I think there comes a time when you have to ask yourself what it is you are really looking for in your child's education. If it's "maximizing his potential", then most schools really won't work. But if the goal is more in giving the child advanced opportunities, in a more realistic manner, then public school can work. There will be compromise though, as I'm sure there are with all forms of education. There aren't always easy answers, especially for those of us with kids at the extremes.
I think this is what we're wrestling with. Of course this is VERY early in the process as we are talking about just first grade. But still...
I know that we want more than just a pull out program, more than just additional work to do, and more than just in class differentiation of the material that was already planned for this class.
I think what I'd like to see is some individualized attention in math and reading. If that means going to the resource room during that normal scheduled time, that's fine. I'd like DS to be with his (near) age mates for most of the day when he's doing gym, music, art, etc. I'm not sure this is a realistic request, but that's what I'd like to see.
What I want him to get out of school is for him to see that it's a place where you can learn. He is learning
some things, so it's not a total loss by any means (both good and bad things, but this is part of life). But he learns 10x as much stuff being with us at home and talking math at dinner time. So I see it as a loss on learning the fundamentals of reading and math.
JB
