Misuse of the word 'gifted' in school report?

[Ginmummy1]

DD is finishing Y1. In her end-of-year report it stated that DD is a ‘gifted mathematician’. At the 'open' parents' evening yesterday I mentioned to DD’s teachers that we were surprised at this comment, as we’d have said language/literacy was her strong suit. One of the teachers said “to be honest, she’s gifted at everything”.

I think they’re misusing the word ‘gifted’. They are experienced teachers in a ‘good’, ordinary, one-form-entry primary. DD is bright and finds it easy to concentrate – she is a good ‘fit’ for school. She’s also an only child, with parents who were (fairly) high achievers and who encourage learning in all directions (fussy about vocab etc!)

My question (or conversation starter) is how easy is it to distinguish, early on in primary, between a child that has been brought up in an active home learning environment, and true giftedness?

I stress that I’m not looking for people to ‘reassure’ me that DD is ‘gifted’. I truly think she’s very able and an all-rounder (like I was), but not ‘gifted’ (or, at least, not demonstrably so at this stage).

depends on the "deprivation"

Some of the most deprived children in the country are refugees, who are amongst some of the highest attainers.

It is difficult to distinguish between good in a class of 30 and truly gifted when the term is bandied about so much.

My dd is truly gifted in music, yet another mum at her old school was told that her dd was gifted because she had learned to play 3 notes on a trumpet when they did whole class music lessons. She was on a list for G&T in music.

The mum thought they were both the same standard, and it's unfair to let a child and parents believe they are gifted if they just happen to be the only one in the class who can do something a little bit better than their peers.

gillybeanz it really isn't. And "truly gifted" is bollocks. I think the correct expression you're after is "My child is better than yours".

gifted because she had learned to play 3 notes on a trumpet when they did whole class music lessons. and maybe your child has had hundreds of pounds and dozens of hours input, but would not , in fact, have played three notes correctly on the trumpet during a whole class lesson. This other child may in fact be more gifted than yours.

Exactly user

How can you measure G&T when it is bandied about so easily.
Of course my dd was a better musician, but my comments aren't given in a sneery way, more of an agreement that the term really doesn't mean anything ito being able to use it as a measure.
Whose child is the best wasn't really the point.

OK gilly, sounds like across this gifted and talented thing

Seeking, I don't think a child can attend a specialist school for gifted children without being "truly gifted"
Your comment is truly unpleasant .

and I think you will find these "elements come under the heading of " normal teaching" which has been going on for centuries,
In some cases yes, although I'm sure any of us with experience of many schools can think of several times we've seen this lacking so as with any good practice it is good to reinforce it and promote it, rather than throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

gilly your comments are petty and ill-informed. I can assure you that gifted and talented is a real thing and not just applicable to your little snowflake. Gee, even some non-white, non-middle class kids are gifted shock horror

The government removed Gifted & Talented from schools. A real shame, as it means that all lessons should be planned with extension tasks for those children who can go further.
Most schools teach to the middle ground.
If you have a talented child in any subject, you will find the state education system very lacking. I would encourage you to seek ways of helping them. Get a subscription to Aquila Magazine, best thing we ever got told by a supply Teacher in Year 1 at Primary. Specifically aimed at children who need more input, because they can take it. It's written for older children, but still get it. Ignore the age thing. If you have a gifted child, it's a great magazine. Also see if there are any groups in your area that run Gifted & Talented Workshops. We found one local to us. Was great. Did lots of Saturday workshops, with similar minded children.
Don't rely on schools to help your child all the time, they don't have the resources or the time any more. It's all about tick boxes. Feel sorry for the teachers, it's not their fault. It's lack of funding and large classes. Some teachers do still plan their lessons with extension tasks if you're lucky.

Seeking
I know gifted children from all over the world from Russian Oligarch to sink estate. Why on earth you'd think I believed them to be the preserve of white mc, I have no idea.

We will have to beg to differ on the label of G&T being appropriate for what used to be termed top of the class.
When my dd friend was top of the class in Maths and labelled G&T she got absolutely nothing extra from her school, nor did the girl who was best at running, nor my dd. All of them on some register that meant nothing.

The girl who played trumpet and her parents, it did them no favours either. As when the G&T children from wider opportunities were invited to join the first county ensemble for xmas concert, they hadn't got a clue and they were nowhere near their peers who had been playing for the same length of time, who really shone early on and joined the ensemble after 6 months. These weren't labelled G&T by the way.
So, as I said unmeasurable.
Finally on a personal note "snowflake" is not a term I'd associate with my dd, it would more likely be "prop forward".

Splodgy
I totally agree, you can't rely on a state school to provide anything extra now the cuts have been made. You need to find solutions and support for yourself. I do think under the current situation time and resources need to be concentrated on those at the bottom.

I agree that it's very hard for a teacher to tell at reception age the difference between normal high ability and gifted. Not unless the teacher really started testing the full scope of the child, which wouldn't be good for anyone at 5.

I also agree top 10%, even on national level isn't gifted. Just top set. And it does nothing but confuse the issue. Eg when discussing the fact the curriculum alone doesn't cover the very top of the ability range, you'll always get some people saying it does because their dc is exceptionally able and gifted and found l6 at ks2, or a* at ks4 challenging. And if you try and point out it isn't that group you're thinking of, then they immediately assume you are referring to a super genius who could do a PhD at 9.

seeking incase you hadn't noticed this is the g&t section. It's the one place, quite often including rl, where it is ok to mention that your dc is actually genuinely gifted, or an outlier without being accused of boasting, or being a mad hot housing pushy parent or being accused of putting other dc's achievements down. So on this part of the forum gilly doesn't need to keep quiet about the fact her dd has a genuine talent.

Thanks for informing us that not all g&t dc are white & mc. I'd always been confused as to how dd managed to do so well when my income and her colouring didn't meet the criteria for gifted. Explains too how none Caucasian countries manage to also have g&t people

Im in Ireland and from 1st class on (aged 7/8) the kids do a standardised test in English and maths each year. They get a STen (score out of ten) which marks them against all the kids in the counrty in that class so not just being scored against their own class.
All my kids are very good at maths but much of that stems from the fact that we introduced maths into their lives from a very young age. We do mental maths in the car, play snap, talk about angles and shapes etc. They use addition, subtraction, fractions in their everyday life so it has become second nature to them.

Both my ds7 and dd9 did this standardised test this year and both scored 9, roughly about 8% of the students will get this score (ds7 completed the test in about 1/4 of the time allotted)
My ds7 was described as having exceptional mathematical ability in his school report. I can readily see the difference between him and my other two kids in terms of mathematical ability. He grasps the concepts much quicker and makes connections easily where the others would need more time. I think the phrase supergran58 used - "natural mathematician" is more appropriate to him than the one the school used. We don't have G&T programmes here and DS7 teacher doesn't give him extension work. I use online materials to give him extension work but its difficult to avoid moving on through the curriculum.
He is years ahead of his peers partly because of the early introduction to maths and partly because of a natural ability but I wouldn't describe him as gifted.