Can giftedness be trained?

Parents are paying $200 per session for classes that promise to coach your child to pass selection tests for the gifted education programme.

Would you spend $200 per session for classes that promise to "train" your child to enter the gifted education programme (GEP)?

Some parents have no qualms of forking out the cash, just to give their child the perceived academic edge.

Enquiries by Wanbao to at least seven enrichment agencies that cater to gifted students found that classes cost at least several times more than the usual rate for tuition.

Classes at Doctor Peh Associates cost $2,000 for 10 lessons, while fees top $850 for four 90-minute classes at Aristocare centre.

The centres justify their high fees by the quality of tutors that they hire. They say tutors are either Bachelor's- or Master's-degree holders who have taught at schools for gifted students before.

Hence, they guarantee parents a "very high" success rate of getting their kids into the gifted education programme. Aristocare claims that 80 percent of its graduates managed to enter the gifted education programme.

Places in the GEP are limited, as only one percent of primary three students are streamed into the gifted education class each year.

Therefore, while the gifted 'training' classes are expensive, parents do not mind spending the money in their quest for the best education for their children.

More to offer

These coaching classes are usually conducted on a one-to-one basis, or in a small group of four to five.

The centres are known to take in students ranging from Primary 1 to Primary 3.

According to the principal of Morris Allen Study Centre in Singapore, Mr Morris Allen, these coaching classes have more to offer than normal tuition classes.

Besides help with academic subjects, students are also taught other skills usually not included in the syllabus, such as time-management.

Only high-IQ students can be admitted

Enrichment centres for gifted students that Wanbao spoke to say they only take in students with high IQ.

At Doctor Peh Associates, primary school students who wish to enrol in classes have to score at least 90 marks in their English and Mathematics tests. They take in kindergarten kids as well, but they have to have an IQ of above 130.

At Mind Stretcher, students have to pass two tests before being admitted. Aristocare also has a similar requirement.

However, some parents say if kids are able to pass the tests, then they are already brilliant students. So credit should not be given to the enrichment centres if they do get selected into the GEP.

6000 students have graduated from gifted education programme

Since the gifted education programme (GEP) began in 1984, 6,000 students have graduated from the programme, reported Wanbao.

The GEP caters to intellectually gifted and talented students, with the aim to help them to reach their maximum potential.

The curriculum focuses on developing students' higher-order thinking skills, as well as stimulate creative thought.

Currently, the GEP is offered at nine primary schools in Singapore. The GEP in secondary schools has been replaced by the "School-Based Gifted Education" programme.

This year's test to stream students into the programme will be held next month, on Oct 19 and 20.

One parent interviewed by Shin Min believes "giftedness" cannot be trained. Ms Lee, who has a 8-year-old daughter, says: "Teachers at the centre are those who used to teach at schools offering GEP. Hence, knowing the type of questions that will be asked and the kind of answers to be expected, they can tailor their lessons to help students answer these type of questions."

"It is not about training your child to be gifted."

Edvantage | Tue Sep 28 2010