Any teachers out there???? Help!!!

[blackbird]

:( My son has not long turned 8 years old, and he is driving me mad, he constantly asks questions about everything, (very involved stuff we are talking about here) which basically blows my brains, he could tell anyone what is the fastest train, car , plane, tells you the speeds they travel, he talks about the galaxy, light years, etc, he knows about weather changes, and so forth, but the last straw was last night, was when he told me about atoms for nearly an hour :zzz: I know I should be more interested, but its so beyond me,
the problem is he is not happy now going to school, he luckily has lots of friends, and is extremely sporty, (bleongs to a hockey club, and football, and running club,) which he decided to do all by himself (which the school encourages) he took an assembley at school the other day..yep..he spoke to over a 130 kids (all juniors) up to the age of 11yrs, he spoke about his sport and how many trophies he's won, it was a 15min talk, but to a child of 8yrs it must have been like a lifetime standing there doing this, his headmaster is pleased and so is his class teacher, (no problem there) but goes for extra lessons in handwriting because basically his handwriting is awful, this is where the problem comes in, he has it all up top, but because of his handwriting is being held back from getting it down on paper, (im sure this is the issue)
So I asked him why didnt he want to go to school, he wouldnt say, but I had him sobbing all the way to school, and it broke my heart.

Well Ive found out since that he feels bored in class, I think he is very bright, but he isnt getting the help and encouragement that he needs to succeed,

Anyone have any suggestions? I dont want him to start rebelling and mess around in class, he's begining to get into trouble for minor things, which is totally out of character, im thinking of finding a school where he will be given the tutoring that he needs, but do they exsist????:confused:

Or do you think it is best to wait for him to start secondary school, he is in year 4 now.

[mara]

I teach at 14-18 years old students. I think for your son you should find some extra school activities according with what he likes.
That will help you to keep him buzy and he will discover new oportunities.

[blackbird]

I teach at 14-18 years old students. I think for your son you should find some extra school activities according with what he likes.
That will help you to keep him buzy and he will discover new oportunities.
:up: thankyou Mara, the thing is he does so much after school (all of his own choosing) we are not pushy parents, but he seems to be lacking so much in class, trouble is he is flying ahead and needs more stimulation,:confused:
Maybe your right though, maybe if we got him to join a science club or something it might be another outlet for him, but where would he for this at only the age of 8yrs?:confused:
thanks anyway Mara..you have your hands full then!:) your brave!

this would be me teaching 14-18 yr olds....:nervous: :nervous: :nervous: LOL.

[Al-ghurabah]

talk to him about islam god and tis life and hereafter.

[Mary Carol]

:( My son has not long turned 8 years old, and he is driving me mad, he constantly asks questions about everything, (very involved stuff we are talking about here) which basically blows my brains, he could tell anyone what is the fastest train, car , plane, tells you the speeds they travel, he talks about the galaxy, light years, etc, he knows about weather changes, and so forth, but the last straw was last night, was when he told me about atoms for nearly an hour :zzz: I know I should be more interested, but its so beyond me,
the problem is he is not happy now going to school, he luckily has lots of friends, and is extremely sporty, (bleongs to a hockey club, and football, and running club,) which he decided to do all by himself (which the school encourages) he took an assembley at school the other day..yep..he spoke to over a 130 kids (all juniors) up to the age of 11yrs, he spoke about his sport and how many trophies he's won, it was a 15min talk, but to a child of 8yrs it must have been like a lifetime standing there doing this, his headmaster is pleased and so is his class teacher, (no problem there) but goes for extra lessons in handwriting because basically his handwriting is awful, this is where the problem comes in, he has it all up top, but because of his handwriting is being held back from getting it down on paper, (im sure this is the issue)
So I asked him why didnt he want to go to school, he wouldnt say, but I had him sobbing all the way to school, and it broke my heart.

Well Ive found out since that he feels bored in class, I think he is very bright, but he isnt getting the help and encouragement that he needs to succeed,

Anyone have any suggestions? I dont want him to start rebelling and mess around in class, he's begining to get into trouble for minor things, which is totally out of character, im thinking of finding a school where he will be given the tutoring that he needs, but do they exsist????:confused:

Or do you think it is best to wait for him to start secondary school, he is in year 4 now.

