Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Identification, Testing & Assessment Let's give up perfectionism, and lead!

Kcab -
Thanks for reading through my stuff. I'm hoping that as we get more grounded, that we'll be able to say it simpler.
I'm very glad to hear that you and your DH are talking and thinking about these things.
Trin

My Sister in law lived in Arizona a few years ago, (I don't remember where, most likely Mesa) and the public school her kids went to had 3 classes per grade, class A, B, and C. Then the children were tested and placed in the class that was right, class "A" being the lowest level class and "c", being the highest in the grade. They said it was wonderful! Are their schools like that in Many states? Or even in mine?

Hi Jenafur,
From what I know, that isn't the current popular model. As much as I like what I call "readiness grouping" I would prefer that a kid who is strong in Math, and weak in Reading be at the highest level in Math, and a lower level in Reading. I also wish that this could be accross grade when a "even higher" level was needed. But ABC is better than what we have which is "heterogeneous grouping" until almost High School.
Trinity

I had the same sort of thing that your DH experiences happen to me in the English department in which I taught while I was working on an advanced degree. I demanded a lot of the students, I was a tough grader, I required attendance (and did everything I could to make attending class necessary for success, not just a waste of time), I harshly penalized late papers, and I always asked more of the students who could give more. I consistently received high marks on student evaluations and received a teaching award along the way. More importantly, ALL the students' reading and writing skills improved, even at the tails of the curve. That was very important to me.

Students generally live up to--or down to!--what is expected of them. I firmly believe that!

And BTW, even though I'm a recovering English major, I'm married to a chemical engineer. I LOVE the batch process/just-in-time process analogy! Very apt! And totally on point for the quality control issues that the schools so often focus on and/or sidestep, depending on how it suits their purposes...

Thanks for that!

Kcab,
This is wonderful!
Do you have a link that overviews "just in time"in manufacturing?
Trinity