Cognitively gifted children
Got an email from one of my BS11 teacher and he was identified as having superior cognitive scores and now has the label of cognitively gifted. He scored with an IQ of 128 or higher on the CoGAT test.
His teacher said they are writing up an WEP for him and that this label opens up more for him in Jr High and High school.
I was curious if anyone else has "gifted" children and what they have experienced from their kid being labeled as such.
I have been doing some reading about cognitively gifted children and their personalities and it has been right on for BS. It explains a lot of the "issues" I have had with him. Example- easily frustrated because someone doesn't understand something like they do.
To me I see this label as a way to explain some of his personality quirks and overall thinking and I want to make sure I am encouraging him in the right ways.
Teachers- what are your thoughts on children with this label?
**Side note- he is not academically gifted. He would have had to score a 95% or better in one of the core subjects. But he is "smart" because he is in all enriched classes and gets As and Bs but for the purpose of that test he wasn't Academically gifted.
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My eldest is considered
My eldest is considered gifted. What it got her is unreasonable expectations in my view. She is quicker, smarter and emotionally more mature than her peers. She is still a 9 year old child who wants a best friend and peer acceptance. She doesn't want to stand out.
Keep in mind I live in Africa where they have no clue what they are doing. She just needs to be a little girl in Grade 4 with more challenging work and problem solving.
Yeah I am a little worried
Yeah I am a little worried about that. I know there can also be a "stigma" about it too.
If anything for me, reading up about "gifted" children I keep thinking- that explains so much about BS!
http://www.nagc.org/resources-publications/resources/my-child-gifted/com...
The behavioral column is almost spot on for my BS.
It is a pity they don't give
It is a pity they don't give us a hand book on dealing with the blighters. Did I mention it's a daily feat for me not to lock my eldest in her room or cook her for dinner?
Ha! That is why I am trying
Ha!
That is why I am trying to read up as much as possible. But I swear reading some of this stuff it's like a total A-Ha moment for me.
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH I may have to
GAHHHHHHHHHHHHH I may have to eat my daughter tonight. She signed up for choir without my permission and now I have to take her to school at stupid o'clock *cry* Remind me again what's so wonderful about highly intelligent children who want to do everything?
Hi Zero! That is very fine
The most significant indicator for children of future success in adulthood is their ability to delay gratification. The ability to delay gratification is far more important than IQ, because even those with a high IQ can be lazy, but those who will delay gratification until their goal is met will meet their goal. You need to read about the Stanford Marshmallow Experiment, but be advised, it has been reproduced by many and this concept is generally accepted among psychologists. If you want your child to be successful, teach him to keep his eye on the prize and delay gratification. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_marshmallow_experiment You might want to try that experiment at home with your son, and then explain the results to him. I did that with my daughter, and now she's a doctor. When I asked her how she managed to get through all those nights in the morgue dissecting cadavers till midnight, she told me, she remembered when I told her that delaying her gratification was the key to success.
I myself tested out in school with an IQ of 128, and have spent all of my life wishing and working for just 10 more points. Don't we all wish we could be just a little bit smarter? I bet even Stephen Hawkin, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Bill Clinton wish they could be just a little bit smarter. Especially on some days. I bet Einstein did too.
And your stepson might get just a little bit smarter. Did you know that your IQ can go up and down? Yes. There is, for instance, the "Confluence Theory of Intelligence" which hypothesizes that we are just a little bit smarter when we hang out with smarter people. Uh huh. I've seen that effect. And some researchers have said parents lose 10 IQ points during the infancy of their children. Possibly from thinking about poo and drool all the time. They gain those IQ points back when the kid gets old enough that the parents can hang out with adults again. And it is also said that a person can raise their score on IQ tests by broadening their knowledge base, which brings us to the question, is an IQ test really an accurate measurement of intelligence? IQ tests are imperfect and their results are debatable. However, one thing works for sure, and that's study. Study works for all students, regardless of their IQ, study improves their performance.
Do be sure that all your children know there will always be people who aren't as smart as they are, and there will always be people who are smarter than they are, as well. He has to interact respectfully with all of them, learn how to work with all of them, and understand that while some people may not have as strong intellectual abilities as he has, they may have other qualities, of equal value, in which they are stronger than he is, for instance, empathy, or Emotional IQ, or may have a stronger Creative IQ. Let him know everybody has their own gifts and every kid in his class is special.
