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!)
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!)