Norwood for student working several grade-leves ahead?

[Anonymous]

New poster here. IQ isn't the only variable that determines whether a school is a good fit. Another variable to consider is motivation, i.e. whether the child is a self-starter. At 150+, I did just fine in a small-town private you've never heard of, because I was able to teach myself subjunctive while the other kids were learning past tense, teach myself braille in social studies, et cetera. But there are lots of HGs (like one of my kids) who would rather spend their days in front of the computer. These kids need more structure to reach their potential, and my kid loves the MoCo middle school magnet whereas s/he was bored in private.

Which gets to another point: school isn't just about math and english and how far you get in these subjects by the end of the day - it's about challenging kids in a wide range of areas. I'd even argue that a kid who also loves soccer, cooking at the Academie de Cuisine, CTY, music lessons and sailing camp has a wide range of intellectual stimulation and will be just as happy as the kid who is focused on math, and less likely to underperform a la Einstein. Both public and private HS also offer a range of electives - the privates may be a bit better on this, but publics have them too - that can keep a kid engaged.

[Anonymous]

Do you mind if I disagree with your position? That's ok is it?

If a child in elementary (or primary) school cannot read, rite and rithematic he/she will have no skills/tools in his intellectual toolbox to enjoy the vast activities you descri be -- including sports.

This is the bedtrock of primary education. The is the primary goal, aim, objective, endpoint before any others you have mentioned for the 21 st century education of children in their first decade of life.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that 19:54 was suggesting that the other activities be replacements for the basics; more that a kid who is slightly accelerated in reading, writing, and math but also enriched with sports, music, etc. is (at least) as well off as one who is hyper-accelerated in the basics but doesn't do much else. I would agree with this, and add that the ability to make connections, through experience, between traditional academic and non-academic pursuits (seeing the geometry of soccer or sailing, or the patterns in music) is building analytic skills which can be the building blocks of success.

[Anonymous]

...Which gets to another point: school isn't just about math and english and how far you get in these subjects by the end of the day - it's about challenging kids in a wide range of areas. I'd even argue that a kid who also loves soccer, cooking at the Academie de Cuisine, CTY, music lessons and sailing camp has a wide range of intellectual stimulation and will be just as happy as the kid who is focused on math, and less likely to underperform a la Einstein. Both public and private HS also offer a range of electives - the privates may be a bit better on this, but publics have them too - that can keep a kid engaged.

Perhaps given the carnage of the American family and home (multiple divorces, single or no parent dysfunctional homes) many kids should simply be transferred to the welfare of schools so they can learn to cook, sail, play an instrument, attend camps while parents sip lattes while watching TV or playing with the computer. You've just defined the perfect school --a NE boarding school.

Boarding schools like Phillips Exeter, Andover, Groton and SPS provide everything the poster wants to get (or outsource to a school) from school. I'd advise you to get of the D.C. area and send your child a NE boarding school for what you describe. Your money will be better spent.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that 19:54 was suggesting that the other activities be replacements for the basics; more that a kid who is slightly accelerated in reading, writing, and math but also enriched with sports, music, etc. is (at least) as well off as one who is hyper-accelerated in the basics but doesn't do much else. I would agree with this, and add that the ability to make connections, through experience, between traditional academic and non-academic pursuits (seeing the geometry of soccer or sailing, or the patterns in music) is building analytic skills which can be the building blocks of success.

Neither did the poster state the other activities she describes and any other combaya are unimportant skills and activities for chidren. The poster is simply addressing some of the deficiencies schools are still having with meeting needs (reading, riting and rithematic) of certain kids (advanced for age) and how parents navigate the educational terrain for find the best fit for their child's individual skills and aptitude. All parents should do this including parents with unique children. The discussion centered around, in part, what to do for a 6-year-old child in kindagarten who has read the Harry Potter series and has developed mathematical sense, intuition and fluency with fractions. What does music, cooking and sailing have to do with this dilemma? We all know the latter are important life skills. Some of these kids are also fine and coordinated athletes and musicians for age. The poster seems to erroneously think these children are so busy and preoccupied they couldn't possibly play an instrument, swim and sail, program computers, hike and attend camps. I have noticed with my children and others certain skills leads to much faster processing, reading, computational and problem solving skills. My 9-year-old (as do quite a few kids I know) reads novels in 1 to 2 hours ... a much faster rate than I. He is much quicker than I am in math and I do not consider myself a slouch in this depaertment. Why wouldn't he have enough time for other activities?

How many talented lacrosse players and violinists do you advise to slow down and take sailing and cooking classes?

[Anonymous]

I would agree that IQ is not the only issue. A child can have an extraordinary IQ, but not be extraordinarily precocious academically. Most children who are functioning many years above the level of their peers in all academic areas are going to suffer without dramatic accommodations, at least while they are at school. No amount of cooking and sailing and Calculus after school (or after finishing homework) is going to make reduce that misery.

New poster, it sounds like your school did accommodate you, in the sense that it let you do things that other kids were not doing, like learning braille instead of participating in low level social studies activities. Or did you do that stuff surreptitiously? That could work. I don't know of any local privates that would allow that, though. Anybody else know of any?