Bad handwriting is not unusual for boys.

Can he turn in any assignments using the computer or word processor?

My own son does and it helps him get the content across since his handwriting frustrates even me when reading.

He sounds like a bright student that is frustrated by being in a classroom that does not stimulate him.

Unless you have the luxury of enrolling him in a private school that could give him a more individualized curriculim, see if there are any classes available for gifted children in your school system.

If not, maybe a weekly class/field trip at a science museum might offer him what the schools do not.

[.: Anna :.]

Yeah all I can really think of is like private school... although the price is the obvious problem. Maybe with his intelligence he *may* be able to get some kinda scholarship? Hmm cos starting him in secondary wit the older kids will prob leave him in a school without friends, because of the huge age gap. Well it's only a few years but I think he would stick out too much, and he could b bullied because of his young age etc, as u dnt usually see 8 year olds in secondary school.

The main prob in schools is that they are restrained by the national curriculum and big class numbers so the teacher prob can't give him individual lessons and stretch his brain with harder tasks :S

Private schools, so I have heard, don't have that problem so my best suggestion is to find what is availble in ur area n look into scholarships? mayb something out there for "gifted children"

[hugofuchs]

There are options, depending on your financial situation. I really need to make a long post on this, but I'm going to work now, and it is one of my long days, so I'll put up a full post on the morrow.

[blackbird]

Bad handwriting is not unusual for boys.

Can he turn in any assignments using the computer or word processor?

My own son does and it helps him get the content across since his handwriting frustrates even me when reading.

He sounds like a bright student that is frustrated by being in a classroom that does not stimulate him.

Unless you have the luxury of enrolling him in a private school that could give him a more individualized curriculim, see if there are any classes available for gifted children in your school system.

If not, maybe a weekly class/field trip at a science museum might offer him what the schools do not.

Thanks so much, I was thinking about a private school, in the uk, the average class size is 30, which really isnt ideal,in a privtae school they can be as small as 9 pupils to a class! but i have a feeling that a private school is going to be so expensive, but when he starts secondary school hecould go in the UK state "grammer" schools, which only take bright kids, so maybe as you say, i will give him extra stuff to do at home, and then hope he gets through the next two years without too many problems, thankyou for your support:up:

[blackbird]

Yeah all I can really think of is like private school... although the price is the obvious problem. Maybe with his intelligence he *may* be able to get some kinda scholarship? Hmm cos starting him in secondary wit the older kids will prob leave him in a school without friends, because of the huge age gap. Well it's only a few years but I think he would stick out too much, and he could b bullied because of his young age etc, as u dnt usually see 8 year olds in secondary school.

The main prob in schools is that they are restrained by the national curriculum and big class numbers so the teacher prob can't give him individual lessons and stretch his brain with harder tasks :S

Private schools, so I have heard, don't have that problem so my best suggestion is to find what is availble in ur area n look into scholarships? mayb something out there for "gifted children"

Your right there Anna, the class sizes are too big, my daughter has reading and writing problems, (she's dyslexic) and the class is too big for her, and then you have my son who is very bright, but also needs the attention, :(

[blackbird]

There are options, depending on your financial situation. I really need to make a long post on this, but I'm going to work now, and it is one of my long days, so I'll put up a full post on the morrow.:up:

thankyou!!!

[Nawar]

.....I know a teacher....she has come across children, just as you describe....getting bored in class, and then start to get in to trouble...and these children are often those who are far more bright then the rest of the pupils in the class......he is getting bored because he picks up the work very quickly and then doesnt know what to do !!!! ...You can try to bring him forward a year, however he may have to do tests and things..or you can hire a tutor to give him extra lessons outside of school ???? ...Im sure there are other options too....

Talk to his teachers about it also,they can give you their input, and what they think of the situation...

[a mu-min]

talk to him about islam god and tis life and hereafter.

:up: good suggestion, who knows he might become a muslim....one day:)

[muslim warrior0]

blackbird i always new der would be a 16 yr old lad with a kid...

[marzipan]

Is handwriting the only problem? How good is he at reading and spelling?

