bright kids please help

Dear Mis-Cat,

I am not an educational psychologist, just an ordinary class teacher who is trying to do his job. I have tried to read quite a few reports by Educational Psychologists and I regret to say that, unless you happen to be an Educational Psychologist, they are rather difficult to understand. Of course it is true that teachers also tend to use a lot of educational jargon, but most reports from Ed Psychs are almost unintelligible. It has to be admitted that the recommendations at the end of most reports are usually written in simpler language, but often the conclusions reached are so blindingly obvious that one wonders what all the fuss was about.

I did not give my class some work on converting currencies because I thought that it was an IQ test; it was simply part of the Numeracy scheme we use at my present school, The British School of Bucharest. (If you really want to know, it is in Book 5 of the New Heinemann Maths scheme.)

What, if anything, do IQ tests tell us? Well, perhaps they can show a student’s potential, in some areas, but there are so many other factors that affect a student’s ability to make progress, whether it is in Art, Algebra or Ancient Greek. Memory, concentration, and motivation also affect a student’s performance and let’s not forget the importance of a proper diet (it always amazes me that children eat so little for breakfast, if indeed they eat anything at all) and then there’s that dear old favourite: a good night’s sleep.

I have been a teacher for more than twenty years, both in the U.K. and in several international schools. On the whole, I have to say that IQ tests do not mean much and they certainly do not take into account the possibility that “intelligence” is not one thing, but many. Let me explain. I think that we can agree that Einstein, David Beckham, Jesus, Leonardo da Vinci, Shakespeare, Mozart and Napoleon probably were (or are) “intelligent”, but it is pretty obvious that they were “intelligent” in very different ways. The probability that “intelligence” may exist in many different forms seems to undermine the value of IQ tests, since it is most unlikely that one type of written test will accurately assess such diversity.

Well, what does this mean for teachers and parents? It ought to mean that schools should present students with a stimulating and varied curriculum, so that as many children as possible will have the opportunity to excel and to discover new talents. It also should mean that parents ought to be less concerned about IQ tests and much more interested in what their children are actually doing, both in the classroom and out of it.

Dear Mis-Cat, I am sorry that your memories of your school days are not happy ones, but it does not have to be that way. Recently, my present school, The British School of Bucharest, decided to experiment with something we called “The BSB University”. Parents, teachers’ assistants and teachers all thought up a “course” for the children: magazine publishing, mural painting, bread making, gardening, yoga, rocket science… The list was very varied! The children then had to choose a “course” that they wanted to do and write a letter of application, explaining why they should be accepted onto the course and what they thought they would learn. Isn't this the kind of thing that makes learning fun for children, whatever their IQ?

From someone who has actually been there, the best thing you can do is actually have a proper assesment done.

Its conducted by a registered Psyc (by registered I mean it's an extra quallifacation that they must do) and takes about a day. the reason for a psyc is they also do a behavioural assesment as well.

Hippo I am sure you mean well but teaching your children to convert pounds to euros and dollars is not what constitutes as IQ my reasoning for this is simple any one can be taught if they have the apptitude to learn. What an IQ test looks for is actual reasoning and cognitive thought using a series of different test which have to be completed in a set time then the subject has to give a reason for their answer, while the whole process is not as simple as my explenation what I am trying to get across is that there is a differance between teaching sombody to do something and a person being able just to work out how it is so,the latter is what gives us a persons IQ.

As serendipity said early the other thing that you want to be aware of is that there is a downside to genius alot of people with a high IQ also suffer from psycological issues ranging from Aspergers, Bi-Polar all the way to scizophrenia hense the reason why psycs carry out the test.

In case you were wondering It was me who was the child and it was my mother and father that suffered. If you do find out that your child is a genius ( I am not saying that he is not) Be prepared for the worst most schools have turned P.C these days IE they recognise that every child is equal and no child is as bright or as dumb as another, and if it sounds s though I am jaded with the school system it's because I am. I was one of the ones branded as a bad student always disruptive in class never listened but always managed to pass my exams with a grade average over 80% just think what i could have done if somebody had just listened to my parents or me for that matter.

I don't know what the standard practice is nowadays, whether all schools do maintain a 'gifted and talented' register or not.

I just know that a friend's teenaged son who is diagnosed with ADHD is often considered to be and treated as though he is naughty/bad instead of being considered as though he needs heaps of extra stimulation and challenges.

Mainly, though, I was going off my own experiences, which admittedly were quite some time ago.

Well, I absolutely agree with Serendipity’s point about bright children becoming bored and misbehaving. When this happens, the results can be rather serious, as intelligent children usually have more ingenious and ambitious ways of getting into mischief.

On a more practical note, most modern educational resources incorporate “differentiation”, which is a long-winded way of saying that there will be additional “extension” materials for the more able students. This is certainly the cases for most schemes of work for Literacy and Numeracy (English and Maths, or Math if you are an American). Catering for the needs of the more able students does not mean a lot of extra work for the teacher. This means that there is no excuse for your child sitting there and doing nothing. Whenever any child in my class claims to have “finished” their work, I always say, “Great! That means that you can help with our class’s weblog!” (You can see the results by going to www.bsbweblogs.net and clicking on “5H” from the list of classes.)

Correct me if I am wrong, but I was under the impression that it is standard practice in the U.K. for schools to have a “gifted and talented register”, so that teachers are encouraged to make a record of the children in their class who need enrichment activities. Once the school has some idea of how many children there are and what their special abilities may be, then the school is in a position to arrange something for those children, just as we arrange EAL lessons for those who need extra help with their English. Furthermore, could I also point out that most private schools, whether in Qatar or anywhere else, have plenty of resources, supportive parents, relatively small classes and employ teaching assistants? If you are not happy about the school’s provision for the more able students, then you need to take up this issue with the school’s principal (preferably just before an inspection visit from Ofsted!)

