My 6 yo daughter is scary brilliant. She's reading Harry Potter, and anything else she can get her hands on. The teachers and principal want to skip her to 2nd grade. Obviously, you don't know my situation - but BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE what would you say to me?
2006-10-13 10:55:00 · 13 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Primary & Secondary Education
We had a guy who started kindergarten in my class skip a grade and it really bit him in the a**. He was really smart and did well on standardized tests, but his grades really started to suffer in about junior high and I think he may have regretted it all. So I would say no to skipping a grade.
This guy was so smart his parents didn't even teach him to read. They just noticed him reading books one day and thought he was memorizing the stories they read to him, so they went and bought him some books. When they brought them to him, he read every single one of them to them. He was only four years old.
2006-10-13 11:04:10 · answer #1 · answered by ♥ady_8e_80♥ 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Based on my experience i wouldnt advise skipping a grade. Its not only the schoolwork you have to think of.
Being a year younger than everyone else in your class can be really difficult sometimes. Especially when you get to that age where boys, makeup, body developing etc. I felt really different to everyone.
Also when i left school I wish I had have been a year older. It is really difficult to make the decision as to which college/university to go to and what to do with your life when you are that bit younger. It is also a big responisibilty which can be hard to deal with.
I also missed out on some of the teachings of that year level that i skipped, subsequently my handwriting was never as good as it should have been. This was missed when i was in my younger years of school and was only picked up later when i was a teenager. So it is easy to miss something from that year level that is being skipped.
It is the responsibility of the teacher to provide extra work for your gifted child. They can always give her more challanging work but at the same time she will be getting all the teachings for her year level.
Remember school is a lot about the social aspect too. Friendships and social interactions are really important too.
In summary based on my experience and how it affected me mostly from my teenage years through to my leaving school and university i would not reccommend it.
Best of luck.
Ultimately it is your decision though and wish you all the best with your daughter. I wonder what she will be when she grows up!!?
2006-10-13 18:18:09 · answer #2 · answered by Nic 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
2 things... (is she reading AND understanding Potter?)
1) The EXACT same thing happened to me. I was in first grade, yeat reading high school textbooks, newpapers, novels, etc. They were ready to move me up. They saw that my comprehension was pretty good. But then they tried me on math! Basically, I stayed in first grade because ALL of my skills weren't ready for 2nd Grade.
2) I work in a school where one of my responsibilities is helping to identify and test children who might be ready to skip a grade. After the academic part (reading comprehension, writing skills, and math concepts; and I'll only recommend mid-year promotion if the student tests FAR above the proposed grade level), the emotional readiness always comes down to the parent and the child. The burden of going up a grade will rest on that child, not the other children. The other kids will just accept her as any "new kid".
I've seen kids start to struggle in class simply because they weren't being challenged. If the principals and teachers are for a promotion, and you believe she can handle ALL of the 2nd grade work that's being done, then now is the time of year to do it. Be prepared for a couple of weeks of adjustment for all involved, especially you.
BUT, for the rest of her school career, she'll always be one year younger, and in high school, that could potentially force some social situations that she'll have to be mature enough to work through.
What I would say to you is this: Ask the teachers and principal to show you ALL of the work that she's doing, and all of the criteria that they are basing their recommendation on. Then, ask her what she thinks. Then sit, breathe, close your eyes, and make a decision that's best for her and you.
2006-10-13 18:32:41 · answer #3 · answered by Snaredrum 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
was skipped on two occasions - once from 2nd to 4th and then from 5th to 6th. I graduated high school at 15. While I went and opened a business and did some other stuff right after high school, there are several other people I know who followed a similar path. One guy I know went directly to college and then graduated law school at 20.
There is no socialization for the gifted intelligent. It is extremely difficult to get along with peers when there is that much of a gap in ability. And trust me when I say, your peers are never keen on you being around.
Worse still, there is atrophy if you continue to deal with a peer group that is not at the same level. Imagine a 10 year old in a classroom of Kindergartners - not only is it too easy, but they will develop bad habits.
I received my masters degree in early childhood development and taught 6th grade for 6 years before I left for law school. I do work advocating for the gifted and am completing an article on the potential ability to sue school systems to offer gifted education to those that need it.
Do not be concerned with socialization in school- socialization takes place afterwards. Do not be concerned with the reaction of the other students. They will react badly and do what they can to try and make your daughter conform. Don't be worried about the age gap - that resolves itself in time as well.
Do take comfort in the strength that she will find in herself and the lessons she will learn about independence and blazing trails. The world will be better off with a person who is intelligent and can think for herself. What she will be able to accomplish will be far greater than if you leave her to languish in a situation that is far below her ability.
