Who thinks it is ridiculous when someone says his/her child is bored in school?

[Anonymous]

I don't think anyone believes that being bored=being gifted. Kids at all levels of aptitude can get bored in school.

As far as gifted kids. Yes, they do get bored. I am sorry. To those of you who say your bright child does not get bored--just be thankful. They are obviously not so far out bright that they need more accommodation.

My DD will start kindergarten next fall and is already fluently reading. I can tell her expectations of kindergarten are too high. She thinks everyone will be reading big chapter books like her and will be ready to learn math. She is excited to go to school to learn and do work. We are trying our best to play up the play parts of kindergarten.

[Anonymous]

^ No. People are saying that learning to deal with boredom is a part of being in school. Doesn't matter how bright the kid is or not, boredom b/c the kid is soooo smart is not an excuse for bad behavior which is what the whole thread is about.

Of course kids are going to get bored at school sometimes. School isn't Disneyland.

[Anonymous]

Reading through this thread causes me to feel sympathetic toward teachers. All of the parents who apparently have genius kids! Reading and writing and doing math and expecting biophysics in Kindergarten, because yes, her snowflake *is* that gifted.

My guess is that most of the parents claiming their kids are gifted and not challenged really have rather regular kids, bright kids, but regular kids who, like kids do, get bored or fidgety or lose interest, et cetera.

Seriously, people are amazing.

And yes, it's disruptive if the entire class is doing math worksheets and your kid wants to be able to read a book on a different subject.

My concern isn't that all of these kids are bored in class; it's that all of these kids are going to grow up to be adults convinced they are special and better than everyone else.

[Anonymous]

And I just love the PP who is trying to play down the academics side of kindergarten to her 4 year old. I'd like to think that post was a joke, but I'm sure it isn't.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone believes that being bored=being gifted. Kids at all levels of aptitude can get bored in school.

As far as gifted kids. Yes, they do get bored. I am sorry. To those of you who say your bright child does not get bored--just be thankful. They are obviously not so far out bright that they need more accommodation.

My DD will start kindergarten next fall and is already fluently reading. I can tell her expectations of kindergarten are too high. She thinks everyone will be reading big chapter books like her and will be ready to learn math. She is excited to go to school to learn and do work. We are trying our best to play up the play parts of kindergarten.

This is my very favorite DCUM phrase. Yes, I've seen it before, and this ridiculous twit isn't the first poster to use it. I just love "your kid must not be as smart as mine" - the ridiculousness brings a smile to my face. Especially from a mom whose kid hasn't started school yet. You can't make this stuff up.

Signed, Mom who is a National Merit Scholar herself and whose kids were reading chapter books (take that!) in K and are now in magnets (why do I say this? to establish street cred about my kids being just as smart, or smarter, than yours)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone believes that being bored=being gifted. Kids at all levels of aptitude can get bored in school.

As far as gifted kids. Yes, they do get bored. I am sorry. To those of you who say your bright child does not get bored--just be thankful. They are obviously not so far out bright that they need more accommodation.

My DD will start kindergarten next fall and is already fluently reading. I can tell her expectations of kindergarten are too high. She thinks everyone will be reading big chapter books like her and will be ready to learn math. She is excited to go to school to learn and do work. We are trying our best to play up the play parts of kindergarten.

My son starts k in the fall too. He is full blown reading and can do addition and subtraction under 20. He is not bored.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid with an IQ of somewhere between 145-155. In a classroom where doodling is not allowed and the only allowable reading materials are the grade level stuff the teacher provides. My kid literally cannot continue to sit still and pay attention to material that he had already mastered early in the school year. He has access to new material only on science days. The rest if the time, yeah, he is BORED. His teacher won't allow him to quietly entertain himself, on the theory that if he gets to draw, his seat mates will want to as well. We've tried to move him to a second grade classroom for reading and math (he is a 6 yr old first grader) and were told it would be too disruptive. How do you expect him to stay engaged in those circumstances?

My 7 year old first grader has tested to the highest DRA they can use on a first grader in fairfax (a 28 which is the end of second grade). She can add, subtract, borrow, carry, all numbers up to millions. She knows half of the multiplication facts now too. She isn't ored in school...but your kid is? Behavioral problem, methinks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I don't think anyone believes that being bored=being gifted. Kids at all levels of aptitude can get bored in school.

As far as gifted kids. Yes, they do get bored. I am sorry. To those of you who say your bright child does not get bored--just be thankful. They are obviously not so far out bright that they need more accommodation.

My DD will start kindergarten next fall and is already fluently reading. I can tell her expectations of kindergarten are too high. She thinks everyone will be reading big chapter books like her and will be ready to learn math. She is excited to go to school to learn and do work. We are trying our best to play up the play parts of kindergarten.

This is my very favorite DCUM phrase. Yes, I've seen it before, and this ridiculous twit isn't the first poster to use it. I just love "your kid must not be as smart as mine" - the ridiculousness brings a smile to my face. Especially from a mom whose kid hasn't started school yet. You can't make this stuff up.

Signed, Mom who is a National Merit Scholar herself and whose kids were reading chapter books (take that!) in K and are now in magnets (why do I say this? to establish street cred about my kids being just as smart, or smarter, than yours)

Wow, did I strike a nerve. There is a poster on this thread. Maybe it is the OP? Maybe it is you? This poster is saying that her "bright" DD was very advanced and was not bored in school THEREFORE no child SHOULD EVER BE BORED IN SCHOOL because of mismatched academic level. This person is the twit. Kids have different personalities, and there are kids that are brighter than her DD. I am not sure why you are starting a pissing contest. I was NMSF and was not identified as gifted in school. DH was identified gifted. DD is **not yet** in K and reading two or three chapter books a day at 4.5. She is sitting next to me reading Ribsy right now. She is not only a fluent reader, she reads a lot and just loves it. Why do I say this? Because, you do not know who you are talking to, and maybe I do have a DD who is smarter than your kids. You just don't know, so why do you pretend to.

