Thank you Grinity for articulating what I have been trying to say about my resistance to our approved grade skip. If a kid is great at manipulating numbers (or words) without the deeper understanding then a grade skip may only be a short term solution that would be reversed later. It is frustrating to question the numbers. I hate to be ruled by a set of numbers. But, at least in our case, until more data points come in (that are beyond mom�s gut and observations) it would be prudent to take a meandering path. Like when my kids want to run and I don�t want to have them out of earshot, I ask them to zig-zag their way. Switchbacks create a win-win. Dragomom, we are likely at this point heading toward a year of homeschool with a focus on science, art and games. Dc may continue to accelerate, may look like they�re standing still when they are actually diving deeper, or may level off and be more in tune with kids their age or�? Does this sound reasonable and harmless enough when intellectual capacity is uncertain?
What I struggle with most about school placement has to do with the way ds6 learns. When he learned place value, he got it all. The schools teach in this odd manner as if only small numbers are understandable and the older kids get, the bigger the numbers can be. Weird. When he figured out multiplication he jumped very, very quickly to figuring out multi-digit multiplication. When he learned about volume (capacity) conversions he could do the subtraction and addition and conversions of all measurements of it, fractions are the same such that going over decimals seems almost redundant now. So, the place he takes something he learns is different than the limited places the curriculum seem to go. Does that translate into a deeper understanding though? I don�t know. It does translate into a struggle for even a well meaning teacher. I spoke to a mathematician recently who suggested that dc�s origami and diagramming of shape manipulation can be called math. Is that math understanding or just manipulation and exploration? I don�t know how to tell at this point. If it isn�t understanding, I can see that there would be a point where others would �catch up' and/or ds would be missing subtler bits along the way.
We are blessed with great music teachers who are focused on ten years down the road and fostering a lifelong love of music. I know my ideal academic teachers would be the same. Have you looked for a teacher willing and eager to differentiate regardless of grade? If a year of homeschool is a possibility for you then perhaps you would be able to use the time to go deep and feel more confident about pushing the school if you choose to go back. In our case, I can tell you that dc are extremely enthusiastic about a year where cribbage, chess and Othello are homework assignments.
I�m still looking for magical teachers though. Good luck to you.
