Can I just say that ElizabethN's post up there made me SMILE a mile wide?? I
love that anecdote.
. . . school officials say that as a result of the more challenging curriculum, even the most gifted elementary students will find enough intellectual stimulation without taking middle school classes. Fifth-grade teachers can also introduce sixth grade level material in their classes.
Well THAT is clearly nonsense. But then again, this is school administrators talking-- not necessarily those who "get" what gifted
can mean... and honestly, I place Dr. Wu in that category as well.
Whether he means to include gifted students or is just talking about tiger cubs, I believe that many (if not most) school administrators interpret the shift to Common Core as eliminating the need for acceleration.
Good point. But that's not to say that the architects
intended such a thing-- but that they are tired of TigerParents push-push-pushing kids who really
can't master material at rapid rates or young ages, and eventually need remediation in post-secondary. Some of those kids probably COULD become competent in STEM, but by the time they get their math deficiencies sorted, they're a couple of years into college. Bummer.
I think that Wu
would probably maintain that districts need to stop "vanity-identification" of kids who are in fact candidates for acceleration in subjects like mathematics, and resist pressure to accelerate when it IS NOT appropriate. Not that they should move all kids in lockstep with the mean.
