Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy reading class

I am getting ready for my dd's annual gifted meeting and here's my current dilemma. She is entering 7th grade and is still required to take reading as a class. She has scored advanced on her PSSA every year (that is the state test that our school thinks is the standard every child should be compared to ). In 8th grade, she won't have to take it because her scores are so great. I don't think she shpuld take it this year but I know that arguement will be an uphill battle. Any thought for or against? Keep in mind that our school doesn't have a clearly defined gifted program All gifted opportunities are individualized for the child.

What's involved in the reading class? My DD would love having an hour when she could just read, but I suspect there's more than that to it.

If it was just reading my DD would love it! They work a lot on comprehension and costructed response. They also talk about theme, main idea, and different types of literature ( all of which is covered in English class which she also has to take). I'm just not sure see the benefit of the reading class and English class.

Yeah, I don't see much benefit from having both reading and English as separate classes. That said, what would she do instead? If there's some other class she really wants to take that skipping reading would allow into the schedule, then I'd focus on that. ("DD would so love to take orchestra/French/whatever this year, but she can't fit it into her schedule if she has reading. Since she'll be waived out of reading next year because of her test scores anyway, we're wondering if she can take orchestra/French/whatever instead of reading this year.") Basically, focus on what she would do instead of on what she would miss.

On the other hand, if the choice is between reading or an extra study hall, I'd decide it wasn't worth the effort and just leave her in an easy reading class.

My son had a similar thing. He is going into 8th and because of his scores doesn't have to take the reading class. So that gives him three electives instead of two. Problem is he isn't into the arts (except loves working tech for his dad the drama teacher at the high school) and has taken all the tech classes offered. They were going to offer a mythology class elective but it got dropped at the last minute and might only be an after school club. So...he is ending up taking the reading class. He says he doesn't mind but I know he does. Hopefully it will be an honors reading class at least and not one full of remedial readers who don't like to read. A class of misbehaving kids drives him nuts. AND the teacher is a long term sub until the position gets filled. I don't have high hopes for that class.

At this point my kid would be better off if his three electives were at the end of the day and I picked him up to partial homeschool him and he got to do his homework and pursue his own learning interests during that time.

I don't understand the point of two classes that cover the same conceptual type of material, so maybe I'm missing something here? Is the English class possibly more about writing and the reading class more about understanding through reading literature? I honestly think the reading class might be ok - because your dd will be reading and analyzing specific works of literature.. which I'm guessing isn't duplicated (the specific works) in the "English class". It's obviously not the best ideal solution, because she's most likely ahead of the game with the literature she's capable of understanding and analyzing, but I don't think that it's necessarily a total waste of time either.


When you approach the school to advocate to get her out of the class, I suspect it would be helpful to use some other type of standard measure rather than the state testing. I don't know anything about your state testing, but our state testing doesn't really separate out HG+ kids from average IQ kids who are performing well in school, and at most schools that are doing "ok" in our district, at least 25% of the students are scoring "advanced" - so it's not a distinction that sets one child apart and if you argued that one child should be able to skip the class based on that, then you'd also be suggesting that quite a few students should be getting out of the class (if you were *here*). I don't know what the same stats look like in your state, but if you haven't looked at them yet, I'd recommend looking at them for at least your school before using it as the main reason to let her opt out of the course.

What I think would possibly work well to advocate (based on what you've said about the course) is a list of literature your dd has read independently and possibly some of her work samples from last year's class. If you've got other types of achievement testing that are normed in a way you can compare your dd to a national group (things like Terra Nova, ERB etc) or a talent search test where she's clearly scored in the upper 90th percentiles, then I'd use that too.

Just my thoughts - they might be totally meaningless in your situation.

Good luck advocating!

polarbear

ps - another thought - one thing you might consider is suggesting she opt out of the regular reading class and replace it with an independent study class - either a talent search online literature class or guided independent study - just something that is similar in content but at a higher intellectual and challenge level. So that way - it's not like you're requesting she doesn't study "reading" - but you are offering her the opportunity of studying "reading" at her level.

So the new plan is that DD will not take the 7th grade reading class but will take the 8th grade Academic Literacy class which focuses more on reading in the content area. That will probably serve her better. All 7th graders are scheduled into the Fast Forword program as part of their quarterly rotations, and I have requested she not take that and that request was granted. So they want to place her into study hall instead. I am trying to think of other options that she could do instead. The problem is that the class only lasts for 45 days, so I don't know what we could fit in its place.

My son's reading situation worked out...he is in an advanced creative writing class now instead of a reading class and all the other classmates were also level 4 or 5 on the FCAT reading test too. I hope all of them will enjoy creative writing better than yet another reading class. And the teacher isn't a substitute like the reading class was going to be.

Could he not do an on-line or correspondence course? Here we have a national school of correspondence that parents can access - maybe you have a state version.

You missed that they solved the problem and they (those that are exempt from the reading class) are all taking an advanced creative writing class. But yes we have Florida Virtual School but our school doesn't have random computers laying around available for kids to use willie nillie nor the inclination to figure out how something like that could work. If you want your kid to take a class from them you have to pick them up and do it at home under a partial homeschooling/virtual schooling model. They will do their best to schedule it so they either have all the on campus classes in the morning and you pick them up early or all their classes say periods 3-8 and you bring them in late. There is no such thing as study hall here unless you count in school suspension.