" the grade level curriculum with them (or allowing pullouts in appropriate subjects). Look for schools with magnet gifted programs that start early on or specific alternatives that are already being used. What are the cluster classrooms doing that increases the challenge and allows for differentiation? What can parents do to help?
You don't want THIS to happen: Really bright children enter kindergarten with all kinds of great expectations--and become quickly disillusioned when they are not learning. Can you hear them say, "I thought I would get to add two digit numbers and "why can't I do experiments?" Most of them learn the phrase "life is not fair" at a very young age.
One of the best ways you can work towards making a good match between your child and his/her education is to JOURNAL about the way your child learns best, the way he/she thinks (any leaps of logic?), what he/she reads (to verify level of reading), the types of math he/she enjoys fooling around with, what he/she REALLY enjoys doing. These are ways of providing concrete evidence of your child's abilities and interests. That way you are able to back up your statement that your child is ahead of his/her age peers in certain ways. Would you call your child "gifted"? Is he/she is a quick learner? Doe he/she have leaps of logic? Does your child have many adult concerns? Would you rather call your child "clever"? Regardless of which
word you would use to describe him/her, this should have no influence on you seeking out the best educational match in school. The job of educating your child is not the sole responsibility of the local school district. You cannot "drop them off" and expect them to come out the other end unscathed. Volunteer regularly in the classroom and school to keep on top of what actually is happening. Communicate with your child--LISTEN! Try to network with other parents to gain insight on teachers and programs as well as providing intellectual peers for your child. Form an
advocacy group to provide support and ways of securing improvements in the district.
Trust your instincts and knowledge about what your child needs. You know your child better than anyone else.
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