Does he have trouble doing other things with his hands, such as unscrewing bottle tops, tying laces or doing up buttons? If so, he might have dyspraxia. Dyspraxic children are often of normal or above average intelligence but have some problems adjusting to school because of poor motor skills.

[blackbird]

Is handwriting the only problem? How good is he at reading and spelling?

Does he have trouble doing other things with his hands, such as unscrewing bottle tops, tying laces or doing up buttons? If so, he might have dyspraxia. Dyspraxic children are often of normal or above average intelligence but have some problems adjusting to school because of poor motor skills.

Hi! he has poor handwriting, but it is gradually improving, the teacher thinks this maybe because he is trying to do his work too quick to get onto the next piece, his co-ordination is very good as it goes, he is a good tennis player, and does well in Hockey and Football, so there seem's little worry in that way, but I think he would like to have time to discuss his ideas with his teacher, but because its not part of the national curriculum his teacher is bound to get what the Gov want done in class time, but when it boils down to weighing out ingredients for cakes, it bores him silly, he'd rather be making a working model of a space rocket LOL.

Regards reading, thats fine, he can pick up books, he's average on this, and spelling is okay (when they can read it) lOL, maybe he will become a doctor..they have terrible handwriting lOL.

I think your all right in a way, I think its time to discuss this with his teacher again, and see if there is anything more they can offer him,

thankyou for all your help:up:

[blackbird]

:up: good suggestion, who knows he might become a muslim....one day:)


:) younever know;)

[blackbird]

.....I know a teacher....she has come across children, just as you describe....getting bored in class, and then start to get in to trouble...and these children are often those who are far more bright then the rest of the pupils in the class......he is getting bored because he picks up the work very quickly and then doesnt know what to do !!!! ...You can try to bring him forward a year, however he may have to do tests and things..or you can hire a tutor to give him extra lessons outside of school ???? ...Im sure there are other options too....

Talk to his teachers about it also,they can give you their input, and what they think of the situation...

I think you have hit the nail on the head, this is exactly like him, Im going to have a chat with them ( the school) and see what they can come up with:up:

[blackbird]

blackbird i always new der would be a 16 yr old lad with a kid...

LOL, I just can't help but like you M/W,:rolleyes: though sorry to say, that if you had read my post, my son is 8yrs, if I were sixteen ..oh LOL..work it out:D (i WILL LET YOU INTO A SECRET, IM A SHE):D

[carol_au]

Hi Blackbird,

I've only just had time to pop into Ummah after a few days away, and just read this post.

Have you ever considered scouts as an option for him? I am a scout leader and look after the age group of your son. He is Cub age and you would find all the things you are looking for in Cubs

Challenge, Leadership training and plenty of small group mentoring with leaders (every group of 24 cubs are broken up into small group of 6 children).

The lovely thing about cubs is the badge work which allows the child to decide what things they are interested in and then participate in many activities that will challenge them in their area of interest.

You said

it bores him silly, he'd rather be making a working model of a space rocket LOL.



and this is the sort of thing we do all the time with our Cubs.. and you are right.. they love it!!

There is plenty of leadership training potential as each six has one youth member who is learning how to lead and mentor the others in his/her six.

I personally have seen many children become so motivated at school by their involvement in scouts and best of all, you can join a sponsored group so if you want him to belong to a Muslim Scout Group I'm sure you will find one (or your local masjid can organise one and as sponsor decide how it will operate. Religious sponsored scout groups tend to be very much encouragers of the children following the faith of the sponsoring group. If you are not worried about a specific muslim group, there will be plenty of groups in your area.

If you are interested, I see you are in England, so try this link for information, ideas and your closest groups.

http://www.scouts.org.uk/local/index.html (locations in the UK)

BTW.. if anyone is interested.. there are scout groups all over the world.. even in Middle Eastern countries.

Check out your local scout group in your own country for more information

Hope this interests someone

Carol_au

[blackbird]

Hi Blackbird,

I've only just had time to pop into Ummah after a few days away, and just read this post.

Have you ever considered scouts as an option for him? I am a scout leader and look after the age group of your son. He is Cub age and you would find all the things you are looking for in Cubs

Challenge, Leadership training and plenty of small group mentoring with leaders (every group of 24 cubs are broken up into small group of 6 children).

