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School Recommendation for Gifted Child
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Anonymous
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The individuals with IQs over 150 are not evenly distributed geographically throughout the US population. IQ is influenced by genetics, I would bet that a geographic distribution would show significant concentrations. The % of the US population that holds a Phd is probably low. From the base numbers one would probably assume that you might never meet another or more than a few Phds. There are at least twenty in my neighborhood that I know exist. Back in the midwest where I grew up, it was pretty rare.
While there is a range in the number of individuals who test at say 150 or 155 or 160, there is not a correlation against capability with a 1 to 5 to 10 point spread. Someone with 154 is rarer than someone at 150 but would they ever even perceive the difference between each other? Don't get me wrong, I believe parents should stay engaged with their school, insist that their children are challenged on mutliple fronts, and push for better programs. However, I don't think a "high" IQ score means that the child must be separated to a special school or that parents hold preconceived notions of their capabilities. The number on the test may very well differentiate them much less that your behaviors stemming from your interpretation of that number. |
Anonymous
A 150 on an older IQ test is comparable to a lower score today... |
Anonymous
As the pp of that post, I agree with your clarification about the distribution within a given population or demographic. The point spread is debatable, imo, and there are of course a myriad of other factors that are as or more important (including personality predisposition, social skills, etc.). So there is, of course, no simple answer. I will be making decisions for my child based on my understanding and observations of who she is as a unique individual - but also informed by my experiences as a "highly gifted" child who attended both general educational settings and programs for gifted children. That and the conversations I have had with other adults who were HG as children and the research I've done. That, of course, is all any of us can do. For instance, I want her to feel "normal" - and, in my experience, one way to help with that is to ensure that she is in educational settings that are nurturing and in which she is in the company of other children with similar capabilities. |
Anonymous
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Calling 130 "gifted" is just grade inflation. Sorry.
I've got a tested IQ in that range. I'm smart. I've achieved a lot. I'm not that special. |
Anonymous
| A 130 on an older IQ test is also comparable to a lower score today... |
Anonymous
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Actually, the 130 really is comparable over 40 years. 130 represents somewhere around top 5-3 percent of the distribution. Then and now.
Of course, the test has changed. It is renormed to keep 100 as the median and mean score. Had I taken the test today as a child, I would be growing up as a child, and I'd probably get the equivalent score. Top 3-5 percent of a classroom isn't so muckinfutch. There are tons of us out there. I wasn't that special then, and the "me" of today isn't that special either. Calling us "gifted" is like giving a trophy to all the kids. Very modern - we're all winners. |
Anonymous
The OP's question and the resulting discussion is particularly about highly gifted children, not simply gifted. |
Anonymous
| There is no one size fits all answer for gifted education. I am one of five kids, whose IQs range between 144-163. We all went through public schools in an area similar to Mont Co and were in the talented & gifted programs. We each had a very different experience. Some kids need a lot of one-on-one interaction; some work well on their own. Some kids will find a way to challenge themselves on any assignment; some kids will do the bare minimum to get an A. There are schools that cater to the lowest common denominator and that will not be a good fit for a gifted child, but a wide variety of school options can be a good fit for a gifted child. |
Anonymous
| Interesting article: http://www.cnn.com/2008/HEALTH/family/08/27/gifted.kids/index.html |
Anonymous
| My daughter has been a member of MENSA since the age of 3, has an IQ(recently tested again) in the 150s and had completed most of second grade as she was turning 6. If I had to do it all over again, I would have never allowed her to progress so rapidly. My child attended a private school outside of NYC for highly gifted children. I blame myself for watching her lose perspective on the real world. She was visiting the Guggenheim instead of learning how to share the sandbox. There were 3 teachers and 6 students in every class. She certainly felt gifted. She did not play well in our neighborhood with her peers. We thought that she was very special and SHE thought that she was very special. Fast-forward a few years. We moved to Montgomery County and decided to give public school a try since we were too late to apply to private. It was embarrassing how much my child had to learn about getting along with others. My heart broke for my kid who flew through the tests but never got invited to play. After several years of social groups and the