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When teaching,
I'd much rather address 100+ people who are interested in a topic
than try to corral a dozen kids who are on vastly different levels.

Make it normal for ALL kids to go where the right class is,
probably not as a big group, but individually.
It need not seem like "pull-out" any more than it does when
students at a university go from class to class.
Avoids feelings of resentment,
as all kids are expected to set their own course.
A big advantage is that teachers might have a fairly focused group in the room.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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The chance to move along at their own rate is a rare privilege in schools.
For kids who can do that effectively, it is a GREAT way to accommodate their needs without extra expense.
The kids spend most of their time on interesting work of their own choosing.
Too few schools have caught on to the merits.
Your school is apparently a wonderful exception.

Caveat: many kids are not comfortable leaving their own little group.
It takes some courage to take classes with the big kids.
Encouragement and support from staff and parents are also needed.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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Good image, asdfasdf: keep athletic prowess hidden.
Let's have balance: sell exactly as many tickets to basketball, drama, and knowledge bowl.

I know of schools where the athletic coaches get an increment of extra pay, but the academic coaches do it on their own time. Do you think the smart kids don't notice what is valued at the school?

Supposing that some fraction of brilliant kids do manage to persevere into adulthood, can we imagine a more efftive way to make them bitter towards the hoi polloi than to abuse their minds as children?
Perhaps we deserve the "evil scientists" that we are raising
(over-used as that metaphor may be)

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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It might be difficult for you to get candid responses from frustrated parents.
Those who still have kids in school reasonably fear for even worse treatment of their kids.
Those who have moved away or aged out of the system have little incentive to contribute to the discussion.

Business as usual is not doing a good job with really smart kids, but overt requests from a family for adaptation can be met with responses ranging from simple denial to "special programs" which are more punitive than educational.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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Our kids were bored enough that they each dropped out of school. They have learned a lot on their own as home-schoolers.

At school, they would spend almost all of their time doing make-work assignments waiting for the slowest kids to move up. When an interesting subject came up, their interest was squelched because some kids would not be able to understand.
One their own, they can pick up any book they want, and work on a topic for as long as it takes to master the content: sometimes many hours at a stretch. They learn when to ask for help if they need it.

A budget-neutral change that would greatly reduce boredom at schools:
let children group by what they are interested in, not force them into age-groups.
Suppose everyone does math at 10. Then each kid, TAG or not, could go to a room where they are working on something that's at about the right level and pace, and learn at their optimal ability.
If English were at 11, each kid could migrate to a room where they are reading something interesting and just hard enough.
The teachers would still be focusing the bulk of the effort on the slowest learners, but at least there would be opportunities for normal and fast students to stay excited about education by moving forward when they are ready.

posted 5 years, 3 months ago
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