Another possibility:

You don't specify the nature of the problems you're experiencing. If there are behavioural/social issues over and above his needing intellectual stimulation (i.e. if he has a high IQ, but a low EQ), then something like Asperger's Syndrome is a possibility.

Asperger's Syndrome is often found in children with a very high IQ.

But it doesn't necessarily follow that every child or adult with a high IQ is 'Aspie', it depends on whether the person meets several other of the diagnostic criteria.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asperger%27s_syndrome

This is possibly/probably irrelevant, but I don't know, as you don't elaborate on the kind of problems you're experiencing, but I just thought I'd flag it up so you can read about it, and decide for yourself whether or not it's of any relevance.

If you have any questions about AS (which is something I know quite a lot about), but don't want to discuss the nature of any problems you're experiencing here, feel free to contact me via the Private Message facility and we can swap email addresses.

ETA: If you think this might be relevant, don't start to despair or get upset or worried about it, it's really not the end of the world. I'm Aspie myself and very happy with who and how I am.

Serendipity

agree with serendipity! When your not stimulated enough you really do learn to play up in school, you will become disruptive and mishbehave - people tend to ignore the intelligent kids and give them lables such as geek or swot - yes even the teachers - they tend to then ignore the child till they play up then they learn that if they misbehave and dont do there work they got more attention than when they do the work, its a vicious cycle.

then theres the peer pressure as well to fit in and confrim with other children - who generally dont like ( and the parents too ) children who are more gifted than them. Its very isolating and horrid the child then learns that by being gifted they are different and they then confirm to the norm kids do get picked on for being top of the class, its soul destroying for them! they then learn that if they act dumb then people will like them more - and believe me its a hard act to follow!

well done you for doing this, yep i have a really high IQ ( yep i cant type, and i cant spell!) i got picked on for being intelligent and laughed at, learnt quick enough if you act like a dumb blonde people like me more! its a hard thing to go through! but amazing that you care well done you!

[img_assist|nid=13270|title=Love Life|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=180|height=113]

love life!

There is an organisation in the UK called the National Association for Gifted Children. I don't know whether there is an equivalent in the Netherlands?

I don't know what advice or support they may be able to offer to people based outside the UK. I've just looked at their website and a lot of it is restricted access to members only, and you would need to enquire further as to how relevant it is to someone in your situation and whether it's worthwhile joining or not.

It may be worth joining, especially if the school your son attends follows a British curriculum, they may be able to make contact and get some useful information or advice about teaching methods and ideas to integrate into your son's education.

http://www.nagcbritain.org.uk/

Not all teachers are like you, Hippo.

A lot of extra resources are devoted to children who more obviously need extra assistance, children with learning difficulties, dyslexia, disabilities and so on.

Often, gifted children are pretty much left to their own devices. This can cause problems when they finish work ahead of their classmates, or are generally insufficiently challenged. They can become bored and can be distracted and disruptive.

Sometimes, instead of seeing a child who is intelligent who needs challenging and supporting -- as you do -- some teachers can see a child who is naughty (due to boredom leading to disruptive activities).

Being a gifted child can also be quite alienating and isolating experience. The gifted child, being more advanced than their peers in chronological terms, may find it difficult to make and sustain friendships with their classmates. But then their intellectual peers, the older children, may humour a gifted child but won't really want to hang out with them as friends.

It can be difficult for the child and his/her parents, to deal with these 'problems' of lack of challenging school work potentially leading to disruptive behaviour and a label as 'naughty' child, and also the difficulties in socialising and establishing friendships.

These are issues that may need addressing, depending on the child concerned.

Dear Patty,

I am sorry, but I do not see this as a problem. I think that you are an amazingly lucky parent! I have been a teacher for more than twenty years and I love to teach bright children. They are a delight! From less able children, I usually hope to have the right answer in a Maths lesson, but to a bright children you can say, "Well, that is the right answer, but do you think that there is a quicker and better way of getting the right answer? Why is this method better than that one? Will this method always work? Could you please give me a real-life situation in which you might find this method useful?"

Last term, for example, the children in my Year 5 class of nine and ten year olds were changing euros into pounds and dollars. In discussion, the more able children also came up with some intelligent ideas about exchange rates and why countries want to have their own currencies, as well as the advantages of many different countries in the E.U. all having the same currency.

A key component of the British National Curriculum is something called "differentiation". In other words, the children in the same class should be doing the same topic, but of course the less able children will need extra practice and support. The more able, however, need to be pushed out of their "comfort zone" and be given work that is more demanding. This does not necessarily mean that they will be given more work to do than the rest of the class, but it certainly means that they ought to have tougher assignments. Many bright children thrive on interaction with adults, so oral work is important for more able children. If your child is not being pushed and challenged at his present school, then my guess is that your son is at the wrong school.

If your 5 year old is fed up with books that contain more pictures than words, then it's probably time to move him on to more challenging reading material. I am a great Roald Dahl fan, but I have noticed that boys often enjoy non-fiction. Just about anything by Dorking Kindersley is great, especially their Science videos. The "Horrible Histories" paperback series is brilliant, particularly with all of the jokes and silly cartoons, but the books in this series also contain masses of historical information that is presented in a lively way.

Of course, if you have a computer connected to the internet, then there is a wealth of educational websites. Maybe it is because I am British, but I do rather like the BBC's educational sites, for both History and Science. "Discovery School" also has some good material on their website. On the other hand, if your son really is so bright, then why not suggest to him that it is about time he created his own website? That ought to keep him busy. There is also some software around that allows the user to create their own animated cartoons.

I hope that this has been useful, but I am surprised (and a bit disappointed) that no one at your son's present school has bothered to help you and advise you.