... the friends thing is related to what causes acceleration not to the acceleration itself.
and
... one of those daft reasons people give - like if we teach her x this year what will she do next year? Worrying about stuff that hasn't even occurred to her peers comes with the territory.
I agree. While it may be good to think about and consider what may lie ahead to help us prepare for the journey, what may be a mountain to one student or family may be a molehill to another.
The Iowa Acceleration Scale, for example, lists out a number of items for a student, family, and school to consider about full-grade acceleration (grade skipping). Each item
may be weighted differently by different stakeholders, and the combined viewpoints provide for meaningful discussion.
Because the 2014 Winter Olympics are occurring, here is a random analogy related to skiing: If one ski is
social and one is
academics, a person may keep balance by shifting their weight from one to another effectively, navigating gates and moguls. Keeping the upper body quiet/still may be the
emotional piece and reveal how well one is keeping their balance at any given moment. Snow conditions may not be favorable but as many skiers pointed out in interviews, each other skier is also dealing with the difficult conditions. A few skiers even fell and slid across the finish line. Good sportsmanship allows skiers to congratulate others on their wins, while remembering that tomorrow is another day with new challenges.
