D (age 16) and I met with her school principal today to advocate for allowing her to take a Gifted Learning Works AP English course instead of the normal 11th grade English class for second semester. They only offer one level of English class (no honors, no AP) for her whole grade. This wasn't a problem in 9th and 10th grade due to truly talented teachers who manage to differentiate successfully within their classrom. But this year has been a disaster, and D has been dismal. The worst day was when they read "The Raven" by Poe -- she went off to class very excited to be discussing one of her favorite authors. The teacher put on an episode of "The Simpsons" where they recite some of the Raven, and that was it. No class discussion or analysis.
Can't tell the outcome yet, but I was very proud of D's self advocacy, which has not been a strong suit in the past. The principal commented that he understood her need to feed her intellect (which was a good sign -- he is also very bright, so I do think he really "got" that component). Still not sure he will allow it, as they have a policy for not accepting outside credit. And he is going to talk to the English teacher -- although D and I did meet with her before with exactly the same list of complaints (on paper, written by D) that she showed him today. I told him I though this year's English teacher was not exactly a disinterested party in helping make this decision for D (implying that her poor teaching is one reason we are seeking a change), and asked him to also talk to her English teacher from last year for a more balanced view.
Sigh... we will see.
