Make Your Child Smarter

Matching IQ with Classroom Performance - Part II

By Andrew Loh

Several issues arise when you are trying to manage children who have very high IQs. Supporting their needs and requirements within the ambience of your home can be challenging. However, most of these children with higher IQs face innumerable problems in their classrooms where they find learning process difficult. Matching classroom performance with their innate intelligence becomes challenging for both parents and teachers. Teachers may need to address the problems of children with higher IQs and take care of educational needs. Educating such children with the best of their abilities is the most suitable solution for parents and teachers.

When the apparent high IQ values do not match classroom performance, a child may face innumerable problems that may include strictures from the teachers, social isolation and possible depression. A very bright child who is very efficient in reading, writing and other classroom work may actually be a problem in the classroom. You can ask any teacher about a child who has very high IQ values. Most of these children possess a rare trait of giftedness that travels beyond being able to read Marvel comics! Young gifted ones are extremely agile and hungry for more information. They can be very curious as well! They always ask hundreds of questions in the classroom with renewed vigor. These children always want to know why certain things happen and what causes those things to happen.

Children with very high IQ have an agile mind that always travels beyond the usual classroom blackboard and books. Their sense of things around makes them absent-minded and forlorn. They learn very quickly at a rapid pace and they can even remember too! Ordinary and mundane things can bore them to the verge of frustration. They can even be very noisy and moody according to the emerging situation. However, not all these characters are really problems for these children. They find themselves isolated or solitary in a boring classroom that they feel is very common and ordinary. Such students may find themselves disharmonious with their studies and that may eventually lead to average classroom performance. Experts call this situation as "non-matching IQ with average classroom performance". Is there way to bring up these children to the mainstream classroom activities so that they can perform better academically, at least in the theoretical sense? Yes, it is possible for you as well as your children's teachers.

The first obvious step is to recognize that your child is gifted and has a very high IQ. However, recognizing giftedness in your children is another difficult issue and you may wish to consult an expert to detect it well in advance before your children start attending their classes. Recognizing and nurturing giftedness is very difficult. A gifted child can find his or her abilities diminish in an environment that is not positive enough for their growth. One of the most important steps to consider is to meet the immediate needs and requirements of children with high IQ is the fine tune them to the general ambience of the classroom. Integrating them with the general ambience of the classroom and with other students seems to be the first real step.

Here are some practical suggestions and ideas for designing a bright child friendly classroom environment:

• Bright children never like ordinary! They want something extra that keeps them in constant attention and engagement. Teachers and parents may wish to provide extra activities that relate to the daily lesson. These activities help them to try their own experimentation and improvements.

• Help these children become the leader of the classroom, so that they can lead others with their superior abilities.

• Provide them enough challenging environments. Make sure that the curriculum includes challenging lessons that go beyond the ordinary. Make them participate in the daily classroom activities. Let them think that they are part of the classroom.

• Let the bright and intelligent children handle quiz and competition sessions for other students. Ensure that they lead the pack of other students with their wisdom and intelligence.

• Include general activities like music, story competition, drama and speech in the curriculum so that these children can get their share of excitement.

• Assign homework based on their special abilities and talents. Encourage them to explore their own world with sundry lesson plans and activities.

• However, let them know and understand they need to adhere to the general rules of the classroom so that they can be a part of the classroom.

• Let them be creative! Supply them tools and amenities required for performing creative activities.

Most of these children are actually very fragile and sensitive. You may need to know and understand their minds before creating any teaching or classroom plans. In the end, you can have a bright child who is active, smart, intelligent and performing according to the expectations of teachers and their classrooms.

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