Boys and educational expectations in AAP

[Anonymous]

I was reading another post in the Gen. Education Forum about how elementary school (especially the lower grades) is not especially well-suited to the way boys learn or the ways boys are developing. We have been thinking we wouldn't send our son to AAP if he got in (he did) in large part b/c he isn't a typical "good student" in his current 2nd grade class (same with 1st grade). He doesn't like doing the fine-motor skills tasks like creative writing, he's easily distracted by other kids, and he's always been a wiggly-jiggly person so he has trouble sittng still. On the flip side, he is pretty quick with logic and reasoning through arguments and loves math (for MLK day they had to write what their "dream" was and he said his dream was to learn multiplication! He is working on that by choice now.)

Anyway -- after reading some of the other discussion, it made me wonder if maybe the things we've been seeing as his deficiencies at school are common for a lot of boys.

How does the AAP curriculum work for boys? Does it exacerbate the challenges boys have with the "sit still and write reports" type of learning?

[Anonymous]

I think a boy like yours is similar to mine. Mine got into AAP and is going. Better to challenge him than have him be bored and end up doing busywork.
I think the writing comes more easily for boys if it is more creative and thoughtful than some of the regular gen ed assignments.

[Anonymous]

I think it would depend on the teacher, more than just the program. Some teachers create a classroom where kids can move around and do not need to be sitting at desks working all day, others prefer a more "traditional" classroom.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like a perfect candidate for AAP center.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a perfect candidate for AAP center.

Is that snarky?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading another post in the Gen. Education Forum about how elementary school (especially the lower grades) is not especially well-suited to the way boys learn or the ways boys are developing. We have been thinking we wouldn't send our son to AAP if he got in (he did) in large part b/c he isn't a typical "good student" in his current 2nd grade class (same with 1st grade). He doesn't like doing the fine-motor skills tasks like creative writing, he's easily distracted by other kids, and he's always been a wiggly-jiggly person so he has trouble sittng still. On the flip side, he is pretty quick with logic and reasoning through arguments and loves math (for MLK day they had to write what their "dream" was and he said his dream was to learn multiplication! He is working on that by choice now.)

Anyway -- after reading some of the other discussion, it made me wonder if maybe the things we've been seeing as his deficiencies at school are common for a lot of boys.

How does the AAP curriculum work for boys? Does it exacerbate the challenges boys have with the "sit still and write reports" type of learning?

Sounds like my boy. We're sending him.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sounds like a perfect candidate for AAP center.

Is that snarky?

sarcastic at the very least

[Anonymous]

My son is the same. He is still wiggly, but this year he has made some real improvement in his wiggle scores. (6th grade)
I think AAP has been a benefit in that the teachers seem more attune to working with bright curious and wiggly kids.

Frankly, this behavior is typical of boys across the spectrum.

[Anonymous]

Sounds like my boy. He got in too. Will try it out at least.

[Anonymous]

I think your DS is a typical boy. My DS is in 3rd now, and he is still the same way. But he did get into GT program, and after much back/forth, he is going. I know the program does require a lot of writing, so we are prepared to pull him out if he absolutely hates it. But it would be a shame to not give it a try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I was reading another post in the Gen. Education Forum about how elementary school (especially the lower grades) is not especially well-suited to the way boys learn or the ways boys are developing. We have been thinking we wouldn't send our son to AAP if he got in (he did) in large part b/c he isn't a typical "good student" in his current 2nd grade class (same with 1st grade). He doesn't like doing the fine-motor skills tasks like creative writing, he's easily distracted by other kids, and he's always been a wiggly-jiggly person so he has trouble sittng still. On the flip side, he is pretty quick with logic and reasoning through arguments and loves math (for MLK day they had to write what their "dream" was and he said his dream was to learn multiplication! He is working on that by choice now.)

Anyway -- after reading some of the other discussion, it made me wonder if maybe the things we've been seeing as his deficiencies at school are common for a lot of boys.

How does the AAP curriculum work for boys? Does it exacerbate the challenges boys have with the "sit still and write reports" type of learning?

