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Original poster

gifted kids v's teachers

39 replies

samantha1978 · 22/03/2011 23:13

what on earth are you supposed to do if you find that you have a gifted child and a hostile teacher? my son is officially four years ahead last year in reception we had a fantastic teacher who understood him and was prepared to cope.
this year his class is split between a very good teacher and one that seems to take offence at his brightness she even said that she would not put up his reading level because..he might run out of books... i will admit that he is not easy to teach but the lack of support is getting on my nerves and he's getting bored and disruptive what do you do?

OP posts:
HouseTooSmall · 24/03/2011 11:32

Gosh sieglinde you do have a bright pair. My lazy brain would struggle with Homer!!
My ds is bright but not outstandingly so. He is 5 and his reading is more advanced than his age. Occasionally sent back with books whose contents 'worry' him. Those I just send back and explain issue with teacher.

scaryteacher · 24/03/2011 11:51

Well, I wouldn't have let my ds read the blood and guts Warhammer books he reads now at 8, and even now at 15, he is not allowed 18 rated games or to see 18 rated films.

I read Jane Eyre at 10, 14, and 23 and it still bores me rigid!

I have a ds so 'whore dressing' fashion culture doesn't get a look in at my house. As long as he has clothes on, he isn't too bothered if they are M&S, or Tesco .

I read The Golems Eye etc and I am 16 + 29, so at this end it doesn't matter, but I never wanted to deal with the bad dreams if ds read something he was spooked by.

sieglinde · 24/03/2011 11:51

I dunno. They are and they aren't. They just never see a problem with big fat books. Both have had more problems with fear factors than sex.

scaryteacher · 24/03/2011 12:16

I don't have a problem with big fat books and nor does ds, and never did, but the content of some of the warhammer books is a bit graphic, and wasn't suitable for an 8 yo. It's the graphic blood and guts rather than anything else I think. I did let him have one 18 PS3 game called Heavy Rain and he said it was a bit intense and scary. I tend to go by the BBFC rating (and yes, they still rate games) rather than the PEGI rating though.

sieglinde · 24/03/2011 12:36

Again, dunno. I steer them away from most gaming, I'm afraid, though we do have some - including Dawn of War and Mass effect 1 and 2. Civilization IV is really scary - nuclear fallout that vanishes in five years.... in other words I sometimes worry more about the comfortably clean than the Scab Red pain in Warhammer figures.

madwomanintheattic · 24/03/2011 22:55

i do object to other parents deciding that call of duty whatever is ok for a group of 8yo boys (inc mine) to play though. particularly in the week that 3 of them have been given an in-school suspension for fighting... Hmm

scaryteacher · 25/03/2011 17:34

Some of ds's friends think I'm way too strict as I don't let him have these games.....but many of them think I'm way too strict anyway!

wheresthepimms · 26/03/2011 08:42

My DD10 was reading way above her age and for a long time I had to read a whole load of teenage novels as there was no way I was going let her read something that an 6 year old shouldn't be reading due to violence or sexual context. When she was 9 she read all the Percy Jackson novels, so when the film came out we let her and the younger DCs watch it (in the USA at the time and it was rated pg there) we learnt a valuable lesson, all film in our house are now screened by parents first as it took weeks to get all 4 sleeping again Sad All video games are played by DH first if their are age limits on them and they are ok for older but not younger ones to check if the younger ones can play them, however we don't have any war type games as my DCs don't like them as they are too real. My DCs have also been known to tell friends at their houses that they can't play that game as it's too old and mummy would be cross :)

madwomanintheattic · 27/03/2011 05:38

oo, pimms, my three loved all the percy jackson books, and even the 7yo watched the movie... i was a bit hesitant to start with, as she's a bit of a wuss, but it was fine. (she does however, still cry inconsolably at 'open season' when boog gets relocated.) Grin

that said, we watched 'grown-ups' last month (i think it was a 12) and now they surely must all know that the tooth fairy is mummy or daddy... but no-one is telling...

and my 11yo has discovered twilight.

wheresthepimms · 27/03/2011 11:51

madwoman yes my 10 year old discovered twilight last year when still only 9 so that was great sitting and reading through all the books before her as a friend had said the sexual content was not suitable. Although I let her read them as I didn't think there was much sexual content, think friend has not actually read them. Now I have seen the films to :)

The percy jackson film was a bit too scary for the 3 year old and the 6 year old(now 7) got very philosophical on us after it and couldn't sleep due to questions over death and where Percy's family was etc!!

My 7 year old knows the tooth fairy isn't real, his friend told him last year and he just plain comes out and asks for the money lets not go through the whole pillow thing, he did also tell my 8 year old that Santa was a coke advertising myth (not sure where he gets his info from but think he is my sneaky listen to adults one)

madwomanintheattic · 27/03/2011 16:21
Grin i have the most gullible children in the world.

when ds1 was 4 he announced in the car that santa wasn't real, and was shouted down by the other two. i've sort of given up now. i really have no idea whether the 11 yo has any idea or not. she spends her time crafting very elaborate stories to persuade the 7yo that it's all real... we don't do any myth-spinning these days, they just do it all on their own!

fivecandles · 27/03/2011 16:36

What I find increasingly is that books aimed at children/teenagers use an increasingly simple syntax and vocabulary even where their content is increasingly adult IYSWIM. When you look back at classic children's books like E Nesbit, Noel Streatfield, Susan Coolidge and Conan Doyle and the Narnia books you notice that even though they don't do sex, blood and guts the writing style is actually very sophisticated. You can see how it's not a huge jump from those to Jane Austen or even Dickens whereas it's a huge, huge leap from Jacqueline Wilson, Michael Morpurgo and Harry Potter author (name escapes me for some reason) in terms of writing style and vocabulary but not content IYSWIM. Point being that you don't necessarily have to go for more 'grown-up' books to challenge precocious children, you just have to go back in time.

squidgy12 · 27/03/2011 20:55

This reply has been deleted

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joencaitlinsmum · 28/03/2011 14:25

My DD is on the G&T programme and is ahead in her reading years amongst other subjects.

We found when she was a bit younger that she could "read" books far above what was suitable for her age but had no concept or understanding of the meanings behind them (comprehension). Maybe thats why the teacher mentioned in the original post suggested there was'nt enough suitable books as she can read but not really understand the comprehension as she is not mature enough?
Some of the reading tests they do now the child has to read a paragraph or two then answer questions, its easy to read parrot fashion less easy to understand what you have read!

Personally we went and talked to the teacher who recommended suitable books for our DS then we bought some and found which ones she was interested in.

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