
For Frustrated Gifted Kids, A World of Online Opportunities - tokenadult
http://blogs.kqed.org/mindshift/2014/05/for-frustrated-gifted-kids-a-world-of-online-opportunities/
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mcdougle
We need to be doing _something_ for these kids. I know when I was in school I
was incredibly bored and underwhelmed. I'd typically understand a concept
pretty quickly when it was introduced, and then have nothing to do while the
teacher had to explain it a million times for the next several days, and I'd
finish my tests and work much more quickly than most, too. I dunno if I was
necessarily one of the brightest minds out there, but school did always come
easy to me.

So, I'd do other things when I didn't need to pay attention. When I was really
little, I'd act out. Doctors tried to tell my parents I had ADD and prescribe
drugs -- fortunately my parents knew better (my dad had the same issues when
he was a kid). Later, I actually found a healthy outlet -- I brought a
sketchpad to school and drew pictures when I wasn't learning anything. Still,
the teachers got upset and eventually took that away.

I feel like it would've been a lot more beneficial to me if there had been
some alternative. Or, at least, if I hadn't constantly got in trouble for what
essentially amounts to being bored.

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ssdfsdf
We don't need to do anything for these kids. They have the internet now, that
is all that is needed.

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barry-cotter
Charitably assuming that was sarcasm, no that is not all that is needed.
Boring the crap out of children and teaching them that no one cares what they
want and that people with authority can shit all over them with impunity may
be good preparation for adult life but one can in fact do better. Even working
under the constraint that there must be a place for parents to park their
children while they go work one can do a lot better.

Montessori and Sudbury/Democratic schools do not work on the sit down shut up
and do as you're told model and they do very well.

And if we're going to do the sit down, shut up and do as you're told model why
can't we at least use the best method for it, Direct Instruction?

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ssdfsdf
It's not sarcasm. There is nothing you can do for them that will be better
than allowing them the free time to learn at their own pace from the internet.

A highly gifted or profoundly gifted child does not need education in the
traditional sense, they need emotional support. The intellectual support the
average teacher is going to be able to provide will very frequently be
inadequate.

It was suggested I go to a democratic school, but I declined. Such a thing
would have been good for me,but what would have been better: Just let me get
on with learning about the world with a group of my peers.

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mcdougle
I think I understand what you're saying. Allowing them to learn at their own
pace would still be doing something, though.

In school, whenever a new concept was introduced, I often found that I
understood it pretty quickly, but that we'd spend days on the topic while
several other students in class struggled to grasp it. During that time, I was
expected to sit there and pay attention -- even though it was a waste of time.
Even creative outlets, like drawing, were not allowed. If I could have used
that time to learn something new on my own, through the Internet or whatever
else, that would have been a lot better than just sitting there. Even just
letting the students who understand the topic out to play or something until
the next topic is introduced would be better and more productive than just
having them sit there.

Once I got to college it got a lot better -- I was able to skip classes that I
knew would be a waste of time and do more productive things, or bring a laptop
to class and do something else when the professor was explaining something I
already understood. But prior to college I didn't own a laptop -- not that it
would have been allowed even if I did!

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gokhan
My son was converting binary to decimal when he was 5, found (x+1)^2 = x^2 +
2x + 1 by himself at the age of 6. Now he's interested in logarithmic
calculations, doing very well on Chesstempo, learns languages using Duolingo
and loves reading heavy books on his Kindle at the age of 7.

On the other hand, he never interested in any kind of sports (only exception
is, thanks to Strider balance bikes, he's good at cycling). He's having
trouble building relations with other kids around his age, sometimes hits or
creatively frustrates them to cover his lack of physical skills.

Any parent can find billions of great things online for the gifted child. It
would be great if it was that easy for my child to deal with the real world.

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delackner
This is a long shot, but have you tried taking him to an indoor bouldering
gym? It is a very mentally demanding physical activity, that does not require
any outside interaction with others but at the same time encourages it while
also developing an appreciation for physicality.

My friend's son started going when he was 3, so no there is no time too early.

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gokhan
I once researched for it but we don't have such a gym in my city. There are a
couple of them in Istanbul (1 hr), I'll take a look. I didn't know that
bouldering is a mentally demanding sport but now understand the routes and
colored handles' purpose when I think of them, my son would love such
challenges. Thanks.

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seanccox
You might also consider getting slacklind. You can set a line up between two
trees, and learning to balance is extremely mentally taxing. I live in central
Istanbul and have found a group of people regularly slacklining in Macka Park,
so there must be supplies available.

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nwenzel
“These students are going to produce an outsized portion of the major
technological, medical, mathematical, scientific, economic advances of the
next generation,”

When I was In school, there was a GATE program (gifted and talented education
???). But I think it was meant to target the top 10% or 20% of students. But
when you think about where the really big advances for civilization will come
from, maybe there should be a focus on the top 1% or 2%. That's sort of the
opposite of public school today. I suppose instead of No Child Left Behind,
it's No Child Left Unchallenged.

