ROOM CHANGE: Educator. Mom. Son: What We Learned from a Profound Grade Skip
(Room JW Grand Ballroom 7)
08 Jul 18
12:00 PM
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1:15 PM
My son and I would like to share our experience over the last several years as it pertains to being grade skipped. He was grade skipped from 4th to 6th grade. I will talk about our experience from the lens of an educator and mom. As an educator, I was taught a rigid approach to giftedness. As a parent forced to look beyond the narrow definitions of and prescriptions for giftedness, I learned a truth completely different than what I had been taught. My son Joe will share his experience as a student and how he came to find peace and confidence in his “gifting.” He looks to make grade skipping easier for others by letting them know they aren’t alone. He hopes that by sharing our story with educators, parents, and other kids that educators will see that grade-skipping is not bad, that kids like him are not “freaks,” that parents will be encouraged to keep advocating for their kids, and to show kids like him that they should be confident in their gift and not hide it, even if that means a nontraditional education experience.