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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]My kid took to the group class format pretty early, and yes, did somewhat "suffer" through classes where she was one of the only, or the only, kid who was paying attention, following instructions, or staying engaged with the teacher. But she still had fun in these classes. You have to find good teachers who know how to handle that dynamic. Often DD would be asked to help demonstrate things which made her feel important and gave her more skills to work on (as they say "see one, do one, teach one" is the key to learning).

She kept at it and got moved up early to the next level in her dance and gymnastics classes. Being among older kids was great for her because they had the capacity to listen and pay attention just like she did, but were often more physically advanced. This taught her patience and what it's like to have classmates who were better than she was. It advanced her learning.

I think if you pull your kid out for private lessons, you deprive them of these opportunities -- to demonstrate and teach others, and then also to learn from peers as they start to encounter more peers at a higher ability level. You risk them having no understanding of how their skills and abilities (and work ethic and focus) compare to peers. That knowledge matters a lot as you get to later elementary, if they decide to start competing in any capacity.

And no, it's not about intelligence. It's a host of factors and there will be plenty of kids who get that attention span and focus later but then exceed what your kid can do. You are overestimating based on developmental chance. Your kid is not the outlier you think.[/quote]
What a great response! But to play devil's advocate, couldn't your DD have gotten into the next level (where the social/emotional benefits came in) faster with private classes?[/quote]

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