I'm pretty sure I went through all these expressions in the immediate seconds following the comment.
I'd think they had limited experience with one child. And they placed a lot of importance on being socially accepted. But I wonder if that one child was socially accepted by his age peers before the skip? And I wonder if anyone ever taught the older kids that it was socially unacceptable to reject another person solely on an age difference?
The person who was skipped was a family member of the person I was speaking with. I was a bit perplexed by an anecdotal experience coming from an educator in an official capacity, not that he/she isn't entitled to a personal opinion.
No, I don't think you would come away with anything even approaching a good feeling...
I think I'd recommend "A Nation Deceived" for the person. I might even order a copy for the educator. A gift!
I'm left with an impression that this is not a person likely to change his/her position or concede that it's not *always* a bad decision.
I actually found myself explaining that it was not a decision made lightly and there was a great deal of support and recommendation from staff (teacher/principal/psychologist) at the previous school. I hate that I felt compelled to do that, but I was taken aback. This is such a different experience than we've had before.
