Reply to If your child is gifted and an outlier, did you homeschool?

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Reply to "If your child is gifted and an outlier, did you homeschool?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It sounds nice in theory to place an outlier kid in regular school for the socialization.  Many outliers are not going to fit in, no matter what you do as a parent, and there are hazards both academically and socially if you put your outlier in regular school.

[b]On the social side, it's easy for an outlier to become the target of bullies or to be excluded, since they don't fit in.  Then, they're stuck wondering what's fundamentally wrong with themselves since everyone else has friends, but they can't make them.

On the academic side, never being challenged might lead toward perfectionism which in turn will lead to imposter syndrome down the road in college or grad school.  Or, they might not learn critical study and organizational skills.  Or, they never learn to deal with setbacks.[/b]

Regular school is great if you have a kid who is gifted but not an outlier.  It's great if your kid is only an outlier in one area that can be supplemented outside of school.  Homeschooling is the better choice if the kid is an across the boards outlier or if the kid is just not going to be able to socialize well with same age kids.  [/quote]

This is what happened with my child.  Socially, he was rejected by the other kids.  He rarely joined groups of kids and spent most of his time reading alone.  He typically skipped lunch and sat in a corner of the lunchroom to read unless I went to the school during the day to join him.  Academically, he was bored at school and was labeled as a behavioral problem.  
Even at home, he was kind of miserable and always in trouble for something that happened at school.

I finally pulled him out in fourth grade.  My only regret is that I didn’t pull him out sooner.  No kid should have a childhood like that.  I am positive that he socializes more at home, out in the community, playing with his siblings, and seeing friends than he ever did at school.

It does take a lot of time though.  I would say I spend at least 20 hours/week on school stuff for/with him.  Don’t do it unless you and your partner are both committed.  [/quote]

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