Well, this is a new one for me. I've posted here before on our long battle to advocate for DD11 and the great place we find ourselves now. DD has permission to take almost any class for any age and has been very happy.
She was looking forward to taking her first high school level classes this fall. However I now find myself in the odd position of advocating backwards... encouraging her to take middle school literature again. Not because of her academic level, but because of the books the high school class is reading.
We've never been much for sheltering her, but some of the books have inappropriate content for her age. I don't think she'd do well with them and she can't very well read a different book and then sit in class discussions.
This is not the end of the world. She can either take the MS class or sit out on lit and just take the high school writing. We could continue our mini-book club (we read the same book and discuss). My degree is in English, so we can have some very academic discussion and delve into schools of literary criticism. It's not like she's BEHIND here in any case.
It's just that... well, it never stops being challenging. A mismatch. No matter how great the situation is, it's still the least worst option. It's still more work and planning and stress (on her and us) than if she was just in grade. She's nervous about taking classes with much older kids and having much harder work (she'll have her first AP class). At the same time she's disappointed that she can't take the class she was most looking forward to and where she really shines.
But she's still 11 and needs to be allowed to be 11 too.
Note, I'm not complaining about the class. A class at that level should include challenging and thought provoking material and I can't fault the choices.
She really wants to move forward because while last year was better, she still wasn't being really challenged. But as she pushes herself, we have to watch out for her. Make sure it's not too much too soon. But since she's been held back to much in the past, we don't want to do it if we don't have to.
I just don't have anywhere else to talk about this stuff, you know? This is way outside the experience of most people. My friends with kids are thinking about the trials of middle school. We're soothing the jittery nerves of a quasi-Freshman and nervously eyeing the physical differences between her and her friends (who are only two years or so older - not nearly the age difference she'll see in her classes).
Phew. I feel a bit better now. Thanks for "listening."
This is what I've said about literature in the past. It can be tricky sometimes to find good literature for young advanced readers. Not impossible, but it's just as you have found out. What makes a good book for a older teen might not be appropriate for a preteen.
Good luck at finding an appropriate literature class for your daughter.
