Hi everyone! I've been lurking, and finally decided to join in. I'm a former teacher, and mom to 2 homeschooling boys.
I thought I'd put forth a question that's been puzzling me for a long time. I know there's endless angst from parents and teachers about grade skipping, subject acceleration-- anything that puts a child in a group that's not of age-peers (and I've done some angsting myself).
I have also seen parents and teachers about to burst at the seams with pride about kids who are "Only in 1st grade, and reading at a 2nd grade level!"
My best friend lobbied to get his son into the "gifted" program when he just missed the cutoff. As explained to me, the gifted class is accelerated over the regular class by
3 months. My thought was, "Why bother?!"
Is it really that strange for a kid to be working a year or two above (or below) age peers, or to socialize mainly with others who are not near their age?
Are we that cookie-cutter a species that learning an "8 year old skill" at 6 is so noteworthy? Who decides what academic norms are in the first place?
I await your wisdom.