The lovely thing about cubs is the badge work which allows the child to decide what things they are interested in and then participate in many activities that will challenge them in their area of interest.

You said

it bores him silly, he'd rather be making a working model of a space rocket LOL.



and this is the sort of thing we do all the time with our Cubs.. and you are right.. they love it!!

There is plenty of leadership training potential as each six has one youth member who is learning how to lead and mentor the others in his/her six.

I personally have seen many children become so motivated at school by their involvement in scouts and best of all, you can join a sponsored group so if you want him to belong to a Muslim Scout Group I'm sure you will find one (or your local masjid can organise one and as sponsor decide how it will operate. Religious sponsored scout groups tend to be very much encouragers of the children following the faith of the sponsoring group. If you are not worried about a specific muslim group, there will be plenty of groups in your area.

If you are interested, I see you are in England, so try this link for information, ideas and your closest groups.

http://www.scouts.org.uk/local/index.html (locations in the UK)

BTW.. if anyone is interested.. there are scout groups all over the world.. even in Middle Eastern countries.

Check out your local scout group in your own country for more information

Hope this interests someone

Carol_au

Hi carol, what a brilliant idea, see the thing is he's so busy doing sport,maybe as you say what he needs is to have something to talk about with other kids:up: and what better than scouts or cubs, he would love it, we are not Muslim so it will be quite easy to find a scout or cub group near us, it never really occured to before, at least then he will have someone to give him more time to listen to him, teachers are very busy , but with this he will feel able to discuss things..he will probably bore everyone silly about Atoms etc but there you go:) :up:

[hugofuchs]

OK, first is that your child is probably going to be more intelligent than you, but not wiser than you. Wisdom is gained more by experience than by knowledge, and usually therefore age.

You must create a framework for him to grow in. Create two types of boundries. Those that are not allowed to be challenged. And those that expand with his maturity. Note that I use the word maturity rather than age. Some people mature faster than they age, others age faster than they mature. Variable Boundries should be altered by what areas your child has matured in, those that are fixed, should never be allowed to vary. Also note at around 10 (somewhat before or after up to a year), that his hormones will kick in and the ability to make mature judgements in many areas are going to be a challenge. Adjust their framework accordingly. By boundries, I mean rights and liberties, but with them they must keep up their responsibilities. If they become irresponsible, then they lose liberties, if they stay responsible, you may slowly give them more liberty.

Public schools are actually bad for genius students. Up until about 9 or 10 they aren't bad, though lacking in challenges, after that your intelligent child will tend to get picked on for his intelligence.

Private schools are not necessarily better. Unless it is a school dedicated to highly intelligent children, they end up facing most of the same problems.

Home schooling is better for developing their intelligence, but not necessarily for developing certain social skills with people their own age. Actually, it is more that they lack the perspective at that age to understand why others aren't able to understand things that seem simple to them.

Probably your best sources are books and the internet. As with both, the content is variable. Also with the internet, there is problems with avoiding the inevitable pornographic sites. Software can mitigate this to a certain extent, but you should stay aware of any web surfing that he does. (One of those reasons I support the .XXX inititive so that porn sites would be more easily filtered out.)

Religion should be a part of his upbringing, especially those texts that support intelligent arguments on topics, in relation to why things are halal or haram. Only through being able to deal with these mentally will he truly accept that allah exists. For most people people will accept unconditionally, for those of exceedingly high intelligence, they have a need to rationalize things.

Beware of all influences, being highly intellectual has its cons. It should be noted that it is easy for them, even perhaps originally just as a mental exercise, to consider things that are not good for their mental well-being. I find that watching most TV limits oneself, especially since every report is slanting it towards one opinion or other. As for TV shows or movies, While I tend to watch the occasional one instead of reading, it is for a diversion. I also tend to not watch shows that portray social degeneration, even as entertainment. No positive portrayal of drinking, random sexual assignment, use of illegal drugs as a good thing, et cetera. Leaves me with little to watch, but the quality of that which I do watch is excellent.