For context, let me add that I am not a teacher, I am a nurse, but I have also raised two gifted children. One tested out at 135 and the other at 145. Even these are not particularly impressive IQ's and you'd be amazed how diligently they studied, they didn't think because they were smart they should glide. They remembered their goals. As adults, they are both very smart people, which is gratifying for us all, but more importantly, they are both very kind, honest, respectful, productive, loving and giving people, which matters far more to everybody. Don't lose sight of what really matters.
Yeah he won't be skipping any
Yeah he won't be skipping any grades or anything like that. BS doesn't do too well with pressure. I am a little worried what the new expectations of him will be and if it will cause undue stress for him. Once his teacher writes up his WEP then I'll know more of what the plan is. His teacher said he would stay in her class and that she has a cluster of gifted students already in the class.
Put him in international
Put him in international bacalaurette program, preferably in seiarate school if you have one or at least program within
A school. It's vert very rigorous. My DD graduated with IB dipoloma, it is a step above regular hs
That sounds intimidating.
That sounds intimidating. LOL!
It's very demanding but it's
It's very demanding but it's not intimidating at all. Not for a smart kid. The best thing I did for my child. That was high school level. Some areas have IB schools that start earlier than HS.
I am a graduate of IB. All my
I am a graduate of IB. All my classmates are very successful. I got two years of free college. I have a gifted child. She has a quirky personality too
Yup my DD and all her friends
Yup my DD and all her friends are doing well.
I'll have to look into it.
I'll have to look into it. Thank you!
I just reviewed the IB
I just reviewed the IB program online. Wow, what a great alternative to our government schools and a very successful and effective way to avoid common core.
It is very similar to my own international primary, middle, and high school educational experience.
I will recommend that friends of ours with school age children look into it. It is interesting that the USA has the most IB curriculum schools by far. I am glad to see that.
That's awesome for your son.
That's awesome for your son. My DS15 was tested in 3rd grade and deemed "gifted." He is especially gifted in math. However, no one distinguished between "academically" or "cognitively" gifted, so unfortunately, I can't offer any insight into that. I assume my DS is both, as his IQ score qualified him for our county's "gifted" program and resulted in an IEP for that program as his enrichment, which sounds like the WEP you mentioned. In our case, in elementary school, he was bused a day a week to a special school for gifted kids in our district and spent half a day there. In middle school, he had a separate "gifted" class that was 5 days a week. In our district, the gifted program ends at high school and the kids just take the AP and Honors classes with everyone else. Rather than going that route, we sent my DS15 to boarding school for high school where he can have special emphasis on math and computer science, since he wants a career in cyber security. My DH and I suspected long before our DS was tested that he was "gifted." He has always been extremely creative and had a depth of insight and understanding way beyond his years. We joke that it's a good thing he looks just like DH, as we have no idea where he got it from! lol!
BS is already in enriched
BS is already in enriched classes at school and it's a STEM school which he plans to stay in throughout HS. He says he wants to be an engineer or WWE superstar. HA HA.
I've always known he was smart and had some interesting personality traits. Honestly he excels at everything he does. Sports, orchestra, school, etc. Reading up about the traits, especially behavioral I feel like I'm having such an a-ha moment.
He should do both. Be the
He should do both. Be the WWE Engineer of Destruction!!!!!! Nothing about a BS in Engineering that will stop him from wrastlin.
Ha ha! I am going to give him
Ha ha! I am going to give him that name from now on. He currently wrestles now so it is a very plausible idea!
BS9 is gifted as well and is
BS9 is gifted as well and is in an extra class every year where they do some pretty cool things. The emotional traits were a huge aha for me as well. Our school has meetings where parents get together as well to learn more about what being gifted entails. It made me feel like some of the things we deal with are not all because his dad is a nut bag and puts him in the middle. But it does mean that I have to parent differently in some cases then I would a different kid.
