I thought the children at the "top" private schools were...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son is at a private, 99% percentile WPPSI (not 99.9), in all subtests. He taught himself to read at 4.5 and reads three grade levels ahead. Whether this will translate to success down the road in academics certainly remains to be seen, but I am glad he is loving reading. He is in K.

with materials you provided for him, correct? and with guidance, I assume? b/c he obviously couldn't follow written directions BEFORE he learned how to read

[Anonymous]

Thanks 5:17 and 6:04. I've wracked my brain and can't figure out how one would deduce insecurity from my post. I think DC is very bright, but I meet a lot of very bright kids in metro DC. Some read early, some read around first grade. Many of the PreK and K teachers I met on the independent school tour circuit talked about how there tends to be alignment in reading abilities around 2nd or 3rd grade, provided there are no other underlying problems. I don't work in early education and am fascinated in how children learn language, learn to read, etc - it was compelling to hear these teachers talk about reading fundamentals, how all readers need to master certain skills, etc.

I'll repeat again, I am pleased that social skills are an integral part of DC's K curriculum. I also meet many bright adults in metro DC: some lack any emotional intelligence and are hapless in their interactions with friends and neighbors as well as their own families. IF the WPPSI is an iron-clad predictor of intelligence and performance, as per some PPs here and on other threads, then 99.9% WPPSI DC will need strong social skills to complement intellect.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is at a private, 99% percentile WPPSI (not 99.9), in all subtests. He taught himself to read at 4.5 and reads three grade levels ahead. Whether this will translate to success down the road in academics certainly remains to be seen, but I am glad he is loving reading. He is in K.

with materials you provided for him, correct? and with guidance, I assume? b/c he obviously couldn't follow written directions BEFORE he learned how to read

Well, I am not the poster to whom you are directing this, but there are some kids who truly figure it out just by learning the alphabet, having a keen ear for phonics, and being incredibly attentive during story time. My older DC had amazing aptitude for one and two - much less interested in story time. Even with mild interest in story time, DC began sight recognition reading while four. Very cool how they figure this all out.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Hysterical PP -- I agree that it is a "veiled brag" as you said. My daughter did really badly on those tests when she was little. But, she went to a Montessori School and every kid learned to read between ages 2.5 and 3.5. No one bragged about it because every single kid -- including the so-called "slow learners" read at an early age too. If OP wants other readers in her kids class -- she should switch to Montessori...but then again...she wont be able to brag then. Maybe her kid will even be behind "reading levels" there.

I would worry about a place where even the "slow learners" were taught to read when they were 2 1/2 years old! Egads. Sounds like hell.

[Anonymous]

13:10 Just curious: What is your son reading? That's a lot of grade levels ahead.

[Anonymous]

PP -- you obviously know nothing about Montessori School. All of the kids learn to read really painlessly without anyone even telling them they are learning to read. You should try it before criticizing it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous... Many of the PreK and K teachers I met on the independent school tour circuit talked about how there tends to be alignment in reading abilities around 2nd or 3rd grade, provided there are no other underlying problems.... [/quote wrote:

I have several children that are in second grade and above, and I totally agree with this statement. In fact, my latest teacher conference of one of my children focused on several advanced series that were being read by many of the children in the class - most were approximately at the same reading level although comprehension levels varied. I would focus on keeping your child's love of reading going and worry less about what all the other kids are doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:PP -- you obviously know nothing about Montessori School. All of the kids learn to read really painlessly without anyone even telling them they are learning to read. You should try it before criticizing it.

My mother in law has been a Montessori teacher for decades, and she told me this was a myth.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:13:10 Just curious: What is your son reading? That's a lot of grade levels ahead.

In a hurry, but this is the challenge! What is at the "correct" level but not too mature in terms of his emotional development? He recently read Bunnicula and Frindle. We feel Captain Underpants and Geronimo Stilton have been "safe" reads, although I'm not sure about that. He loved Wimpy Kid. He wants to read some Roald Dahl, but I need to review first (it's been so long since I read them, but it seems to me they were rather dark).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP -- you obviously know nothing about Montessori School. All of the kids learn to read really painlessly without anyone even telling them they are learning to read. You should try it before criticizing it.

