Should highly gifted children skip grades?

Jump to Last Post 1-7 of 7 discussions (11 posts)
  1. arizonataylor profile image78
    arizonataylorposted 11 years ago

    Should highly gifted children skip grades?

    Academically, I see the value.  I wonder about the social aspect of skipping a grade.

    1. gmwilliams profile image84
      gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

      Yes, they should skip grades.  To have gifted children go the average grade promotion route would only do a grave disservice to them intellectually.  Children should go as far as their intellect takes them.  If a 7 year old child is intellectually suited for 6th grade, so be it.

      1. Kathryn L Hill profile image77
        Kathryn L Hillposted 4 years agoin reply to this

        roll ---> good grief.  I hope you are being the devil's advocate and you don't really believe what you say. A child who is seven should not be with twelve year olds in a sixth grade classroom. You think a child who is five years younger than the other students will be able to learn, absorb and succeed?  Will he be able to make real friends in a sixth grade classroom?
        No he won't. He will be very uncomfortable.

        Actually, In a (true) Montessori classroom, children of all ages work and learn together. The older students help the younger. But, public schools  will never place students of various ages in one classroom. Teachers are not trained or prepared to teach students of all different ages. Administrators would not be able to handle such "dis-organization."  Even split classes - with second and third graders in one classroom, for example - are very hard for teachers to manage. From what I witnessed, students do not learn as well in split classes.

        1. gmwilliams profile image84
          gmwilliamsposted 4 years agoin reply to this

          I am deadly serious...…...not being a devil's advocate at all.  I stand by what I have stated.

  2. profile image0
    ESLTeachersTalesposted 11 years ago

    I think this depends on the child's maturity. Intelligence and emotional maturity are two different things. There are ways to provide intellectual stimulation to bright kids, through pull-out programs or mentoring or independent projects, without taking them out of their same-age peer group.

    That said, I think that as a child matures, taking his or her own desire to skip or not to skip into account is appropriate. The child should have some help with that decision with a counselor who has some training in working with bright kids. The student would have to decide is more painful, boredom or social difficulties? I suspect each child would have a different answer depending on the child's personality.

  3. DrMark1961 profile image97
    DrMark1961posted 11 years ago

    I think it is much easier for young children. My daughter did it and enjoyed her new class and friends. I did it when I was much older and regretted losing my social group. It was definitely of value academically.

  4. lburmaster profile image72
    lburmasterposted 11 years ago

    Not skip. They should study during the summer or one semester and take the test to pass the next grade. That way it is fair for everyone to have a chance to pass a grade.

    1. gmwilliams profile image84
      gmwilliamsposted 9 years agoin reply to this

      They SHOULD skip a grade or two.  To make a gifted child be in a normative grade when he/she is suited for a more advanced grade isn't fair to the intellectual development of the child.

  5. Monisajda profile image61
    Monisajdaposted 11 years ago

    I also think it depends on maturity. My 3rd grader is now going to 4-5 grade mixed ages classroom and not only she is shining academically but she is also mature enough to have meaningful relationships with her friends who are older. If she were in her grade she would be bored with kids her age.

  6. gmwilliams profile image84
    gmwilliamsposted 9 years ago

    https://usercontent1.hubstatic.com/8822960_f260.jpg

    Definitely, a highly gifted child should be allowed to skip grades.  It is tantamount to child abuse to have a gifted children not skip a grade.  If a highly gifted child is forced to remain in a normative grade, he/she will become bored.  Also, a highly gifted child will be bored with same aged peers.  It is better for the child's intellectual development to permit him/her to skip a grade or two or three. 

    Better yet, if there is a school for highly gifted students or a gifted program within the regular school, enroll him/her into this gifted program.  Highly gifted children need to use all of his/her intellectual potential.  So many parents and our antiquated, backward educational system are loathe to let highly gifted students use their intellectual potential in favor of "being normal" which is a severe disservice to the student.  Place the student in an environment when he/she will INTELLECTUALLY SHINE!

