Gibbers, Gibbers, Gibbers!!!!
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Anonymous
In my child's second grade class, there were two boys who were not in the pool who were accepted in the first group. A girl who was in the pool was not initially accepted. She was accepted on appeal, which the teacher encouraged her parents to do. |
Anonymous
| Are admitted kids typically stronger in math than in language arts? It seems that many use the AAP as a gateway to TJ... |
Anonymous
Why are you keeping your fingers crossed? Sounds like you have a smart kid who teachers didn't rate correctly. My guess is he/she'll get in and you won't have to appeal. |
Anonymous
A lot of the kids are strong in both. While TJ is a math and science school, the kids there are held to high standards in English and social studies, also. |
Anonymous
| I suppose ideally that's true -- but I've found that areas of strength are rarely equally distributed between LA and Math --/ it's usually "either" "or" |
Anonymous
| I've found many who are strong across the board. That is what the program is designed for, after all. Subject-specific strengths are served by Level III. |
Anonymous
While that is what the program is designed for (students who are strong in all areas), that just isn't the reality as far as the kids I've seen in AAP. Some are very strong in a particular subject, but not others. Which is why so many of us wonder: why are these kids in AAP/centers/LLIV? |
Anonymous
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Perhaps that was the original intent of the program, to provide an accelerated and challenging curriculum for academically advanced students. However, currently, there seems to be an emphasis on providing an accelerated math curriculum at the expense of language arts. Many teachers and students alike will tell you (excitedly!) that they are working two grade levels ahead in math yet are hardly doing anything advanced in language arts.
I'm sure this isn't the case at EVERY school but it seems that kids with strong math skills and average to, in some cases, mediocre reading and writing skills are in the level IV program. Those with demonstrably advanced vocabularies as well as reading and writing skills receive part-time AAP... |
Anonymous
| These comments are too anecdotal to be useful. I have absolutely seen that the kids are strong across the board. I know many who are strongest in language arts. |
Anonymous
+1 This is exactly what I've seen. |
Anonymous
Perhaps your comment that "these kids are strong across the board" is anecdotal as well. The kids in the AAP (the "gifted" ones as well as the above-average high-achieving students) RARELY possess superior strengths (and interest) in all subjects. Because of the AAP's emphasis on mathematics, (and, no, I am definitely NOT "anti-math") advanced instruction in language arts is almost non-existent (and, boy, does it show!) Just compare the level of math your child is working on with his/her language arts work. My observations are based on school visits and meetings (albeit brief ones) with AAP teachers who, when asked about the program (e.g lesson plans and the distribution of students with strengths in either math or language arts or both) cagily confirmed that many of the kids are indeed math inclined (or "math smart", as a few of the teachers put it) and that the AAP curriculum is more or less a "math-centric" one. |
Anonymous
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This.
+100 |
Anonymous
Could you say in which schools you've seen this? I think it might vary in different areas and schools. |
Anonymous
| Surely. Spring Hill; Stenwood; Shrevewood; Westgate; Haycock |
Anonymous
Thank you for your words and yes DC made it |