[Anonymous]

I have no problem with families of children in private elementary school that prefer camps, cooking and sailing. Whatever floats your boat. Your choice.
Most children in this country don't have this opportunity and cannot afford the camps in question. This probably represents the bulk of America's children. Many grow up as fine and brilliant citizens making great contributions to mankind. They enjoy other activities like Math, Science, Computers, basketball, legos, track and field, volunteer type activites. Many of these children, along with parents, perform the typical chores of making beds, cleaning the house/living space, washing dishes, clothes, taking out the garbage, cutting grass and shoveling the snow. Some can't afford to outsource these duties (similar to outsourcing education) to laborers, nannies and house workers. Some prefer their children to perform many of these activities as an important part of growth, maturation, learning responsibility and accountability. The former camp has no monopoly on happiness. The latter camp floats my boat. Our choice.

[Anonymous]

I don't think that 19:54 was suggesting that the other activities be replacements for the basics; more that a kid who is slightly accelerated in reading, writing, and math but also enriched with sports, music, etc. is (at least) as well off as one who is hyper-accelerated in the basics but doesn't do much else. I would agree with this, and add that the ability to make connections, through experience, between traditional academic and non-academic pursuits (seeing the geometry of soccer or sailing, or the patterns in music) is building analytic skills which can be the building blocks of success.

No recent poster has stated or even hinted unaccelerated or slightly accelerated kids are less well off...or better off. The gist here is children not receiving an education in reading, writing and math matching their ability, aptitude and achievement are ultimatley disserviced by schools (regardless of the IQ or academic precocity). This is why some parents on school tours look for the right fit or match for their child. For some, that can afford it, it may be a private school, for others (including some that can afford private school) it is a public magnet school and yet others--homeschooling. Several posters have presented rationale and compelling arguments for why one or another option was best suited for the needs and talents of their child in elementary school.

Parental involvement and participation in the educational process in elementary school (with teachers and children) seems the key to a successful product and service in whatever system one ultimately decides on. It's also clear fit is dynamic and a moving target and requires reassessment as needs and resources change leading to some moving in and out of the private-public school systems (e.g., switching to private or public school for high school).

[Anonymous]

I'm the new poster, and I go away for a few minutes and -- wow, has my post been misinterpreted!

Willfully misinterpreted, it appears. With stupid little snide remarks like, "is it OK if I disagree with you?" or, "you should send your kid to Exeter instead of doing extracurriculars here." What a jerk. Jeez. Yes, I'm fed up with bad or stupid behavior on DCUM, and I've started to call it out. 20:03/20:22, is this how you argue with your DH? Because it's a pretty sleazy way to argue. I know some of you are very invested in getting the biggest share of the pie for your kids, and/or have a lot of your own identity invested in your kids, and/or have anger issues unrelated to the subject here (hello 20:03/20:22). But if you can step back a minute, you might be able to see other points of view.

Thank you, 20:11, for a thoughtful response. You are right, I NEVER said that reading or writing are unimportant. I never said that sailing camp was a replacement for them. My point was that, if a kid is stuck in a school that doesn't meet his or her math or english acceleration needs, such activities can make a world of difference.

And I have read, like 20:11 has read, that physical activity is linked to higher math skills later in life. A tunnel of math isn't necessarily the best for any kid, and won't necessarily make the kid the best mathematician.

[Anonymous]

Sounds very much like and old and tired poster. Nothing new about this poster. Same harangue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

New poster, it sounds like your school did accommodate you, in the sense that it let you do things that other kids were not doing, like learning braille instead of participating in low level social studies activities. Or did you do that stuff surreptitiously? That could work. I don't know of any local privates that would allow that, though. Anybody else know of any?

My teachers accommodated me. I had my braille template out in class and social studies teacher didn't seem to care. My french teacher entered me in a national contest where I now think I was competing against kids from MoCo immersion programs. This was of course several decades ago, and I'm not sure my kid's old private would have allowed it.

[Anonymous]

Do you know of any privates in the D.C. area today, and not several decades ago, that would accommodate or allow that?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sounds very much like and old and tired poster. Nothing new about this poster. Same harangue.

Are you on the right thread? You seem to have wandered in from the street.

[Anonymous]

Since you prefer to spout invective and evade direct questions with cutie snippets and sailing adventures perhaps you can tell us what you mean by tunnel math? Is this something you experienced in your private school in the middle half of the last century? Can you name the private school you attended several decades ago or did it go under?

[Anonymous]

...

...I would agree with this, and add that the ability to make connections, through experience, between traditional academic and non-academic pursuits (seeing the geometry of soccer or sailing, or the patterns in music) is building analytic skills which can be the building blocks of success.

Sailing and horseback riding won't get students any credit for geometry in our modern times. In fact our math performance in the US is abysmal compared to other developed and underdeveloped countries. Perhaps private and public schools need to develop better teaching methods and systems to allow students to get appropriate challenge in math and problem solving rather than cooking and sailing classes. These leisure activities of yesteryear will not improve math performance of US students. TJ and the magnet programs feeding Blair seem to have done this. Is this your definition of tunnel math?