My mother in law has been a Montessori teacher for decades, and she told me this was a myth.

Well, your MIL must not have been trained in true Montessori then. Some schools fake the Montessori designation. If you take the time to read about Montessori instead of relying on what your MIL told you -- you would know all of the kids learn to read -- black, white, big, small...all of them. It's no myth. My kid read alongside all of the other kids. And, if you want to trip out even further -- they all do algebra and geometry before 6th grade.

[Anonymous]

There's a lot to discuss here. I'm an expert (Ph.D., taught, taught teachers), but that doesn't mean we didn't make mistakes with our own kids.

1. Age of reading doesn't predict much, unless it's after 3rd grade. Good info and citations at http://www.readingrockets.org/article/4483. See also the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC).

2. You can train a child in, say, sitting or walking, and they will do it earlier; same with reading or counting. Doesn't mean much in the long run.

3. What DOES have predictive value is passive vocabulary: kids who understand a lot of words end up being smarter.

4. Choice of books; keeping kids interested in a mixed-level K class - reading to them is always good. Of course, this got us in trouble: we read harder and harder books to our kids before they could read, so when they wanted to read they were bored with easy books and stymied by the hard ones. It eventually worked out.

But to the underlying issues in the OP's question, the children in the "top" private schools range from a little above average to really terrific, and it can be frustrating to wait for the slow(er) ones. Sometimes it's a good life lesson, sometimes they have other talents, sometimes they're in for other reasons. Advocate for appropriate challenges for your child, make sure s/he ends up well rounded, kind, curious, hard-working and balanced. It can be a fight. But GT in the public schools is no panacea - you can have exactly the same issues there (albeit cheaper...).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:PP -- you obviously know nothing about Montessori School. All of the kids learn to read really painlessly without anyone even telling them they are learning to read. You should try it before criticizing it.

My mother in law has been a Montessori teacher for decades, and she told me this was a myth.

Well, your MIL must not have been trained in true Montessori then. Some schools fake the Montessori designation. If you take the time to read about Montessori instead of relying on what your MIL told you -- you would know all of the kids learn to read -- black, white, big, small...all of them. It's no myth. My kid read alongside all of the other kids. And, if you want to trip out even further -- they all do algebra and geometry before 6th grade.

Actually, she complains about those who were *not* trained in true Montessori. I think that you are just a lunatic, frankly. Not every child should be reading by 3.5, and it is developmentally inappropriate to expect it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My son is at a private, 99% percentile WPPSI (not 99.9), in all subtests. He taught himself to read at 4.5 and reads three grade levels ahead. Whether this will translate to success down the road in academics certainly remains to be seen, but I am glad he is loving reading. He is in K.

with materials you provided for him, correct? and with guidance, I assume? b/c he obviously couldn't follow written directions BEFORE he learned how to read

No, he just figured it out. I had no desire for him to read early. We read a lot but no other materials, etc. One day he was just reading signs and then we got him some books appropriate for learning to read and he just did it. Not sure it was the best way to learn, to be honest.

[Anonymous]

It's a good thing for independent schools to have some kind of range -- as someone said, from a little above average to really spectacular. Even if you have a spectacular kid, don't you want them to have some idea of how they fit into the curve? Do you want them to think they they are failures just because their board scores fall slightly short of 2400?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:It's a good thing for independent schools to have some kind of range -- as someone said, from a little above average to really spectacular. Even if you have a spectacular kid, don't you want them to have some idea of how they fit into the curve? Do you want them to think they they are failures just because their board scores fall slightly short of 2400?

Totally agree! I want my child to go to school in a more mixed academic environment. That is what life is. My fear of private was that there would be too many top 3% kids and if you were suddenly in the 90% you would think you were a failure. Which is crazy, and seems to happen around here. Perspective is key. These kids are bright, and very lucky to be getting the education they are getting. Let's keep them ethical, motivated, secure, happy, and giving of their talents to the greater good. That's what I would like to see us all "measuring" when we decide whether it was all worth it.