Naturally Gifted teenagers?
Any advice would be helpful .My co worker has a daughter who is naturally gifted She completed 12th grade course at the age of 13 probably sooner if there was someone that would have picked this up sooner.The school system is to lazy to help this person grow and she is forced to go through the system like any other student her age..She is working at a hospital; as an intern and also working for a vet as well as going to vet schools in Arizona and she still is board because she learns quickly .She also ends up correcting teachers mistakes. Are there any programs in Pennsylvania that can help these type of teens get reconized and put with like minded teens and counsolers for guidence for continuing growth and put them on the road to success. I would hate to see her rot away in a school system that dose not reconize this talent and contact people that can help her excell.
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Well, it depends on the schools in your area; are you in an urban area or more rural? If you’re in a smaller, more rural area, there’s probably very little you can do. My son is very much like your friend’s daughter – at the age of 10 he’ll be in Algebra and 7th-8th grade science, by 13-14 he’ll be in pre-calc and AP biology and/or chem. He’s 9 right now, does some of my lower division college work, and mainly reads books that are 400 pages or more and on a 9th grade reading level. Honestly, I was unable to find suitable accomodations for him in the schools where we live, so I homeschool him. It does take time, it does take commitment, but it’s sooo good for him. He can learn at his own pace, research things as deeply as he wants, and take many courses that just plain wouldn’t be offered to him otherwise. Your friends may want to look into whether this is feasible – thousands of highly gifted kids are homeschooled around the world, not because their schools are bad, but because their schools are just plain not equipped to serve their kids.
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My Son is 14 and has had guidance from his school since he was recognised as being “Gifted and Talented”, he and other teens have been grouped together and are doing accelerated learning, which nurtures their talents, so much so that he has sat exams that are normally taken at 16. I don’t know if living in England makes a difference but I think that the school should have a similar system in your country. Kids who are not treated as gifted when they clearly are, will not be stretched and will not reach their full potential.
I think it is criminal that your friends teen is not getting the support from school and if I were her I would fight tooth and nail to establish a “Gifted and Talented” group in the childs school, I wonder how many others there are.
Good Luck
Kevin, Liverpool, UK.
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