No child left behind ( NOT a debate)

[Madi100]

We had the chance to keep DD in kind. and just let her go to the appropriate class for reading. Well, that's great and all, but then she is missing out on part of her classroom time, and therefore, she is different. In first grade, the only difference with her was that she excelled in everything she did. She was a very good student. My daughter is very smart and LOVES to learn. I hate to think of someone holding her back. If she has the capabilities to learn, let her do it while she wants to.

When I was in middle school we had a group called JETS, I believe. This was once a week and about 13 kids from my class got to leave the regular class and go and do something fun. There was always learning involved, but it was fun. To me, it always meant, that those people were just better than the rest of us. I didn't think it sent a very good message.

 

[Dancind]

Nicole, I think anybody who was in a program like JETS would tell you that though it was fun, it was pretty worthless. It really didn't do anything to enhance learning or challenge the kids, just set them apart. Dumb idea all the way around.

What they do need is acceleration, and it's really hard to do in a regular classroom. A few exceptional teachers pull this off, my daughter had teachers like that in 2nd and 3rd grade. Other teachers don't even try, and if you try to talk them about it, they get very defensive. DD had one of these "one size fits all" teachers in 4th, that was probably her worst year. Thank goodness for the GT program she was in! She went for 2 1/2 hours in the morning, and covered Math and Lang Lit, while her class did the same subjects. I don't think anyone thought they were having more fun, they were just doing harder work, nothing to be envied. The best solution is in mid-school when she just goes to her classes, and not too many kids are aware that there are different classes.