[Oz-gifted] Year-Skip Question

[Fly2]

On Wednesday, December 6, 2006, at 11:31 AM, Ellen Hrebeniuk wrote:

> They will still be quicker on the uptake than the average, but the work 
> is being
> presented at the average child's speed. I assume.  So how come
> year-skipping works well for many children?  What have I missed?

They might be presented with new material, but yes, they will still pick 
it up quicker and possibly require more depth in the study than they 
will get in a school classroom. GT children frequently know most of what 
s being presented at their age level before they enter the classroom. 
However, they also want to learn in more depth than other young children.

The problem we struck was that, because there are 2 aspects to the 
learning-knowledge and skills--it was hard to adapt in those younger 
years. A gifted child might be reading well but slower to develop skills 
that are highly valued in school ie writing and, for some,  rote 
learning.  A teacher will often hold a child back in math for example 
till they learn their times tables off by heart but they might be ready 
for more complex mathematics and will be frustrated and often start to 
dislike math or even get muddled with math. If they move to a class that 
is doing more mathematics---not arithmetic---they will be more likely to 
be challenged and teh arithmetic can make more sense as it is used in a 
more complex overall context.


If they grade skip they might find new material they don't know yet so 
there is some challenge adn inspiration and motivation, However, as you 
right point out, they are still held to the structure and speed in teh 
classroom and the degree of success  depends on the nature of the 
individual child, and their strengths. It also depends on how good teh 
teacher is at recognising and encouraging strengths and how varied their 
teaching practice is.

In the early years, a child might still find it frustrating because teh 
emphasis is still on skills more than depth of knowledge. If t ey are 
independent readers and if they get an adaptable and flexible teacher 
who can set them alternative work it can work.

Louise