Gifted 6 year old was Suspended from School Twice

by | Feb 26, 2016 | Blog | 0 comments

As a new mother Asha Kasoga was surprised when her son’s daycare teacher told her that her 21 month old might be gifted. As a toddler Isaiah was intrigued by words and language. At the age of 2 he taught himself how to read.

At the age of 5 Isaiah started Kindergarten. His teacher worked with him one on one to make sure he was challenged and didn’t get bored learning things he already knew. His first grade teacher was the polar opposite, she wanted to focus on his social and emotional development since he already knew the first grade material. The problem with that is some gifted children excel academically but have social and emotional challenges. Isaiah is functioning on a fourth grade level academically but will have a temper tantrum like a 2 year-old which has led his first grade teacher to suspending him twice. The school also sends fourth grade worksheets home for Isaiah. The problem with that is they expect him to know the rising and falling action of a story although no one has ever explained this concept to him.

Unfortunately for Kasoga most teachers aren’t trained in gifted education. The learning environment is not conducive for Isaiah. The school is actually trying to have him labeled as emotionally impaired, despite his impressive IQ. Kasoga plans to apply for scholarships to send her son to a private where he can work with trained teachers that will nurture his development both academically and socially.

The sad part about this is it is common for teachers to try to slap a label on children. This is especially common with young black boys being taught by white women. Children tend to act out in class when they are not being academically challenged, they’re bored, and often a school or teacher will quickly try to convince the parents to get the child tested for ADHD instead of seeing if the child is gifted.

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