Yeah I definitely think the
Yeah I definitely think the parenting is different. But really parenting is different for every child. I always have to remind my DH about that.
this is Deigma to a T...
this is Deigma to a T... mwhahahaha I wish...... he said school is boring and he barely made it each year,
teachers complained if he showed just a bit more interest he will do much better, Deigma said no way I listen in class and that's the end of it, I'm not touching any off those books.... after hours, I'm a kid I need to play and cause s!ht
So yes Deigma is gifted in being lazy slugger
LOL. Well some kids like
LOL. Well some kids like school and some don't.
I do not like labels. 2 of
I do not like labels.
2 of mine, based on IQ's would be considered gifted. One was in the top 5 percentile (120 to 130 range) but was considered unteachable by the school because of his communication and language disorder. He went back to school as an adult(his choice) and is now graduating with honours (Marks in the 90's and some even at 100). The other twin had an IQ of 130. I treated him like any other kid. He took academic courses throughout high school but was never enrolled in the accelerated program. He went to college and graduated top of his class in a program he loves.
2 of their cousins who are also gifted, had a different up bringing. The one that was their age went into accelerated programs in high school and was always suffering from anxiety. He did however get into medical school in his 3rd year of University. He finished medical school in 3 years instead of the usual 4. But Like I said he seemed to always be under pressure. His younger sister who was also gifted, chose not to go into the accelerated programs because of her brother's experience. She graduated top of her class in high school and university(actually received full scholarships) and will soon be getting her post graduate degree.
Each of these 4 kid are doing what they like, all were gifted, but those that were educated based on their labels were the ones to have the issues. The 2 that followed a regular path in school did not have them!
With the label- he's still
With the label- he's still the same kid to me. If anything reading the traits for this label, that has been interesting because it has explained a lot more to me in regards to his personality traits.
I'm curious to see what his
I'm curious to see what his WEP will be and what the teacher recommends.
Interesting, you may not skip
Interesting, you may not skip a grade here.
HRNYC that is what they tell
HRNYC that is what they tell us here. It's not allowed. I can put her in accelerated programs at my cost but I may not move her up.
Yeah BS won't be skipping any
Yeah BS won't be skipping any classes. He's already in enriched classes that are grade levels above. Like for Math they are doing 9th grade level right now.
Both my kids were labeled
Both my kids were labeled "gifted" at an early age. And I was one of those way-back-when who moved out of kinder and into 1st grade because of my advanced test scores.
My DD (who is now 19) has always been wise beyond her years. In the 5th grade over Christmas break, she read Homer's Odyssey and Iliad. She wrote a book about history (Revolutionary War to Civil War). But she refused to be placed in advanced/honors classes because in her school system the honors students were kept together for every single class of the day... so in a school of 2400 kids, she saw the same 17 kids all day, every day. She's now in college and doing very well.
My DS (who is now 16) has NEVER been wise beyond his years... he is the quintessential teenager and boy. He won't pick up a book to save his life (unless it's to squash a spider). He HATES school, figures if he can squeak by with D's, all is good. He already said he has no desire to go to college, and instead has enrolled in a vocational high school studying electrical contracting and excels at it (the boy has already hung some lovely pendant lights over my kitchen island, replacing the ugly can lights, and has replaced all my standard outlets with outlet/USB port combos). When he graduates from high school, he will almost be finished with his electrical journeyman's curriculum.
My point being... I never forced my kids to carry that "gifted" title around. When my DD didn't want to take honors classes in HS, I didn't force her. Instead of graduating with an honors diploma, she received a general diploma. That in no way affected applying to colleges, as she had extremely high SAT/ACT scores that got her a scholarship. She's also on the Dean's list and taking honors classes. By looking at my son's grades, you'd never believe that he can do advanced math in his head (he heard me talking about refinancing a mortgage one day.... before I could find an amortization program to run the numbers, he already told me what my new payment would be based on interest rate/term of loan, and how much quicker I could pay it off it I just payed $100 more a month than the scheduled payment...). And he's excelling at what he does, and probably will not attend college ever - or at least while he's young.
The only downside is that the 'gifted' label followed my children... and teachers pushed and pushed them both to excel in high school, would often remind them and me that they weren't working to their full potential, expected "more" out of them, blah blah blah. it's been the base for a lot of anxiety for both my kids because they felt like they were being pushed in directions they didn't want to go.