Why aren't there schools for G and T children?

[DiracGirl]

After being told that our my nephew's abilities out stripped those of his class mates my sister began to panic.
There was no way she could afford the fees of an independent school and we don't live in the kind of place that offers a choice in state school.
Many, and there are many, of the independent schools in the area offer little in the way of help and none of them provide grants to 5 year olds.
This angers me.
Why isn't there...something!
These children are our future scientists, doctors, inventors and, well, anything they want really.
It's about time the government realised, these children have special needs too. They deserve a right to a standard of education comparable with their intelligence.
If you put a child with the classic idea of special needs in a class of "ordinary" children and ignored them there would be outrage. So why is it acceptable to waste the talents of the gifted?
Should a child with intelligence greater than that of his or her peers be left to rot in a dull stupor whilst the rest catch up??
I've spent hours trawling the Internet. ISC, Mensa, direct gov, the lot. All I can find is a poor child gets a nod of appreciation for making the government stats look good at exam time and not much else.
I know there are those of you who scoff and say "a bright child will do well anywhere!" but is that the best we can offer...do well???
How about getting the best from them? Or helping them grow to THEIR full potential? Challanging them?
Is it so much to ask?
Enrichment classes? A few hours to feel segregated? To be labelled a swat, geek or freak?
I say give them an a place they can be given the education they need, with like minded children and well trained staff that can cope.
There are a few gifted children in my family and I'm sure I'll be having the same rant in a 2 years when DS is in the same position, although I have planned for this contingency and have looked into independent schooling (13 years on value baked beans) but I only have one child, my sister has three. I don't need to show you the maths to explain a lottery win is in order.

You wouldn't have to be g and t to be depressed and despairing in a situation like that.

"The more intelligent a child is, the tougher an unstimulating environment will be (and the greater the issue of wasted potential)."

That is so extraordinarily wrong I am lost for words.

Oh come on, seeker. There are plenty of people who are happy living in the same town all their lives, doing quite simple jobs, and content with a tight-knit community. And others need huge amounts of stimulation, ever broader horizons and new challenges. This is hardly rocket science.

would have to be boarding schools. I rmeember reading something about schools of this type in the US. They do seem to have them but not sure how they assess potential - IQ test and interview I think. Seems these kids if they are truly exceptionally gifted have felt like a fish out of water in their previous schools and do take to this type of "genius academy" as someone I think put it below.

I don't know any dc like this personally so I don't know. G & T at school doesn't mean much I don't think, just a bit beyond the rest of the class. There are dc who are very different in the way they learn though and really do suffer in a regular class - no real knowledge from my personal experience but have read about them. I met a mother who had this problem with her ds but not her dd. Dd was ok at regular school, ds was not. Head advised her to just leave him alone at home as much as possible, he would teach himself. She and her dh both worked full-time. It was very diff for her, she could not afford an independent boarding school for specially gifted dc which did exist in her country. Apparently the govt there will pay for these dc with a very high IQ to attend special boarding schools overseas if nothing is available for them at home.

So problem does exist and it is a problem for those families whose dc are so much faster than others. THey are miserable at regular schools it seems - and kick up as a result. This boy was even suicidal aged 11.

"others need huge amounts of stimulation, ever broader horizons and new challenges"

These people are extroverts, not necessairaly G&T.

No that's not the definition of extroversion. Extroversion is needing to be around other people.

""others need huge amounts of stimulation, ever broader horizons and new challenges"

Sounds like the definition of a child to me!

Extroverts need stimulation from something that is outside of themselves in order to be happy (as in to turn outside rather than intraverts who 'turn inside'). Usually they are social and gregarious and love to be with people but that is not the definition.

My children are on the G and T register and one is probably actually "Gifted" or so we were told when she was 3. None of them have ever needed anything outside of state school education. They have been given lots of extra support and do work at secondary level.

The reality is there are a very small number of trully gifted children and some of them can be identified at an extraordinarily early age.

I spent a lot of time with my freind's son when I was pregnant ( because I had to spend so much of it at home, and she needed to work extra hours to cover my work).

He was very charming and articulate. We used to sit outside discussing all manner of things. We would read books in tandem, or he would solve maths puzzles. He was not yet three.

As time went on he fitted in less and less with his peer group and was moved up a year. My friend refused to allow further acceleration because he was still so young physically and emotionally.

Yes, he could teach himself many things...certainly he taught himself to read/write/solve complex maths/speak several languages/play several instruments...but it wasn't enough.

He needed to be around others who he could learn from. Who he could have proper discussions with.
He became very depressed.

