…gifted children’s coach Alan Thompson, who works with chess champions, musical prodigies and maths nerds, says accelerating a child’s learning by installing them in higher classes is nearly always appropriate.
“One of my clients is an eight-year-old doing Year 11 subjects,’’ he said. “They’re all on the same wavelength. This is what these children need, to be with like-minded people.”
Noting that US entrepreneur Elon Musk took his children out of standard schooling and created a customised environment, Mr Thompson added, “it doesn’t have to be in home schooling or a Montessori school”.
Australian teachers are interested in supporting pupils with high ability, and accelerated learning can happen in a standard school. He says there are 400,000 gifted students from pre-Kindergarten to Year 12, aged four to 17.
“A bunch of schools want to be part of Australian Mensa, and are making provision for gifted students over and above the normal provision,’’ Mr Thompson said..
“There are a few schools with an older mindset from the industrial age, the mentality that says ‘let’s churn out these kids like a learning factory’. But this is the creative age: there’s no room for factory children any more. What the world is crying out for is children who are self-driven.”
Mr Thompson, who describes himself as a ‘‘coach for high-ability families’’, says there are huge gains in having families involved in supporting a bright child.