A Nation Deceived

The Butterfly was three when she learned how to read. Once the decoding/encoding information was in place, she read everything in sight. Then, she read it again. Maybe she read it three or four times. In any case, she read a lot. She read a whole bunch. She read all of the time. Get the picture?

Her birthday is in November, so she missed the cut off for public school entry by about six weeks. In vain, I tried to get the school system to allow her to enter school a year early. My conversations with various school officials went something like this.

"Ms. So-and-So, my daughter, The Butterfly, missed the cut-off date for entry into kindergarten by six weeks. She is reading on a second grade level and can do basic addition. She also knows some of her times tables. Would it be possible to get permission for her to start school early?"

The usual response was, "No, sorry, it's state law."

When I pressed the issue, I was passed from Ms. So-and-So to Ms. What's-Her-Face. I repeated my spiel. Added to the line about state law was this little gem.

"Well, you wouldn't want to her to start early, anyway, even if she could."

"Why ever not?"

"She wouldn't be able to interact socially with her classmates."

"She wouldn't be able to interact socially with children who are six weeks older than her?"

"Correct."

"Don't you think she would be bored having to wait a whole year before having to re-learn the ALPHABET, when she already knows how to READ? Don't you think she would be bored having to wait a whole year to re-learn NUMBERS, when she can already ADD and is learning to SUBTRACT?

"Well, I see your point, but it is more important for her to learn to interact appropriately with her peers."

That was the moment we decided we were homeschoolers. The Butterfly is now in the sixth grade (as opposed to the fifth), and I don't think we've scarred her too badly. I still think the whole issue was a bunch of hooey.

Yesterday, Aussie Kim sent me the link for The Templeton National Report on Acceleration. It is entitled, "A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students." Here is a blurb from their site:

America’s schools routinely avoid academic acceleration, the easiest and most effective way to help highly capable students. While the popular perception is that a child who skips a grade will be socially stunted, fifty years of research shows that moving bright students ahead often makes them happy.

Acceleration means moving through the traditional curriculum at rates faster than typical. The 18 forms of acceleration include grade-skipping, early-entrance to school, and Advanced Placement (AP) courses. It is appropriate educational planning. It means matching the level and complexity of the curriculum with the readiness and motivation of the student.

Students who are moved ahead tend to be more ambitious, and they earn graduate degrees at higher rates than other students. Interviewed years later, an overwhelming majority of accelerated students say that acceleration was an excellent experience for them. Accelerated students feel academically challenged and socially accepted, and they do not fall prey to the boredom that plagues many highly capable students who are forced to follow the curriculum for their age-peers.

I haven't gotten the chance to download the whole she-bang yet. What I've read thus far affirms my position that accelerated placement is not an evil to be avoided at all costs, but rather, it is a way that the public school system could insure that children learn at their own pace and not the mandated pace of their peers.

I doubt anyone in the public school system will read the report. Maybe they'll spend ten billion dollars to form a commission to study the thing.

We're still homeschooling.

Comments

[Summer]

Thank you for sharing this! My oldest is advenced, which was a major eason for wanting to homeschool him. Both to keep up with his pace and concrn at hoe brighter students are often treated. I'm going to have to read it tonight. :)

[Crimson Wife]

My oldest has a fall birthday too and while she makes the public school cutoff, she misses the private school ones. That definitely played a factor in our decision to homeschool her. I have no problem with a recommended cutoff of August 31st or whatever, but there needs to be case-by-case decisions made for fall birthday kids.

[DeputyHeadmistress]

Good post! I have a friend who homeschools her blended family. However, by court order she was forced to put her kindergarten aged stepson in public school (even though the law in this state only requires children start school at 7).

The teacher has instructed her to:
Stop teaching the boy at home at all, it's interfering with his school program because he's too advanced.
Stop reading to him.
Stop letting him read the books he likes and have him read the very borning, repetive, but 'age appropriate' three words sentence readers the teacher sends home. He's supposed to read this book and only this book and read it every night for a week or two. Did I say boring? It's worse than that.

She asked the teacher, "So what am I supposed to do when he asks me questions? He likes learning and he is always asking me to tell him what a word says, or how to spell a word he wants to write, or to explain something to him. Am I just supposed to say 'No' to him?"

She's supposed to tell him they'll get to that in school.

[Melissa Markham]

This very type of situation has a lot to do with why we homeschooled. We saw how public school dumbed down our oldest and we vowed not to let the same thing happen again!

[carr]

We are brand new homeschoolers, homeschooling our kindergartner this year. Originally, I went to discuss her with the school guidance counselor. She had been reading voraciously since three and it was one of her more favorite things to do. She loved non fiction books and could tell you anything about human anatomy or volcanoes or whatever just based on her reading. I just couldn't imagine that K could be a wise use of her time, so I timidly asked if she could be moved to first grade. They informed me that K was an essential step for socialization for kids and should not be skipped for any reason. They also asked me after I explained all of the above if she knew her letter sounds. What??? I didn't think it was possible to read without knowing that little detail! I also explained that I was worried that dd would 'turn off' of school because she had not been thrilled at all by preschool and I didn't want a bad start to school. They then told me it sounded like she might have something called sensory integration disorder and possibly could use an evaluation. That put off alarm bells in my head. I was kind of hoping they would want to evaluate her for a proper educational plan but they seemed more interested in this potential disorder.---------

[Linda]

GREAT post!! They hold back kids that are ready and promote children who aren't. Go figure!