About Annette Revel Sheely, M.A. Expertise Counseling, giftedness, gifted children and adults, high intelligence, high IQs. Various types of IQ tests. The social and emotional needs of gifted people. Special issues for gifted girls. Friendships among gifted children. I have a Master of Arts in Clinical Psychology and several years of experience counseling. For the past three years, I have worked exclusively with the gifted (IQ over 130, some in the 180s and 190s) and I write and speak about gifted children frequently. I have presented research about the assessment of the highly gifted at a conference at M.I.T. I am on the staff of the Gifted Development Center, an internationally known resource center for gifted people of all ages.
Question I am trying to decide on the best "method" of learning/teaching for my child (4 years old in October). I have been trying to find out the main differences between Montessori and Waldorf as well as try to discover if there are any other methods that might be worth investigating. Any information you could provide be would be greatly appreciated.
Also, where and when should I have her IQ tested?
Answer Dear Rhea,
Montessori and Waldorf are both excellent programs in theory. What you need to know is that one Montessori (or Waldorf) type school is somewhat different from another, depending on the owner of that school. What you should do is visit the specific Waldorf's and Montessori's in your area. See where you and your child feel the most comfortable, the most at home, the most understood.
On the whole, Waldorf schools really aim for a well rounded person. They push for families to put TVs away and do activities together in the evenings, like crafts, talking, reading, etc. They generally don't push reading until about the third grade either, which is fine for many students who by third grade are *eager* to learn to read, but when a child is gifted or has already learned to read, this can be frustrating- not to be supported in reading at school. Overall, though, I've seen many families truly enjoy the experience of having a child at Waldorf.
Montessori places an emphasis on letting the child work at their own pace, whether fast or slow, in various subjects. This is fantastic for most children. However, I have seen where gifted children sometimes are promised that they can work at their own pace, but then the teacher isn't really prepared to truly allow for that. It really depends on the school and the individual teachers.
About testing, generally you want to do testing just prior to the point where you have to make decisions about schooling- such as age 5 or 6. The test used for 5-year-olds, the WPPSI-R, is a fine test for children in the average range, but for a child suspected of being gifted, it is a poor test and often gives misleading results (mainly scores lower than they should be). The test for six year olds is excellent for most children- the WISC-III. The only problem with a WISC-III is that it goes up to an IQ of 160 so children who are over that (i.e. 180) are included with children in the 150-160 range. If you'd like more information about testing, please write back : )
Best wishes,
Annette Revel Sheely, M.A.
Gifted Development Center
Denver, CO
