Cracking the High School Code: Questions to Ponder When Your Kid Prepares for High School
By Lisa Frieda Cossham
- 4 Mins
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Contemporary parents seem to be excessively boastful about their children's intelligence, underestimating the assumption. Interestingly, less than 2% of students possess veritable giftedness. Yet, it's crucial for them to have an edge in future prospects - considering the ever-surge in job requirements: it would be ideal if they successfully clear high school.
High-Performance High School
- Intelligence Redefined
- Quality Education
Only the Cream of the Crop
The term 'highly gifted' generally denotes children dwelling in the top 1-3% of cognitive ability; however, the broader spectrum of giftedness, covering approximately 10% of school-going kids, entails those outranking at least one discipline, say academic, artistic, or athletic[1][2].
High School's Hurdles
High schools frequently grapple with not providing satisfactory support systems for highly gifted scholars. Even though some academic institutions offer advanced courses or accelerated programs, these options are often restricted and may not cater to the unique necessities of gifted students. Frequently encountered hurdles include:
- Lack of Engagement: Highly gifted scholars can often find school materials less than stimulating, resulting in boredom and disengagement[3].
- Inadequate Resources: Schools are frequently challenged by limited resources or understanding to tailor educational content to gifted students' needs, which can lead to academic underachievement and psychological distress[2].
- Inadequate Preparation: The educational system often roots practices in age over ability, hindering gifted students' growth by failing to offer a rigorous learning environment necessary for surpassing in future careers[3].
Future-Proof Career Skills
Today's job market demands skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability. Highly gifted scholars may encounter difficulties in developing these skills due to inadequate challenges in school. Nevertheless, research demonstrates that gifted scholars who receive opportunities to advance - e.g., via grade skipping - are more inclined to pursue postgraduate degrees and professions across the STEM spectrum at an earlier stage than their counterparts[3][4].
Steps to Ameliorate
- Acceleration Programs: Introduce acceleration options that allow gifted students to learn at their speed, thereby increasing engagement.
- Customized Learning: Offer a learning experience personalized to gifted students' diverse abilities and interests.
- Early Career Exposure: Provide chances for gifted scholars to embark on real-world ventures or internships, fostering the skills essential in their prospective careers.
- In the pursuit of ensuring high school success for gifted children, it's essential to focus on education-and-self-development that extends beyond traditional classroom learning, nurturing critical thinking, problem-solving, and adaptability skills.
- To foster a high-performance high school environment, schools should implement strategies like acceleration programs, customized learning, and early career exposure, catering to the unique learning needs of gifted students and promoting their overall development and future prospects.
