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

[Anonymous]

I thought the selection process of "elite" independent schools produced well-behaved and very bright children. Only a couple of children in the K class are reading well; some do not even understand simple math - like counting. Didn't all these children score 99.9% on the WPPSI? At least the effort is made at placing them into different reading and math levels. Apparently, my expectations of what these high priced schools were much too high. The teachers compliment how DC's manners stand out. My goodness, how well do you progress in this kind of environment? Am I missing something? Perhaps DC is better off in a GT center (public school) later.

[Anonymous]

http://www.dcurbanmom.com/jforum/posts/list/78623.page

[Anonymous]

Sounds like you'd be happier in the public schools where they focus on reading in K. Most of the private schools still follow a play based K approach with formal reading instruction in 1st. What does the school say about its philosophy for K?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the selection process of "elite" independent schools produced well-behaved and very bright children. Only a couple of children in the K class are reading well; some do not even understand simple math - like counting. Didn't all these children score 99.9% on the WPPSI? At least the effort is made at placing them into different reading and math levels. Apparently, my expectations of what these high priced schools were much too high. The teachers compliment how DC's manners stand out. My goodness, how well do you progress in this kind of environment? Am I missing something? Perhaps DC is better off in a GT center (public school) later.

No, all these children did not score 99.9% on the WPPSI. And so what. The WPPSI is a snapshot on one day in a kid's life, not an absolute predictor of future success. My DC, who scored 99.9%, is not reading (though math computation is blowing me away). I am thrilled, however, at the teachers' emphasis on social skills at an early age. Regardless, your expectations are much too high and you may be more happy to have your DC at Nysmith.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you're going to level criticism like that, you ought to name the school. Are you the same person who started the "Bummed" thread? If so, it sounds like you really don't like the school and want to criticize it. So why not just name the name?

[Anonymous]

The DC private schools I know best seem to follow a policy of slowly ramping up the expectations. Lower school tends to be low-key - they certainly teach the basics, but there is not a huge amount of differentiation and kids are not pushed. Middle School is more obviously academic, but still somewhat project based. Upper School is intense - very academic, very rigorous, pretty stressful if you aren't smart, efficient, and able to roll with the punches. The kids come out more than ready for college.

[Anonymous]

OP.
Private schools are not schools for gifted children -- especially at K when the legacy, sibling and connected applicants trump the general pool. You should research education around the world. Children in Denmark do not learn to read until they are older, etc.

[Anonymous]

A kid can certainly score in the 99.9th percentile on the WPPSI and not know how to read. Probably doesn't need to know how to count (much) either. It's not a skills test.

Re how well do you progress in such an environment? By the end of 1st grade by DC (who didn't read when she entered in PreK) had decided she wanted to be a novelist but would probably make her living doing popular science writing. This said after presenting one of her fictional works at Author's Brunch (where each kid read what they considered the best story they'd written, edited, and illustrated over the course of the year).

Longer term, she's become an avid reader with a wide range of interests (including science!) and a very insightful and nuanced writer.

[Anonymous]

Also OP this is another common mistake. Children do not learn in tandem. Reading in K is not a perfect predictor of academic giftedness. Your child may be gifted, but not all early readers are.

[Anonymous]

OP, did you ask in your parent tour whether everyone in K would be reading at entry at your top private? If you had, I'm very sure they would have told you that the school has a variety of levels of knowledge at entry. I think the same would go for behavior and other aspects of school.

[Anonymous]

17:56 is exactly right, at least according to our experience--kids are learning more than you think they are and will be ahead of where they need to be by high school.

[Anonymous]

Wow, this whole "you should have known!" reaction seems pretty harsh. I'm 18:06 and I think it's a legit question, which is why I tried to provide a substantive answer. And there have been moments along the way where I was underwhelmed by the cohort or curriculum and what kept me going was looking ahead. By the end of MS, what these kids are doing is amazing. Some of it looks like college (and I say that as a former college professor).

I think part of what's going on here is that most of us probably didn't go to a progressive school, so it looks less rigorous than what we experienced. But when I think about what I could do at particular grade levels and what DC is doing, I'm impressed. Writing, research, and oral presentations are all emphasized much earlier and some kids approach these projects in a very enthusiastic and ambitious way. There's also science and foreign language multiple times a week (something we never had) as well as more arts and music (instrumental as well as vocal). And while I learned math facts earlier/faster, I wasn't introduced to algebraic reasoning or data analysis or geometry as early.

So, yes, OP. I, too, expected a faster pace/different starting point, but having been through the whole LS experience with one kid, I'm very happy with the decision we made re an elite private progressive school.

That said, I'm sure DC could have gone to public elementary and still handled the curriculum at her private MS. So I'm not saying private is essential -- what DC got from it wasn't skills so much as an attitude toward school and learning and a large cohort of like-minded kids (still a minority at her school) than she would have found elsewhere.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I thought the selection process of "elite" independent schools produced well-behaved and very bright children. Only a couple of children in the K class are reading well; some do not even understand simple math - like counting. Didn't all these children score 99.9% on the WPPSI? At least the effort is made at placing them into different reading and math levels. Apparently, my expectations of what these high priced schools were much too high. The teachers compliment how DC's manners stand out. My goodness, how well do you progress in this kind of environment? Am I missing something? Perhaps DC is better off in a GT center (public school) later.

This statement just blows me away. Who expects children to be "reading well" in kindergarten?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the selection process of "elite" independent schools produced well-behaved and very bright children. Only a couple of children in the K class are reading well; some do not even understand simple math - like counting. Didn't all these children score 99.9% on the WPPSI? At least the effort is made at placing them into different reading and math levels. Apparently, my expectations of what these high priced schools were much too high. The teachers compliment how DC's manners stand out. My goodness, how well do you progress in this kind of environment? Am I missing something? Perhaps DC is better off in a GT center (public school) later.

This statement just blows me away. Who expects children to be "reading well" in kindergarten?

And, OP, how do you know who can read and who cannot? My child is in PK now, and while I know his abilities, I have no idea how well others in his class can (or cannot) read. Are you individually testing all 20-40 kids in the class on reading ability?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I thought the selection process of "elite" independent schools produced well-behaved and very bright children. Only a couple of children in the K class are reading well; some do not even understand simple math - like counting. Didn't all these children score 99.9% on the WPPSI? At least the effort is made at placing them into different reading and math levels. Apparently, my expectations of what these high priced schools were much too high. The teachers compliment how DC's manners stand out. My goodness, how well do you progress in this kind of environment? Am I missing something? Perhaps DC is better off in a GT center (public school) later.

This statement just blows me away. Who expects children to be "reading well" in kindergarten?

And, OP, how do you know who can read and who cannot? My child is in PK now, and while I know his abilities, I have no idea how well others in his class can (or cannot) read. Are you individually testing all 20-40 kids in the class on reading ability?

I am not the OP, but must respond that it is fairly easy to tell what the kids are capable of if you spend much time in the class or have enough playdates for your child. It is apparent to me that DC is one of the three strongest readers in the class. The teachers have hinted as much, DD tells me the same. The real question for OP is whether this matters. DD is learning lots of important social skills and loves school. Kids who come out of school with the strongest social skills are most likely to be happy in the rest of their lives. So we try to stay focused on that rather than her smarts.