2006-10-13 20:03:14 · answer #4 · answered by Michael F 2 · 2⤊ 1⤋
Due to being a "smarty" and my birthday occurring in October, my mom chose to start me in school approximately one year earlier than most other kindergarteners. I graduated from high school at the age of 17.
It was one of the best things that could have happened. Even being a year younger than the other kids, I far outstripped my classmates in academics. I was also the tallest girl in the class for quite a while. I shudder to think what it would have been like for me if I had been with people my own age!
Age differences are easier to hide than being brilliant. I'd say go ahead and skip her. Just to be on the safe side, I'd recommend monitoring your daughter's well-being by asking her from time to time how she feels.
May I also recommend reading the book, _Ender's Game_, by Orson Scott Card. It is most enlightening with regard to the advanced mind and the role that others play in its development.
2006-10-13 18:13:19 · answer #5 · answered by Ms. C 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
You should tell your daughter that she has been given the option to go to the second grade with older kids who have reading skills comparable to hers. (How is she in math?) Let your daughter participate in the decision; she is the one who will have to cope with socialization. The second graders may not want to be friends with her. Then what?
Maybe she could help tutor the kids in the first grade. Let her read challenging books at home. How are her time management and organizational skills? Is she creative? Let her learn to play a musical instrument. Is she athletic? Let her go to gymnastics, swimming or whatever interests her.
Can you afford to send her to a school for the gifted and talented? Sometimes they have scholarships.
2006-10-17 19:09:43 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
I'm am really surprised there is no gifted education in your school district. AZ isn't exactly the top of the heap in education, but we have pull out programs for gifted kids in my kids district and even a self-contained gifted center for kids who are "scarily" brilliant! Has there been any testing done? They should give her the COGAT or some other test so you have data and go down to the district office and see if there is a supervisor of gifted education. I would want to see her have a teacher with certification in gifted ed.for at least some classes during the day/week. Too many gifed kids get "turned off" by some teacher fresh out of school whose gonna try and keep all the kids on the same page...
Your daughter sounds self motivated and is going to be bored out of her mind reading the books the 1st gradeers read if she is reading Harry P now. Some people keep their kids in reg. class but supplimenting at home. (sounds like what you have been doing) and some go ahead with the advancement. I've done both with my own kids. I tend to go one the advancement side. Everyone tells ya to try and maintain friendships with same age peers- but it is hard because like when my son was six he wanted to write a book report on Carl Sagen and the other kids and teacher didn't know who that was so he got a low grade until I had to send in the book so the teacher could see who the scientist was...battles like that will pop up when teachers don't know how to handle bright kids. He didn't fit in with the other kids: they are kicking a soccer ball and he is calculating the projectory angle of the ball-like they really cared! So for him it was best to be in a program with other kids like himself where they honored each ones unique talents. My daughters on the otherhand are more flexible and can have friends who aren't gifted although I will say they tend to hang out with the one that are. I've had more trouble convincing them not to hide their talents but they tend to because they don't like standing out or getting teased for being smart. Tonight my 8th grader told me she wants to test for HS honors, so I guess she is realizing her potential, but we have lost a lot of years and have battled the school the whole time. I wish you better luck in your decision!
2006-10-14 02:31:22 · answer #7 · answered by atheleticman_fan 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
She's reading Harry Potter good for her, I love Harry Potter! Anyway, you should probably see how she feels about it, and if she's smart she'll have a good opinion. Maybe you could let her skip a grade as a trial and if she liked it she could stay and if she didn't she could go back to first grade. It might be a little awkward as she gets older, but as I said, she should get to have a say in it.
2006-10-13 18:05:35 · answer #8 · answered by *~Harry Potter ADDICT~* 1 · 2⤊ 1⤋
I know she's only six, but when I was tutoring for an elementry class we had a little girl would wasn't doing as well as the other students, so they wanted her to stay back a grade. The teacher and the parents decided that the best thing to do is to let her decide what she wants to do. Tell her what he options are and explain that the kids will be older and it will be harder. I think the best way is to let her decide.
2006-10-18 13:42:15 · answer #9 · answered by xshadowkattx 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
I would make sure she is tested and can keep up with the other subjects she'll be studying.
At this young of an age, it should be an easy transition for making new friends and/or keeping the ones she already has.
One year is not going to have an effect in later years as opposed to several years or more.
When my daughter was a little older than yours, we had split grade combined classes she went to, like 3rd & 4th, 5th & 6th. Do you?
Also, to her level of understanding, have you discussed it with her and know how she feels?
2006-10-13 18:31:52 · answer #10 · answered by pj 4 · 0⤊ 1⤋