You have to get them to understand the difference between fantasy and reality, and that you should not expect fantasy things to exist in real life. Whether that be violence, or 'magic' or whatever. I enjoy fantasy and science fiction, as well as the rare decent written horror fiction. But I know that they are fiction, and that nothing that happens in them will happen in real life. Generally I only read them as a diversion to what I am working on, as sometimes the brain tends to overload on facts and figures, and it needs other less intensive diversion. For some this is some sport, for me simple reading on unrelated topics, for others art, music, singing, or religious study. It will all depend on the individual.

Logic puzzles help exercise the mind. I also read alot of juvenile mysteries. At that age, I read encyclopedias, I perused dictionaries.

Cursive writing in modern western society is overated. About the only time you will use it is 1) to write your name as a signature. 2) To decipher other people's scrawls if you are looking at historic documents that were scripted rather than printed. It might be that calligraphy might be more challenging and appealing. A greater reason that he might have a difficult time moving thought to paper is that he cannot, and never will be able to write as ast as his train of thought will be going. This is frustrating, but inevitable. There are times when he might be thinking things out so quickly that he will drop words or sentences in conversation, as the brain sends the signals to speak them, but it is impossible to keep up without dropping them. That will generally only happen when getting excited by a subject.

There are good reasons for doing boring work in school. It is only justifiable by this: "There are important, but boring things you will have to do in life, this is in preperation for those things."

Probable the most important thing is to give him things to fail at repetitively but that ultimately, with effort, can be successfully worked out. Overcoming failures will be the most important thing he will learn. It should not be done in a school environment, as this will turn him off to education, but there are projects that can be done at home, that while complicated, can be successfully done. There are a number of 'science kits' that have such things. The difficult level of completion should be relatively easy to begin with, and graduate upwards with each one.

The details in doing things that require patience seems to be at hand, in the U.S. this is referred generally to A.D.D. (Attention Deficit Disorder). Really alot of the time it is about attention deficit, but not a disorder, usually it is the youthful want of instant gratification. Cooking a recipe, weighing and measuring ingredients are important, making food is equivalent to chemistry, if your measurements are inaccurate, the end result is not what you want.

Scouting is good for the exposure to a number of diverse elements that have challenges to perform and rewards for them (merit badges), it also allows good sociallzation, especially if homeschooling. But the leaders, both adult and older child leaders, should be under a certain amount of scrutiny. I picked up some bad habits in scouts. The independance allowed builds character, but can be influenced badly as well. It all depends on who's running the troop. You also don't want to pick one that is tantamount to a terrorist training camp due to the leaders feelings on such subjects.

Reading could be helped by giving him books on subjects that appeal to him, as well as biographies of those who were leaders in those subjects. You should push him a little bit to read faster. I missed the gifted children's test by 1 point when I was a bit older than him. Specifically, it was because I didn't complete enough questions, due to reading speed. The trick is not to try to read aloud in the head when reading, but to let it flow. I'm sure there are books on speed-reading that can make alot more sense than that, but I will say it is important.

Some projects cannot be done in some areas due to laws and zoning, so I'm not making specific recommendations.

There are also historical reenactment groups that are out there that teach skills, but while there are lots of good to be learned, for every good member, there tends to be another of poor morale character. On the other hand, building/making things from scratch is frustrating, but the feeling of achievement upon completion is outstanding.

I'm sure that there is much I haven't covered, but I hope I covered a good portion, insh'allah.

[nomadicfoodie]

Have him tested to figure out his learning style, how he tackles a problem and how he sees. His eyes may not be tracking correctly or he may have some other small motor function that is needing strenghtening. Where are you? In the US there are some good testing centers Allied being one it can be expensive but is worthwhile to find out what you are starting with. The school psychologist might do it for free but I would rec. a private test.

How is he socially w other kids? Is he popular enough or the nerdy swot who gets teased/bullied? or something else?

How old is he, kids develop so differently. My son is also bright, everything is so easy for him he gets bored too and it has been VERY hard to get him to pay attention to detail, substantiate his writing with quotes, and frankly understand what hard work academics can be. We sent him to a more demanding school where the average kid was like him so he was not on cruise any more!

Sometimes simple things like how he holds the pencil (you can buy pencil covers that make it easier) or the way he sits makes a difference.

They can slice and dice kids every which way now, get him tested it really helps.