lastly, limiting this to HS is shortsighted. I know, you have to start somewhere, but it would be nice to see a larger vision that also builds the foundation to preparing ALL children for such a system.
This is an interesting comment. From what I've seen, high schools tend to be the best of the lot for gifted kids. When these kids finally get to 9th grade they can finally pick their courses themselves and they have a variety of courses available to them. Choices include AP courses and electives, plus, age restrictions are dimished.
In contrast, elementary students are trapped in lockstep curricula and giftedness isn't even usually recognized until 3rd or 4th grade. I can't tell you how many people have told me, "Well, they're all the same until that age anyway."
I disagree! I think that the differences between gifted and ND kids are usually
most obvious at younger ages.
I'd really like to see a proposal for an elementary/primary school that accepts bright and gifted kids at very young ages and allows them to work at a pace and level best suited to them (in each subject). It would be nice to get the curriculum more aligned with say, E.D. Hirsch's books (Poetry! Science! Geography!), and less aligned with objectives that are quantifiable on high-stakes tests.
I'm not advocating to move away from teaching things that you can test (definitely not). I'm advocating for changing the tests away from the high-stakes/Scantron model. First rule: get rid of multiple choice.
Val
