Reply to Why the aversion to grouping kids based on ability rather than age? Thoughts from down under.

Forum Index » Schools and Education General Discussion

Reply to "Why the aversion to grouping kids based on ability rather than age? Thoughts from down under."

Subject:

Emoticons





More smilies

Text Color: Font: Close Marks

[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]PP, this is true for parents with means and parents focused on their child's education.  I believe in tracking but I have no doubt that in general kids with parents who know how to and do advocate for their child will get more out of the system and that a lot of kids, especially poorer kids, will be placed in a track early on and never move out of that tracks.  Of course, the current system allows that same student to get more services but chances are they will still stay behind their peers but I do believe they get more emphases in the current system to move head.

There are a lot parents who push to get their kid in GT although they did not meet the requirements.  They will also prep the kids through Kumon, test prep and other ways.  Poor kids have only their natural abilities.[/quote]

I hear what you are saying, but I don't think holding back good learners is an acceptable solution.  In fact, I would argue that gifted kids from poorer backgrounds are hurt the most by mixed ability classrooms.   I have a GT kid and I can afford to give my child extra resources when the school falls short.  There are all sorts of camps, tutoring, software, and other tactics I can use to challenge my child. Without money or parental effort, the poor GT kid would just have to get bored in the mixed class.   This could lead to future disenchantment with education and a poor outcome.

I also dispute the notion that GT kids have to have more resources.  I think they should get regular resources, but at an accelerated pace that meets their needs.  In fact, I would actually support lower student:teacher ratios for kids at the bottom of the test score distribution.  I also would accept paying for Saturday school or summer school for kids that need extra help.

In the end, though, schools are not the solution to fixing societal inequities.   For better or worse (worse in my opinion), our society does not want to transfer wealth and resources from the rich to the working class.   The schools need to accept that they can't fix these inequalities and just try to help each kid the best they can.   That doesn't mean holding back some kids, though.[/quote]

Options

	Disable HTML in this message
	Disable BB Code in this message
	Disable smilies in this message

Review message

Search Recent Topics Hottest Topics