  7. Mark O Richardson profile image82
    Mark O Richardsonposted 4 years ago

    For girls, I see no problem. But as a male, boys can be bullies, so if your boy is smaller, then he could get picked out if he is younger. However, maybe it's not as much as an issue now as it was decades ago.

 
working

This website uses cookies

As a user in the EEA, your approval is needed on a few things. To provide a better website experience, hubpages.com uses cookies (and other similar technologies) and may collect, process, and share personal data. Please choose which areas of our service you consent to our doing so.

For more information on managing or withdrawing consents and how we handle data, visit our Privacy Policy at: https://corp.maven.io/privacy-policy

Show Details
Necessary
HubPages Device IDThis is used to identify particular browsers or devices when the access the service, and is used for security reasons.
LoginThis is necessary to sign in to the HubPages Service.
Google RecaptchaThis is used to prevent bots and spam. (Privacy Policy)
AkismetThis is used to detect comment spam. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide data on traffic to our website, all personally identifyable data is anonymized. (Privacy Policy)
HubPages Traffic PixelThis is used to collect data on traffic to articles and other pages on our site. Unless you are signed in to a HubPages account, all personally identifiable information is anonymized.
Amazon Web ServicesThis is a cloud services platform that we used to host our service. (Privacy Policy)
CloudflareThis is a cloud CDN service that we use to efficiently deliver files required for our service to operate such as javascript, cascading style sheets, images, and videos. (Privacy Policy)
Google Hosted LibrariesJavascript software libraries such as jQuery are loaded at endpoints on the googleapis.com or gstatic.com domains, for performance and efficiency reasons. (Privacy Policy)
Features
Google Custom SearchThis is feature allows you to search the site. (Privacy Policy)
Google MapsSome articles have Google Maps embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
Google ChartsThis is used to display charts and graphs on articles and the author center. (Privacy Policy)
Google AdSense Host APIThis service allows you to sign up for or associate a Google AdSense account with HubPages, so that you can earn money from ads on your articles. No data is shared unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Google YouTubeSome articles have YouTube videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
VimeoSome articles have Vimeo videos embedded in them. (Privacy Policy)
PaypalThis is used for a registered author who enrolls in the HubPages Earnings program and requests to be paid via PayPal. No data is shared with Paypal unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook LoginYou can use this to streamline signing up for, or signing in to your Hubpages account. No data is shared with Facebook unless you engage with this feature. (Privacy Policy)
MavenThis supports the Maven widget and search functionality. (Privacy Policy)
Marketing
Google AdSenseThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Google DoubleClickGoogle provides ad serving technology and runs an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Index ExchangeThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
SovrnThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Facebook AdsThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Unified Ad MarketplaceThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
AppNexusThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
OpenxThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Rubicon ProjectThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
TripleLiftThis is an ad network. (Privacy Policy)
Say MediaWe partner with Say Media to deliver ad campaigns on our sites. (Privacy Policy)
Remarketing PixelsWe may use remarketing pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to advertise the HubPages Service to people that have visited our sites.
Conversion Tracking PixelsWe may use conversion tracking pixels from advertising networks such as Google AdWords, Bing Ads, and Facebook in order to identify when an advertisement has successfully resulted in the desired action, such as signing up for the HubPages Service or publishing an article on the HubPages Service.
Statistics
Author Google AnalyticsThis is used to provide traffic data and reports to the authors of articles on the HubPages Service. (Privacy Policy)
ComscoreComScore is a media measurement and analytics company providing marketing data and analytics to enterprises, media and advertising agencies, and publishers. Non-consent will result in ComScore only processing obfuscated personal data. (Privacy Policy)
Amazon Tracking PixelSome articles display amazon products as part of the Amazon Affiliate program, this pixel provides traffic statistics for those products (Privacy Policy)
ClickscoThis is a data management platform studying reader behavior (Privacy Policy)