On the one hand, gifted children have unique academic needs that may not be met in traditional school settings, but on the other, things like money, transportation, and complicated family dynamics can make it difficult for parents to provide their little ones with specialized education. A post on the popular ‘Am I the [Jerk]?’ subreddit has just sparked a debate about such challenges.

A mom shared that her gifted six-year-old daughter would have to attend a school two towns away to reach her potential, but the woman also added that such a long drive would simply be too much of a hassle for her. After getting into a fight with her husband about it, she turned to the internet, asking for an unbiased opinion on the matter.

This mother recognizes that her gifted 6-year-old daughter would benefit from attending a school with better resources

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

However, the nearest one is two towns away and the mom can’t find a way to drive there every day

Image credits: Edmond Dantès (not the actual photo)

Image credits: Robert Nagy (not the actual photo)

Image credits: MART PRODUCTION (not the actual photo)

Image credits: aitagiftedschool 

Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)

It’s good that the mom has identified her daughter’s giftedness, however, her refusal to do something about it sounds quite strange

“Giftedness is an innate ability to both detect and comprehend the world in complex ways that differ significantly from age-expected norms,” a leader in gifted education, Dr. Jim Delisle, said.

Common characteristics of exceptionally talented children include:

• Ability to comprehend material several grade levels above their age peers;
• Surprising emotional depth and sensitivity at a young age;
• Strong sense of curiosity;
• Enthusiastic about unique interests and topics;
• Quirky or mature sense of humor;
• Creative problem-solving and imaginative expression;
• Absorbs information quickly with few repetitions needed;
• Self-aware, socially aware, and aware of global issues.

Also, it benefits the family to identify a child’s giftedness because:

• It makes it easier to work out the right time for the child to start childcare, preschool, or school;
• The parents and their child’s teachers can work together on learning opportunities for the child;
• The child might be able to avoid some of the challenges of being gifted, like boredom at home or school;
• The parents can identify new learning opportunities in their child’s area of advanced interest or skill (for example, junior pathways or special programs for gifted young athletes or artists).

So the fact that the author of the post and her husband figured out that their daughter is gifted is really cool. Ideally, however, you’d also like to allow the child to make use of it.

Image credits: olia danilevich (not the actual photo)

Parents have a key role to play in helping their child understand what it means to learn differently from others

“People learn by converting information to knowledge. They may then elaborate, restructure or reorganize it in various ways. Giftedness is the capacity to learn in more advanced ways,” John Munro, who is a professor at the Faculty of Education and Arts at the Australian Catholic University, explained.

“First, these students learn faster. In a given period, they learn more than their regular learning peers. They form a more elaborate and differentiated knowledge of a topic. This helps them interpret more information at a time.”

“Second, these students are more likely to draw conclusions from evidence and reasoning rather than from explicit statements. They stimulate parts of their knowledge that were not mentioned in the information presented to them and add these inferences to their understanding.”

According to Munro, if an education system is to foster creativity and innovation, teachers need to recognize and value these theories and help these students convert them into a talent. They can respond to gifted knowing and learning in its multiple forms if they know what it looks like in the classroom and have appropriate tools to identify it.

It sounds like this six-year-old’s teachers did everything they could and, after understanding that she needs more, showed the parents the direction they need to take.

But the professor also believes that parents have a key role to play in helping their child understand what it means to learn differently from one’s peers, to value their interpretations and achievements, and how they can interact socially with peers who may operate differently. And while it’s hard to judge someone when you don’t have the full picture, the post suggests that its author needs to step up.

Most people think the mom should make a bigger effort

Some parents also shared their own similar stories

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