Our son really wants to be in the group that moves up.
In conferences, the teacher expressed a desire not to have him move up even if he does make the cut. Her rationale was that while he'd be fine THIS year, next year (when he'd be in algebra) the concepts start getting very abstract, and since his chronological age will be so young that his brain won't be ready to handle it.
So, two questions I'd love some thoughts on:
1) can parents of kids who've been through this validate her logic? Do young kids do fine accelerated in math until the concepts get abstract, and then hit a wall until their brains mature a bit more?
2) how should we handle this with our son?
I think there are levels of abstraction. In this case, the first level is, "Can he understand that x is a variable, and what that idea means?" A higher level of abstraction requires solving word problems in algebra, which often aren't straightforward in the way that other math problems are (BTW, I see this as a fault of lower-grade math curricula; there should be a few harder problems for the stronger students).
My then DS9 did a formal algebra class last year (more this year, plus geometry soon). I wouldn't say he struggles -- he worked harder last year, but also says his teacher this year is much better.
Second thing: I think your son's teacher has some flaws in her reasoning. Sure, the vast majority of nine-year-olds (or ten-year-olds, for that matter) can't handle that level of abstraction. But if your son is HG+, he isn't in the vast majority and she shouldn't judge him by the standards she uses for other kids.
If he skipped a grade and is doing well, he obviously has the mental function of the kids a year older than him (at least), so why is she suddenly worried that this isn't the case?
If he wants to do it, and you and your husband are also on board, I'd say let him try. He can always step back if he's miserable or over-challenged. You could even do some after school work with him to introduce him to concepts. I did this with my son starting when he was 8-ish.
Val
