Kriston: I am also struck by the fact that we all seem to be fighting the same small battle over and over again throughout the country. Think of all the time and effort that we, as parents, spend trying to 'educate' our schools. If there were some form of national gifted movement that would establish a national policy on acceleration, or a national policy on a gifted program that had more meat on it and less bows, then think of all the time we could have on our hands to address other injustices both here in our corner of the world and abroad.
It just seems silly for us to all be working on so small and so local a scale. I know that if local efforts work for our child then life is good for us as individuals. <this is being said from a person whose child has enjoyed the benefits of grade acceleration!> But substantive change in any area (women's voting rights, civil rights, or educational rights of disabled kids) has only come about when individuals stand up to be counted together. Otherwise, a single voice screaming alone is never heard, or at best, is heard by the very few.
The only danger I can see about a national policy on something like grade acceleration is that the educational wind could shift in a few years and the powers that be could nationally prohibit grade acceleration. Or, as in the case of Ohio's new laws on gifted education, some school districts with very pro-gifted policies may have to cut back in order to align with a national policy.
