It exhausts me...being the black hawk. I prefer to call it advocate or facilitator. I have run up against the "why can't you just let them be kids" and "what's the rush?" comments. I actually changed schools because the headmaster was vehemently against grade-skipping. He said about his own 5th grade son, "Could Alex do 7th grade math? Probably. Will I allow him to do it? Absolutely not!" On the soccer field, one mom was previously a teacher and told me she has never seen a case where skipping has benefited a child and that she thought holding them back a year enabled them to be more mature and well-adjusted. I do not refute these opinions when they are offered. We simply agreed to disagree. Why should my kids have to wait--several years--for what they're able and eager to do now? What a waste! They are different from most kids and it is an all-consuming process of figuring out what's right for them. Even then, I'm sure it's not exactly right. I wish I could just let it go and say, "good luck!" each morning, but they're my babies. I try hard to be reasonable, patient, non-adversarial, and willing to do any groundwork that's needed to make it easier for teachers and administrators.
Tiffany, I agree with your self-test. I was so disappointed when a very bright boy in my son's class moved away. He provided motivation for my son to work at his math. Afterwards, my son relaxed and basically didn't do much in the self-paced math program for almost an entire year.
One thing I have eased up on a bit is involving the kids in lots of afterschool activities. They still do piano and sports, but they really need free time, too.
