summer70, I'm so sorry that happened to you. It is awful to be trapped by others' decisions and have our options limited or taken away. What an important, unfortunate, formative experience. Thank you for sharing.
The head-on-the-desk policy matches with other stories about creating
underachievement.
Here is a
roundup of threads/posts/resources related to acceleration (grade-skipping). Research backs the generally positive effects of acceleration. While there may always be a few who prefer not to accelerate (as so much depends upon the classmates, teacher, and other circumstances), fortunately the research-based Iowa Acceleration Scale (IAS) takes many factors into consideration to help parents and schools accurately anticipate the likelihood of a successful acceleration for a specific child at a given point in time.
For continuing growth and development, kids need:
1)
appropriate academic challenge2)
true peers For typical kids, these needs may be met in a general ed classroom, however for children with higher IQ/giftedness, these needs may not be met without intentional effort in providing advanced curriculum, and grouping for instruction with academic/intellectual peers.
Many adults gain perspective on their own schooling retroactively, often while
advocating to improve the "fit" of their children's education.