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jacobolus
Plenty of children struggle in school and go on to do amazing things
afterward, and plenty of “child geniuses” are lavished with attention and go
on to do nothing notable.

The purpose of a school should be to encourage all students to flourish, not
to pick the ones who will “advance civilization” at age 5.

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netcan
This is a bit of a straw-man.

No one is suggesting teaching just the top 1% and leaving the rest to fend for
themselves. Just putting them in a separate class for a few hour a week so
they can be with other smart kids and be challenged.

The bottom 10-20% in every subject could probably use something similar.

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jxjdjr
As a profoundly gifted child the having the Internet would have transformed my
life. If I had had access to the knowledge I have access to now I would have
been where I am now at 32 by the time I went to University at 20. I would
probably not have fallen into the dark depression in my teens, induced
primarily by boredom. It is going to be exciting to see what the exceptional
people of the next generation will look like, very exciting :)

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aswanson
I thought along the same lines of what having the internet would have meant in
terms of supercharging my progress as well, but also thought about the number
of easy distractions it provides. Would you have been where you are at 32 in
terms of knowledge, or would you have spend 80 percent of your time leveling
up on Wow or some other easy temptation? Always helps to reflect on the total
context of the situation.

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digita88
By the time I was 16 I was ready to do university level subjects in my chosen
field and was even on a course that would have articulated to it - so instead
of graduating high school I would have dropped out. School principal didn't
want me to drop out, so organised a meeting with myself, her and the careers
counsellor which left me shaken up! I ended up finishing high school but at
some personal cost - failed a subject, got depressed and ended skipping 1-2
days per week.

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zacinbusiness
My elementary school had an "academically gifted" program which I was a part
of. They put us there during the school day, isolating us from our classmates
and making us seem even more "weird" than we already were. It didn't bother
me, because I've never really been a "people person." But I'm sure it wasn't
the best idea for some of the rest.

Of note: we were the only students in the school that were allowed
unsupervised computer access, and it's where I pulled off my very first
"computer crime." I found a special menu that was accessible via a series of
held keys, one of which happened to be "print screen." I got caught because
stacks and stacks of papers were printed off in the office, and I was
officially banned from the computers. Fun times :-)

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netcan
General question (I know nothing, just musing).

Is there any specific reason or logic behind accelerating gifted kids through
the primary-secondary-college system? If you had school dedicated to these
kids, could they just go through the standard material faster,2 hours a day, 2
days a week or 2 months a year?

That would take care of the boredom problem. There are stimulating things
other than school.

I don't see any particular advantage in entering college at 14.

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sakunthala
For your average, middle-class parents this isn't practical. They have jobs &
school is pretty much free daycare they wouldn't want to give up.

There are so many advantages to entering college at 14. For a start, it looks
great on your resume. Which means you have a whole host of cool work
opportunities when you graduate, meaning you can start a fun and interesting
career at 18- rather than slog on through the system, waiting to be recognised
at 22-25. Source: know a lot of Thiel fellows.

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tekalon
As a 'gifted' but bored student, I see so many programs (online, self paced
programs) that I would have loved. My youngest brother was able to graduate
from high school a year early with honors, yet he was the least academic out
of all of us kids (5 total). I went to small high school with only AP Spanish
and AP Calculus, of which getting into depended on what track you were put
into in middle school (didn't make it due to just moving into the area). My
parents were also very wary about not screwing us up socially (no skipping
grades). Having these types of programs that go with you if your family moves,
interest changes or anything else, would have been amazing!

~~~
jsf9drkyle
"gifted" ..phew who told you so ?

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dekhn
all I can say is, thanks you to my elementary school for running a gifted and
talented program, and for the nearby university letting me use their internet
access (this was in the era of 1200 baud modems). Everything I get to do today
is because those things enabled me to learn on my own.

Anyway, I don't know that reading at a high level at a young age really is a
good predictor for future success (measured in impact, rather than, say,
dollars).

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jsf9drkyle
how this will not create more divide in already divided society ? Counter
argument could be made that everyone starts at level zero and their
environment/condition make them learn slow or fast. Just telling your kids
that they are gifted won't make them gifted. I know hundred of cases where
parents told their child since early childhood that they are special, they are
gifted but eventually child failed, fall behind even behind those considered
"slow" All people commenting here that "they are gifted" should really take
second look. Solving a math equation fast doesn't make you gifted. Life is far
far complex than classroom maths. So STFU and have beer. Its friday !

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tedchs
Ask any teacher, and they'll tell you that any given school is only capable of
properly serving the middle 90%, or, at best, 95%, of its students.

