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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]
Blah blah blah re "child-centered learning" and the BS PhD pedagogy cited above. Look at the schools and make the right decision for each child that you know best. Personally, I think LCTA is child centered. Not because I have a PhD but because my child had received very impressive differentiation, both in the gifted TAG program, and for when DC was struggling earlier on in K and needed extra help and child-specific projects and individualized learning strategies that we worked out with his teachers. And we didn't pay $30k for it! So much of a child's success depends on the individual teacher, parent involvement, and not some pedagogy that may or may not be followed.

If you have a bright kid at Jefferson Houston, supplement with Kumon or other programs, sign the child up for lots of extracurricular activities like music lessons, chess, and sports, then that child will thrive. [/quote]

One of the challenges teachers face is that everyone thinks that because they went to school, they know all there is to know about education -- certainly more than someone who spent years studying and researching within the field.

PP, if a K teacher were not able to differentiate, they would not be able to do their jobs.  That's where differentiation is absolutely required and where, if you are lucky, you have a teacher who's actually up to the job.  However, even when teachers are skilled at differentiation, classroom sizes limit the amount of time each teacher can devote to a particular child.  A class size of 21 vs. 15 makes a huge difference in how well a teacher can differentiate instruction.

Yes, TAG programs tend to be more focused on individual children, but Alexandria City's TAG program is not of very high quality compared to other districts in NOVA.  Sorry, Alexandria City's TAG is just not comparable to the better privates.

The fact that teachers may or may not follow best practices in pedagogy should be of concern to parents and the fact that you dismiss it as "blah blah blah" is typical and one of the reasons why our education system is in so much trouble.  As education consumers, parents often have very little clue what they are consuming.

Supplementing with Kumon to mitigate for JH's weaknesses?  Really?  That's such a clueless comment, I don't know where to even begin a response.  I think I'll spare myself the time.

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