C
CoachGoofy
In an ideal world, kids (and adults!) would be able to learn each subject at their own rate. US school systems are so age-clustered (instead of ability clustered) that it rarely works that way. GT programs are trying to provide a challenge for those who grasp whatever it is right away.
But then, I firmly believe that every single kid should have an IEP-not just the outliers. One size never fits all.
My twice ex program saved me in terms of "love of learning". What I learned before that program started was that learning is boring & tedious and having to share a book with a partner really bites because there's no way you both read at the same speed, and that reading/learning ahead gets you penalized (like reducing fractions in 2nd grade, when you're just sort of starting fractions, ish. 2/4 of the beads are red, and that's 1/2, and I was not wrong...). Major disincentive, right? (and that was a good school district, I've been told)
What I learned with the twice-ex program was that I was allowed to use the stuff I already knew, & that if I was really good at math, I could do something harder, & if I sucked at geography, I could do it more slowly-which is how a lot of the real world works, yeah? As an adult you can totally play to your strengths. And those teachers were more accustomed, I think, to kids asking questions they couldn't answer, because the answer always was "let's go find out", which reignited that love of learning that regular classes almost squashed out of me.
Hard and fast labels are difficult, but multiple learning options for multiple kinds of learners should be more common.
But then, I firmly believe that every single kid should have an IEP-not just the outliers. One size never fits all.
My twice ex program saved me in terms of "love of learning". What I learned before that program started was that learning is boring & tedious and having to share a book with a partner really bites because there's no way you both read at the same speed, and that reading/learning ahead gets you penalized (like reducing fractions in 2nd grade, when you're just sort of starting fractions, ish. 2/4 of the beads are red, and that's 1/2, and I was not wrong...). Major disincentive, right? (and that was a good school district, I've been told)
What I learned with the twice-ex program was that I was allowed to use the stuff I already knew, & that if I was really good at math, I could do something harder, & if I sucked at geography, I could do it more slowly-which is how a lot of the real world works, yeah? As an adult you can totally play to your strengths. And those teachers were more accustomed, I think, to kids asking questions they couldn't answer, because the answer always was "let's go find out", which reignited that love of learning that regular classes almost squashed out of me.
Hard and fast labels are difficult, but multiple learning options for multiple kinds of learners should be more common.