1. I don't understand why I can't do my school work like my friends do. I feel really dumb that I can't keep up with the rest of my classmates. I don't know why I was able to do the same work as my friends before, but now I can't. My parents always used big words at home when I was younger, and I learned a lot from my parents that some of my friends did not learn from their parents. Grades 1 and 2 were really good. I understood the work I was given, and my friends and I were all the same. Grade 3 was different than grades 1 and 2 for me. The work is just too hard for me. I don't understand the work the teacher is giving me, but I feel sad because I feel so different than all my friends. They understand the work the teacher was giving us, but I just can't keep up with my friends or the work. I feel like I can't connect with my friends because they are all doing so well in class, and I am not. I feel like a failure. My teacher says I will be changing classes in grade 4. I don't know why I have to change classrooms, but my parents are upset that I have to. I keep getting moved around, and I just want to know why I am so different from my friends, and why I could do the work before but not now. I just don't want to feel dumb or different from my friends. I don't know what will happen in grade 4, but I hope that I don't feel like as much as a failure as I do right now. I just want to fit in and be like my friends.
2. Kyle's Perspective
3. Teacher's Perspective
3.1. In my professional opinion, Kyle should be considered for withdrawal from the gifted program. He is by no means an academically challenged student, however he has not demonstrated sufficient outstanding abilities in any of the required criterion for consideration of the grade four gifted program. While I understand parental concern regarding student social isolation and opportunity, I believe that continued participation in the gifted program would lead to diminished academic confidence and success. This could in turn cause more damage socially and emotionally than the initial removal from the program would entail. An introduction to a regular classroom placement at this time would in my opinion be the most beneficial more to guarantee Kyle's long-term academic success.
4. Summary of the Case
5. In Kyle's case, the parent's strongly believe that he should be placed within the gifted program. Kyle's home life has been a very enriched experience and he entered the first grade with linguistic ability and a vocabulary far beyond his years. He was quickly placed within the gifted program based on these facts and with the encouragement of his parents. Throughout the first and second grade he continued to work smoothly in the gifted program with a slight hiccup with him starting in french immersion in grade 1. his parents wished to keep him in this program, though it was not suitable for him. they agreed to remove him from the program with a consultation from a psychologist. once in grade 3, Kyle showed more difficulty in keeping up with the tasks in the gifted program. With a new IPRC full assessment of all the students in the gifted program, they found that Kyle and one other classmate were below the criterion in everything except for parent nomination. the IPRC withdrew Kyle's identification. His parents appealed the decision on the basis that assessments at his age (7.9) are unreliable, and that denying him the opportunity of the gifted program will be damaging to his self-esteem and his opportunities to progress. However, the school board says that Kyle's abilities do not show that he is suited fort the program. this leaves the decision to the Appeal Board.
6. We have strived to give Kyle the knowledge he needs as a child to succeed. We know that our son is gifted and that he deserves the same opportunities as the other children. Both my husband and myself are successful professionals and we feel that our son should be given the same opportunities to succeed in life as we did. We feel that it is the teachers job to make sure that Kyle is getting the assistance he needs, and it is because of a lack of support that Kyle seems to be falling behind. It is also confusing to us, why our son is being tested at the age of 7 when he is still a child and any testing would be unreliable since his cognitive ability has not fully developed. We do not want our son to feel left out because he is no longer with his friends. We do not want our son's self esteem to drop because of the lack of support by the school administrators.
7. Principal's Perspective
7.1. In the case of Kyle, through diagnostic assessment by the IPRC, it has become clear that Kyle does not meet the criterion necessary in order to continue to be part of the gifted program. It would not be within Kyle's best interest to continue to be placed in this program as he already shows issue in being able to keep up with the workload of the gifted program. Although the parent's may feel it is within Kyle's best interest to be placed in this program, it could actually be rather detrimental to his self-esteem as he struggles to keep up with his peers within the gifted program. The best thing for Kyle would be to continue in the regular classroom program with continued monitoring to ensure he is reaching his full potential in the regular classroom environment. Reassessment could be provided if Kyle starts to show signs that the gifted program would be best for him (ie. becoming bored in class from lack of challenging content). For the time being and with the evidence provided by the IPRC, Kyle should continue within the regular classroom in order to ensure he achieves to his best ability starting in Grade 4.
