This information was produced by the staff of the Belin-Blank International Center for Gifted Education and Talent Development (B-BC) at the University of Iowa (belinblank.org). The resources and information listed here are for informational purposes; there is no direct or implied endorsement by the B-BC. Services provided by the B-BC include programs for academically talented K-12 and college students, professional development for teachers, the Assessment and Counseling Clinic, the Acceleration Institute (accelerationinstitute.org), and graduate programs and research in gifted education.

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Acceleration Stories

Realized that my son can read math's text books alone and achieve full marks and that he can study alone and achieve better grades than when he attend school. He didn't find any difficulty in the third class as the school he attended had a specialized supervisor who explained to the teachers all the aspects of the academic acceleration but when he was transferred to the fourth grade next semester it was a disaster! his science teacher didn't like the fact that he was left handed and he kept trying to make him use his right hand it was really confusing to my son. But in spite of that he started to dislike the class he was able to achieve the required 85%.In math he still did great and achieved full marks . In Arabic the first monthly exam was disappointing as the teacher gave him 18 /20 because he gave an answer that was correct but based on a lesson of the next unit that he still didn't reach ! I had to go and explain to the teacher that this is the point of academic acceleration , and that I teach my son the whole chapter not only lesson by lesson. He respond and told me that he still doesn't know anything about my son situation and that no one from the school administration told him anything about academic acceleration and that he cannot accept any information from me! it has to be officially through the school supervisor . I had to visit school more than three times to remind the supervisor to explain the academic acceleration to the teacher. I really like to know how can I help my son to keep on track especially with math. School day is a waste of time for kids like him.
Parent in Amman
Frankly, my husband and I are not the standard parents- so it would make some sort of sense that our children would not be either-
Our eldest at 14 is currently attending our local community college, carrying a load of 20 credits. Yet again acceleration has brought our child to a very happy stage in her life. More…
She did attend High School, and found some of her classes stimulating, but often they simply did not provide enough new stimulus to keep her focused. She is not a child that is willing to stop and absorb horizontial acceleration when she is not passionate about the subject.
She will attend CC again next year, and if things continue as they have this year(who knows with these Gifted kids what to expect?)she will graduate HS and College(associates)as she approaches her 16th birthday.
Our next step will be to find a college that is the right match for her unique interests and personality. We are far more informed at this point and know her ideal situation might be a Private College, or Public, or independent study, or.....etc. The trick is finding the passion and culture that keeps her ignited.
Our youngest is twice accelerated. She is uncertain whether early college is for her- as a JR High Student she would like to take a swing at Prom :-) We are thrilled that we are teaching our daughters to know themselves and find joy and passion in learning.
Every time I get a chance, I share the joy my family has found at exploring the educational process, I also share the battles.
But isn't the end product so much more satisfying when the process to get to it was challenging?
Parent in Seattle, WA
04/21/07
My son's birthday is September 4th, meaning he missed school by just a few days. He suffered through K-3 before we decided to grade skip him. He skipped from 3rd to 5th at the beginning of the following school year. Of course, the biggest concerns were social/emotional and physical growth (being smaller than other students). He is now a very well-adjusted 6'2" sophomore in high school. More…
Acceleration has gone off without a hitch and is probably the best thing we ever did for him. It didn't take care of all the problems, like he still had to be accelerated in math, but it definitely helped a lot!
Parent in Kansas
5/16/07

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