Reply to Bright child in early elementary- what are my options?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Many parents with highly able kids struggle with this.  A friend tried adamantly to skip K but teachers/admin refused.  My DC was highly gifted in math (taught himself to multiply and divide fluently in K). But there was nothing short of homeschooling that we could have done.  He’s in 4th now and was bored in math throughout but now is at least enjoying the faster paced compacted math.  It’s really not fair that these kids have to go through the same curriculum as their slower counterparts.  It’s almost as we’re punished for teaching our kids to read before K.  But I’ve always hated this aspect about public school.  Everyone has to learn at the same pace.  Admin says the slower kids catch up, sure but at the expense of the rest of the kids not learning anything for several years. 
I heard of this charter school in DC where kids learn on their own via videos that they can pause and repeat if needed and have small group discussions with the teacher.  Sounds like that is the way to go.  Sorry OP, join the club[/quote]
My DC can multiply and divide and is in K. He is a regular kid who can read, write and speaks 3 languages. Are you sure yours is gifted?[/quote]

This. That doesn’t sound highly gifted. [/quote]

It was just an example of what he can do, he’s calculated things in his head that have blown my mind away. (I’m no math whiz but I at least took AP calc) But that’s not the point, I don’t care if he’s labeled or not it’s just my opinion.  [b]Anyways the point is wouldn’t it be nice if we could springboard these kids who are advanced in K and keep that momentum going? [/b] Yes there are many many bright kids out there, but why are they in classes with kids who don’t even know their letters?  I encouraged DC to read but I hardly had to teach, he picked up on his own so quickly like so many other bright kids.  I just wish that kids like that could start off school focusing on the skills they need instead of ones they’ve already mastered. [/quote]

NO. This would not be nice. It would lead to an arms race that does nothing but reinforce privilege. It is ridiculous to expect a social good like public education to provide a concierge education to each child. It is doubly ridiculous to expect that the school will cater a curriculum to keep kids one step ahead of what their parents are teaching them at home (or paying someone else to teach them).

"Springboarding" kids who show up to kindergarten ahead of their peers is a nightmare idea, designed to create a permanent underclass and to hoard advantages that can only be attained through time/income that many parents do not have. It creates a system that reward family income over potential, and is bad for society, in that it means gifted kids who didn't get enrichment before they turned 5 would be left behind. [/quote]

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