I'll echo every other comments, this sounds like my son. All he asked about AAP was if he was going to have more homework, that's all he cared about. But my friend who has 3 boys in AAP told me it was a blessing for her because of the way things are taught. She told me it was more hands on and visual, which is better for boys. Like for example, instead of learning economic concepts through general instruction and memorization, the class created a town with shoe boxes and other recycled goods. The town had a bank, restaurants, new homes, older homes. The families in town had to work, go to school, buy homes, lost jobs, etc. She thought it was brilliant and the kids got the concepts down without having to memorize so much.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I think your DS is a typical boy. My DS is in 3rd now, and he is still the same way. But he did get into GT program, and after much back/forth, he is going. I know the program does require a lot of writing, so we are prepared to pull him out if he absolutely hates it. But it would be a shame to not give it a try.

It requires a lot of writing? Yikes, this comment just gave me a headache. Getting my son to write is just plain painful. I guess it will be touch and go for us also.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I think your DS is a typical boy. My DS is in 3rd now, and he is still the same way. But he did get into GT program, and after much back/forth, he is going. I know the program does require a lot of writing, so we are prepared to pull him out if he absolutely hates it. But it would be a shame to not give it a try.

It requires a lot of writing? Yikes, this comment just gave me a headache. Getting my son to write is just plain painful. I guess it will be touch and go for us also.

I have a DS in 4th grade AAP and I really don't think the writing requirements are that extensive. In fact, I think the low writing requirement is one of the weaknesses of the program, but that's just my opinion. Your DS will be wiggly in Gen Ed or AAP. You could have an awful year in Gen Ed with a teacher who doesn't work well with kids like that or a good year in AAP with one who does, or vice versa. It really is more the teacher than the program. Give it a try and maybe meet with someone at the center and discuss his personality so they can do a better placement.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I was reading another post in the Gen. Education Forum about how elementary school (especially the lower grades) is not especially well-suited to the way boys learn or the ways boys are developing. We have been thinking we wouldn't send our son to AAP if he got in (he did) in large part b/c he isn't a typical "good student" in his current 2nd grade class (same with 1st grade). He doesn't like doing the fine-motor skills tasks like creative writing, he's easily distracted by other kids, and he's always been a wiggly-jiggly person so he has trouble sittng still. On the flip side, he is pretty quick with logic and reasoning through arguments and loves math (for MLK day they had to write what their "dream" was and he said his dream was to learn multiplication! He is working on that by choice now.)

Anyway -- after reading some of the other discussion, it made me wonder if maybe the things we've been seeing as his deficiencies at school are common for a lot of boys.

How does the AAP curriculum work for boys? Does it exacerbate the challenges boys have with the "sit still and write reports" type of learning?

I'll echo every other comments, this sounds like my son. All he asked about AAP was if he was going to have more homework, that's all he cared about. But my friend who has 3 boys in AAP told me it was a blessing for her because of the way things are taught. She told me it was more hands on and visual, which is better for boys. Like for example, instead of learning economic concepts through general instruction and memorization, the class created a town with shoe boxes and other recycled goods. The town had a bank, restaurants, new homes, older homes. The families in town had to work, go to school, buy homes, lost jobs, etc. She thought it was brilliant and the kids got the concepts down without having to memorize so much.

Frankly, this sounds like an exercise for kids who have difficulty in school, not kids who are supposedly advanced.

[Anonymous]

Yours sounds typical. I was one of the posters on the other thread but didn't mention DS - grade 6 is also in AAP. His preschool teacher told us to never let a teacher in his future call him ADHD because he wasn't. We are in FCPS and with the exception of 1 young teacher who probably didn't have a brother(s), he has had great teachers who have appreciated his mind and personality for what it is. That's not to say we haven't had many years that end with light behavior plans but overall the combination of AAP and teachers who are aware of the active nature of boys plus the fact that there are plenty of kids in AAP that have IEPs too have made his schooling overall a pretty good experience. We'll have to see when he heads to middle school next year though!

Try AAP.