My only real problem is that DD truly thinks school is supposed to challenge her academically in Kindergarten. Maybe it is because a lot of the stories she reads herself are of second graders going to school. I don't know. I actually think she will be fine. I am thankful that she will be one of the youngest in her grade and the social scene will challenge her enough. But, if she has problems in kindergarten because she can already read fluently and add and subtract I am not going to ignore them.

[Anonymous]

NP. I feel sorry for your DD, 21:44. You should relax a little and not worry about how bored your daughter will be in K b/c she is reading chapter books at 4.5. Woo hoo!

Signed a poster whose reading level was tested that of a eleventh grader when she was five - liked biographies of famous composers at that age. No, I wasn't bored in K.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:NP. I feel sorry for your DD, 21:44. You should relax a little and not worry about how bored your daughter will be in K b/c she is reading chapter books at 4.5. Woo hoo!

Signed a poster whose reading level was tested that of a eleventh grader when she was five - liked biographies of famous composers at that age. No, I wasn't bored in K.

I would not worry. We are one of the least uptight parents here. We did not even teach her to read like a lot of parents I know. No kumon. No academic preschool. No bazillion activities. No educational toys and video games.

That is amazing how well you read at five. I really don't expect her to be bored in K. I don't think I ever said that. I just think DD is in for an awakening come fall, but I truly think she won't mind. Kindergarten can and should be so much fun, and a little boredom never hurt anyone.

[Anonymous]

^ I started reading at one/two? I don't remember a time when I could not read nor do I remember having any adult read to me as a child ever. I could always read my own bed time stories. I do remember that one motivation to read was b/c no one would read comic strips/books to me which I adored.

I'm sure your child will be happy and not bored in K. Reading/learning to read/etc is only a small part of k. She'll make lots of friends and have fun

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I just don't think really bright kids get bored. (I do think kids/parents use the term as an excuse when there are behavioral issues.)

Agreed. I have one friend who says her son is bored, so he acts out. There are lots of smart kids in class that DON'T act out.

Disagree.

One of my kids was one of those doing math/writing stories/reading chapter books kindergartners. He spent the whol first half of the year in constant trouble for being off task and acting up. My explaination to the teacher when trying to fix the problem was the classic "he's bored" I just had the wrong words to express what was happening. When in desparation I asked the kid why he wasn't doing the work and why he was always acting up, he look at me calmly and said "All they do all day is count, trace numbers and A says Ah, B says Buh. The teacher doesn't know that I already can read and write and do all those things, so if I just scribble anything on the paper, I can go play at centers". Basically, he had too much time on his hands after doing stuff he already knew, and would fill it with something he deemed more worthwhile. For some kids it's drawing, others reading, others daydreaming. For mine, it was running aroung acting like a stinker. Once that came out (and some testing was done) different strategies were adopted in the classroom that fixed the problem.

Boredom might not be the correct word, but the difference in ability compared to classwork as it relates to the kid's maturity can really create a situation where the result is a perfectly nice and bright kid really acting up.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:?

I think it's ridiculous because usually they are implying that their child is gifted or advanced. But, as more than one teacher has said to me, truly gifted children are never bored in school because they're always finding something to investigate. So, the "my kid is smart b/c s/he is bored" bromide doesn't actually signal gifted aptitude at all.

Good lord. What if the kid is not ALLOWED to investigate?

that doesn't actually happen, you know. kids when they finish their work are usually permitted -- indeed encouraged -- to go read, write, do a project, have center time, whatever.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have a kid with an IQ of somewhere between 145-155. In a classroom where doodling is not allowed and the only allowable reading materials are the grade level stuff the teacher provides. My kid literally cannot continue to sit still and pay attention to material that he had already mastered early in the school year. He has access to new material only on science days. The rest if the time, yeah, he is BORED. His teacher won't allow him to quietly entertain himself, on the theory that if he gets to draw, his seat mates will want to as well. We've tried to move him to a second grade classroom for reading and math (he is a 6 yr old first grader) and were told it would be too disruptive. How do you expect him to stay engaged in those circumstances?

My 7 year old first grader has tested to the highest DRA they can use on a first grader in fairfax (a 28 which is the end of second grade). She can add, subtract, borrow, carry, all numbers up to millions. She knows half of the multiplication facts now too. She isn't ored in school...but your kid is? Behavioral problem, methinks.

What does your daughter do when the rest of the class is working on skills she has already mastered? Is she expected to do the same worksheets and then just wait silently for others to catch up? What is her classroom like? I know my son's classroom environment. I don't know your daughter's. Does the teacher provide or allow for meaningful differentiation? Does the teacher allow your daughter to move on to something else? To read quietly? To draw? My son's teacher allows nothing but whatever the entire class is to be doing. No meaningful challenge. So yes - he is bored. The question I have for you is how is your daughter NOT bored? If she already knows what is being taught, how is it interesting or engaging for her?

(And note that I made it through my post without insulting your child or suggesting she is a problem. Try it sometime. It's possible.)

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:?

I think it's ridiculous because usually they are implying that their child is gifted or advanced. But, as more than one teacher has said to me, truly gifted children are never bored in school because they're always finding something to investigate. So, the "my kid is smart b/c s/he is bored" bromide doesn't actually signal gifted aptitude at all.

Good lord. What if the kid is not ALLOWED to investigate?

that doesn't actually happen, you know. kids when they finish their work are usually permitted -- indeed encouraged -- to go read, write, do a project, have center time, whatever.

I only wish you were correct. This has not been our experience.