reigning in of our tremendous pride, our daughter finally was able to work well in groups, come to consensus to solve a problem and have a birthday party where children actually wanted to come. My next child was born with normal intellect but significant physical challenges and LD issues. He was in and out of the hospital for his first year of life. I quickly learned about another kind of gifted. My son's smile lights up the world. He is an optimistic child who has had to overcome great obstacles. Everybody loves this boy who tries so hard, has a heart full of forgiveness and who wants to be a friend to all he meets. My boy is surely as gifted as my daughter and much more likely to run a company or be a leader in society. Lest you think I favor him over my daughter, most certainly not. I love my daughter, dearly. She has worked so hard to overcome her social problems and thanks me everyday for moving her out of the other school. I guess my point is that dedicated educational facilities for highly GT kids, should be looked at closely. Do they provide the "people skills" that will teach your child to work with all kinds of people in varied situations. Off my soapbox. Apologies for the length. |
Anonymous
| To the PP: What a beautiful post. A great reminder to all of us. Thanks for taking the time to write this. |
Anonymous
| Agree, great post 14.51. I was in a gifted program at school and then moved to another 'regular' school. I had a lot of catching up to do in other areas as well (social responsibility, relating to people, etc.). |
Anonymous
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OP, one of my kids has a very high IQ, the other was a premie and has an IQ in the 84%ile. The one with the lower IQ is prettier and more out going. The one with the high IQ is a bit introverted and always plays "safe". Guess which one will probably end up with more success in life? Sorry to put this spin on it, but I was reading an article in some magazine like the Economist that said the higher a woman's IQ (or maybe education), the less likely she is to marry and have children. I have seen that play out with my Harvard educated M.D. sister, no man, no kids. The most important thing to me is my kids. Not my advanced degrees. I just want my kids to meet and marry good people and have families.
I know that you have a son, but keep in mind that there are thousands of people with high IQ's, it is only the ones with personality that really make it. Sure it is nice to tell everyone about it, but please focus on his people skills. |
Anonymous
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to the 14:51 PP: Lovely post and thank you for sharing your circumstances.
I would like to comment that those circumstances aren't the same for every child, though. Our oldest child has a tested IQ at the 99.7th percentile (can't remember what the exact number was, but I believe in the 140s); he was reading at age two, doing 3rd-grade math in his head at age four, etc., etc. This was all innate; neither we nor his preschool teachers taught him these academic items. He definitely needed work socially, sort of like your daughter, although perhaps not that extreme. We have always believed that his social development was critical and worked hard to find a private school that would be able to develop him in that regard (and they have done and are doing wonders with that)--at the same time, however, we also want him challenged academically/cognitively. It would have been torture for a child who was already subtracting fractions in his head and multiplying two-digit numbers to have had to sit in a kindergarten class where they were learning to add 2 + 2 and count to 100; it would have been torture for him to have to sit while the class learned the alphabet when he was reading upper-elementary-level books, etc. No amount of social development would have compensated for him wasting all his time in school from a mental standpoint--indeed, a child who is completely bored in school won't generally want to cooperate or develop socially, and honestly, who would blame him. Also, a child who needs work socially often mainly just needs to find a friend or two who is an intellectual peer, so schools that have more than a few gifted kids are often better socially for HG kids (I'm sorry that wasn't the case for your daughter, but it often is). My point is that social/emotional/getting along with others and cognitive/academic challenge should not be mutually exclusive; it is not an either-or situation. Both are critically important. We looked until we found a private school that is working on both--developing him socially, but also tailoring the curriculum to allow him to progress at math at his own pace, for example, and read books that are not what the rest of the class is learning to read. We feel very fortunate to have found an environment like this, believe me, because the public schools absolutely weren't going to help us on either front. |
Anonymous
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pp, my son's IQ is 145 or so, another test showed 150, and he can not read, and can not add. He is 5. We have not taught him, and he shows no interest. At three he was a firefighter, now a super hero. He "cures" animals, and is working on a two wheeler. He hates veggies, and does not want to brush his teeth. I will teach him how to read when the other kids are learning.
Was your son a fire fighter? |