Originally Posted by mgl
Quote
(If everyone is being asked to teach each other, that's different.)

I'm coming at this from the perspective of a parent whose children excel in math and reading, but have large difficulties with social skills, repetitive behaviors, sensory avoidance, and motor coordination. I see the kids in school who are gifted at things like sports or art, or who have great success with building relationships or exhibiting compassionate behavior, and realize they are often used informally (or formally) to help other children in ways other than academic. I'm certainly glad the extremely athletically gifted 3rd grade boy is good natured about playing on teams with my boys and showing them how to do things, the queen bee 2nd grade girl was happy to hold my boy's hand and help him navigate social experiences, and that there are whole groups of non-GT (or even delayed) kids who look out for other kids in ways other than intellectually within a school environment.

EDIT: Word choice.

YES. This is it exactly.

For my son, that first grade experience in helping the kid at his table who was a little slow on the uptake has panned out. He's the only freshman in pre-calc this year, and has a friend/classmate who is struggling a bit. Said friend is a senior, and feels a little weird about being tutored by a freshman, even with the stipulation that "well, okay, it's Frodo, but still...". If ds hadn't developed the ability to help gracefully, it could have ended badly. And since this friend is his section leader in band...

"I love it when you two impersonate earthlings."