Great Misconceptions

Last year, our son took a non-verbal test along with the rest of the kindergarteners at his school. He tested off the charts in reading and reasoning. We were invited to add his name to a waiting list at the gifted magnet school, but for some reason we did not do it. Now, we are in the fourth week of first grade, and he's bored. On the first day of school, he sadly told me he wanted to go back to kindergarten. He'd had a fantastic teacher, and the class was wonderfully dynamic. Heck, I wanted to go back to kindergarten, too! 

So now we're diving into the world of advocating for our gifted child. I've already learned not to talk about this with other parents. They don't understand how it breaks my heart that our son isn't being challenged, and that the school is content to allow him to languish. Well, he's languishing himself into an upset stomach every day. We chose this particular school based largely on its reputation and their claim that they "teach to every child's ability." So much for that.

Giftedness is nothing to smirk or crow about, especially if your child is suffering due to his or her abilities. Gifted kids will check out mentally if they aren't being challenged. They learn quickly to dread school, which is utterly horrible to witness when they were so excited about it at first. Kids who are inquisitive and imaginative at home will sit silent in the classroom, fearful of being teased or just plain disgusted that they are having to sit through a lesson they already learned. Because I work for a publisher that publishes books about giftedness, I've learned a few things about how to reach out to our gifted students and make them feel like part of a community, not to exclude them for their learning abilities. I'm not an expert-I'm a rookie who's read a few books written by people in the field who know what they're talking about. I want to help my cheerful, happy boy rediscover his passion for learning. 

The last thing I want to do is tear my son away from kids he's known since preschool and heave him into a new school where he knows no one. But what choice do I have if the principal refuses to make any changes for the kids who are learning at a different level from their age peers? Mine is not the only kid who is a gifted learner. Where are the other parents? Picking their children up from other schools, I imagine.