Those of you asking for differentiation in ES have unrealistic expectations
![[Post New]](/jforum/templates/default/images/icon_minipost_new.gif){kind=icon}
Anonymous
So you're basing your assessment on your child's single non-AAP school experience and secondhand knowledge in maybe a handful of conversations? Completely worthless opinion then. |
Anonymous
| Back in the 1990's, public schools also used a real curriculum, including textbooks. |
Anonymous
Yes, public schools are online but you can still provide a paper and pencil to your kid. My tested at 99th% for math. I make him write equations using the numbers they are working on while he is waiting. Like separating 7 into 2 smaller number and then adding those to 4 etc. etc. Or getting as close to 50 or x using those numbers. He can usually do one thing while the class is talking about the 7+4. |
pettifogger
Member Offline
Member Offline
Irrespective of AAP or not, I would urge you to consider checking in detail what your child actually knows vs their gaps. Per your bolded statements it seems that you overly trust what school admins are saying. Doing well in middle school classes does not necessarily translate into doing well high school classes, as there are so many kids who get A's in middle school and end up struggling in high school. There are so many more factors you need to consider; i.e is the teacher appropriately challenging the kids vs giving them easy assignments, is your kid actually working hard and getting A's or just coasting, is the school and teacher known for academic excellence or just average... etc, etc. The only way to find out all this is to investigate, as well as check your kid's understanding. Peruse the homeworks; is there critical thinking going on, or just basic memorization? Can your kid think independently and do they have some amount of problem solving skills? What do some of the tests they took look like? Are they very basic, or does earning an A on them involve being able to do more than that? Give them logic questions, or some easy math contest questions, or even some SAT type questions... can they figure it out? Or do they quit almost immediately saying something like "we weren't taught that" ? If the latter, and if it's something you believe they should know how to figure it out, then that should raise a red flag with you. These type of things will let you directly glimpse into how they are thinking and approaching problems. To be successful in high school, an 8th grader should be able to display a reasonable degree of problem solving and willingness to figure out something that they don't initially know how to do. I'm not just saying this; I've tutored many high schoolers in math who were really struggling despite having been good students in middle school, and even having good grades in general in high school. Parents are always shocked and don't know what happened. I work with their kid and pretty quickly by far the most common patterns are a combination of: 1) They don't really understand basic fundamentals, i.e manipulating fractions, or basic algebraic skills, or 2) They cannot think beyond the examples the teacher gave in class; if a problem is even a little different they just shut down, which signifies a lack of any kind of problem solving ability. |
Anonymous
So you sit next to your son and give him a different set of instructions while the teacher is instructing the class? Isn't that disruptive? Don't you have a job? #helicopterparent |
Anonymous
No less valid that an AAP parent having views on what their child's education would be like w/o it. And my opinion is actually of value. I've experienced "gen ed" and Honors classes for my child (and the equivalent of AAP in our MS, per our principal). The AAP experience in no way prohibited DC from excelling now. And I have many friends, as well as AAP teachers, who've I've talked with a lot about this. But, I guess you don't want to hear anything that doesn't confirm your own view. |
Anonymous
Agree (I'm the person you're responding to). That's why I said "hopefully it will continue." I'm well aware that HS is more difficult. But, that doesn't really change that DC is excelling and had no benefit from AAP in ES. Or are you saying only if they were AAP they'll do well in HS? That, I would take issue with. My child also has a math enrichment tutor precisely b/c it is a HS level class and I was concerned the online would be an issue. I've listened to the class recordings and, by and large, DC's teachers are doing an outstanding job. My one concern is English. But, I've had concerns about how FCPS teaches that for the entirety of my child's time in school. |
pettifogger
Member Offline
Member Offline
Nope, not at all, irrespective of AAP. Too many people on these forums are getting a bit too distracted by the AAP program, when they should be more concerned about the lack of rigor and challenge/enrichment fading from the classrooms, across both AAP and not. The data really does speak for itself in terms of how much money is being poured into tutoring, not just during COVID (which makes sense) but during normal years. If the tutors are mostly doing enrichment, then it's great; it indicates the child is interested and wants to learn more, or perhaps overly agitated parents (hopefully the former). But if the hiring of tutors to help keep up with homework is a pervasive thing in the area, it really says that something is not working correctly in the school and classroom. |
Anonymous
No, I told him what to do if he is done before everyone else by a far margin. He writes extra equations on a paper instead of complaining he is bored. And yes, I do have a job. |
Anonymous
Why isn't it now? |
Anonymous
| How is everyone's kid "gifted"? Can people just accept the fact that this area is full of highly-educated, well-off people and as a result their offspring tend to do well academically. Yes, there are truly gifted kids that need differentiation but I am sick and tired of hearing about Larlo being gifted when they are just a DC/NOVA average smart kid. |
Anonymous
Because there was a disproportionate tracking of white and high SES children, while poor and/or children of color were tracked into lower groups. It also was shown to be difficult to move between groupings, so the child's educational track was determined in 3rd grade. They now prefer to cluster kids of differing abilities into each classroom, and allow for kids to be grouped and re-grouped as needed in various subject matters or even units of study within a subject. In theory more equitable, in reality it also means the kids who are truly able to cover advanced material are at the mercy of the teacher who has to differentiate among 25 children with knowledge spanning possibly three or more grade levels. |
Anonymous
This. Exactly this. It’s just too bad that when you give most of your time and effort to the bottom, those who are at the top won’t reach their full potential. https://interactioninstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/IISC_EqualityEquity.png |
Anonymous
Yes. Clustering is garbage. I see it on a daily basis. 
|
Anonymous
So have kids live in their own socio-economic bubbles even more so than they already do? Kids need to see other kids with different abilities/backgrounds. |