Heh heh heh
Some of you may remember some time back, when I mused about a friend who is considering taking her kids out of our public school system and sending them to a private school an hour away. I think she's crazy, because 1) yes, the middle school gifted program here is not great compared to our wonderful elementary and high school programs, but it's not *that* bad, and 2) driving your kids -- and until all four of them are out of elementary school, just some of your kids! -- an hour away, every single day, would ruin your family life, not to mention your kids' social life, since all their friends would be out of town.
The mom's most vocal complaint seems to be with the math program. In years' past, the gifted class always did math via independent study, so they could move ahead as quickly as they were able -- this often allowed them to start 7th grade math in the 6th grade (the first year of middle school) and always be a year ahead. This year, the school changed to a group-based math curriculum, but to compensate for the gifted kids not being able to work independently anymore, they added a year to their level -- i.e., Amy's 5th grade class is working through the 6th grade math book.
However, this increased level is not good enough for this mom -- she insists her daughter is being held back, that she could progress faster via independent study, and that she is bored out of her mind doing 6th grade math. I come to find out that one reason her daughter is so bored is that the mom purchased math textbooks for each of her kids when school got out last spring. Her daughter had spent the summer going through a 6th grade math book (!!), so even though she's only in 5th grade, the material is "too easy" and "boring" because she saw it all before school started.
Fast forward to this past week: Amy came home grumbling because her teacher decided that any child in the class who had earned an A in math for the first semester would be placed in a group that moved more quickly through the book -- they'd do 2 lessons a day instead of 1. Amy, who got an A-, didn't want the extra homework (though, IMO, she doesn't get very much, at least compared to the last two years in this program) but I convinced her to give it a try -- I told her she could always quit and go back to 1 lesson/day if it proved too difficult, but if she decided later she should have moved up, the opportunity might not be there any more.
Happily, she came home this week excited about her new math group and glad she decided to try it. Then she mentioned the names of the other girls in the group (9 out of the 20 kids got A's, 4 girls and 5 boys) and -- hey, wait a minute -- she didn't mention my friend's daughter, the one who was so bored in math and who complained it was far too easy and slow moving. How can this possibly be??
Turns out the girl got a B+ in math and didn't make the cut.
And I am trying my hardest not to laugh my snarky little butt off. *vbg*
The mom's most vocal complaint seems to be with the math program. In years' past, the gifted class always did math via independent study, so they could move ahead as quickly as they were able -- this often allowed them to start 7th grade math in the 6th grade (the first year of middle school) and always be a year ahead. This year, the school changed to a group-based math curriculum, but to compensate for the gifted kids not being able to work independently anymore, they added a year to their level -- i.e., Amy's 5th grade class is working through the 6th grade math book.
However, this increased level is not good enough for this mom -- she insists her daughter is being held back, that she could progress faster via independent study, and that she is bored out of her mind doing 6th grade math. I come to find out that one reason her daughter is so bored is that the mom purchased math textbooks for each of her kids when school got out last spring. Her daughter had spent the summer going through a 6th grade math book (!!), so even though she's only in 5th grade, the material is "too easy" and "boring" because she saw it all before school started.
Fast forward to this past week: Amy came home grumbling because her teacher decided that any child in the class who had earned an A in math for the first semester would be placed in a group that moved more quickly through the book -- they'd do 2 lessons a day instead of 1. Amy, who got an A-, didn't want the extra homework (though, IMO, she doesn't get very much, at least compared to the last two years in this program) but I convinced her to give it a try -- I told her she could always quit and go back to 1 lesson/day if it proved too difficult, but if she decided later she should have moved up, the opportunity might not be there any more.
Happily, she came home this week excited about her new math group and glad she decided to try it. Then she mentioned the names of the other girls in the group (9 out of the 20 kids got A's, 4 girls and 5 boys) and -- hey, wait a minute -- she didn't mention my friend's daughter, the one who was so bored in math and who complained it was far too easy and slow moving. How can this possibly be??
Turns out the girl got a B+ in math and didn't make the cut.
And I am trying my hardest not to laugh my snarky little butt off. *vbg*