He had a super-supportive family and a fab primary school but it wasn't enough.

He was asked to attend a special school in the States, and I went out there with my friend and her DS but ultimately she settled on a free place in a highly selective day school in London who have arranged day release places at universities.

It has been a very hard road for my friend and her DS.

Jajas we are all proud parents so of course our DCs are the best thing since sliced bread!

Personally I would say my DC is showing signs of having half a brain and I remain optimistic that one day he'll actually learn to use it!

Jajas - I'm sure your children are some of nicest on MN, with such a nice mother as a role model!

And I know you also know that what is important is helping your DC to find the niche in the world that is right for them, not a life that is supposedly the highest status.

cortina
I agree that NAGTY wasn't a good scheme for all. Nothing is. There isn't a blanket solution. However, the G&T identification came as a great relief after a disastrous so-called 'excellent' primary school where DC was bored witless (and very lonely) while the staff concentrated on getting everyone up to average SAT standard.
I also agree that children change. The research you quote backs up the research which led to the demise of 11+. I taught many 11+ 'failures' through to A-level.

campion The social skills blossomed after she left that particular primary school. One year at another primary school - which encouraged the pursuit of excellence for its own sake rather that chasing SAT results (which were also exceptionally good)- followed by the comp. gave her the confidence to let her real personality come to the fore.

Being happy at whatever school they're in is what really matters. That coupled with supportive parenting will nurture what gifts they have.

jajas my friend would call it a double edged sword on a good day, a curse on a bad day.

Accommodating her son's intellect has been difficult. It remans ongoing. Should he go to university early for example? Should she allow him to attend MIT at sixteen?

She is a perfectly normal Mum with other children...who finds herself living with a junior Einstein.

There are so very few children that are actually that gifted, so it is hard to put measures in place for them. It does sounds like a curse. My so called gifted child could read books do complex maths and 3 etc and was like a mini adult in many ways. Thank goodness her development did slow a little and she is fine in school although ahead of her piers.

Very good advice from swallowed a fly and litchick - someone needs to paste it all over certain G&T threads!

there are charitable places for children at Public/Independant Schools - the Government made sure of that - if the State system in your area doesn't have the facilities to help then try them instead. Radley is incredibly good for pushing children to their full potential. A friend of mine sent her eldest DS there - she home educated until he was 8 - he is now doing incredibly well at University and going against her high hopes of an amazingly academic career in favour of following his father into the Army...
My younger sisters fared incredibly well in the State system, whereas my two younger brothers and myself were sent off to boarding school because we were hideously dyslexic and the local state couldn't help - one brother came out of the local primary at 11 with a reading age of 5 - he now has a good degree behind him and is a very successful Art Dealer.
Sadly it is the luck of the draw with schools - but sitting back and complaining is not very effective, one must really push and communicate with teachers throughout

My DD spoke in complete sentences VERY early. Everyone predicted great things for her, brilliance in academic achievement, etc etc etc.

She is now a normally inarticulate almost-teen. She is able enough at school but by no means top of her class. Jajas like you I wouldn't say my DCs are "very bright" - they do fine and are happy and that's all I ask!

For ongoing education, I think all we can do as responsible parents is keep an eye on our children's development, help them to stay happy and engaged in and out of school, and do what we can to stretch them where we can. Which is no mean feat to keep on top of in a busy life, and it does make me wonder about the support needed outside of schools... but that's another thread.

UKcanuck - I was one of those children who spoke in complete, correct sentences very early and learned to read super early and was put up a year at school, despite being a June baby.

I did well right throughout primary school etc and then less well, comparatively speaking, as a teen. I had a very late, slow puberty, however, and I wonder whether this had something to do with it. I did very well again at university and graduate school - maybe my growth had caught up by that point?

Dd2 was able to read quite beautifully at 4 years old. She was a free reader at 5.

She is now 7, and tbh most of the rest of the class have now caught up.

In fact, because her writing was not too great at the beginning of Y3, she was been moved down to set 2 (of 5). Being moved down was the best thing for her, because she had assumed that because she reads beautifully that writing was not important. She was kept in the top set for maths, which pleased me, because set 1 and 2 do sometimes get different work in maths.

BTW Jaja's, dd1 is quite average, so there are some people with children on MN that are average. Normally when someone sets up a thread entitled "Is your child average?" people come on and say yes, they are struggling with this and that. Dd1 is not struggling with anything in particular, but neither is she in the top (or bottom) sets. She will achieve if she works hard, but is not naturally brilliant - a bit like an average person really .