Reply to What exactly is so much better/advanced at an AAP Center or Lv 4 class compared to a regular school?

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Reply to "What exactly is so much better/advanced at an AAP Center or Lv 4 class compared to a regular school?"

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The difference is the peer group AND the curriculum AND the pace AND the depth AND the teachers that have more experience teaching "gifted" kids (and therefore also have more experience with the social emotional needs of these kids and not "just the academics") AND the support structure (including counselors) that has more experience working with these kids.[/quote]

But where does that get you at the end of AAP that you couldn't/ wouldn't otherwise be?  Not trying to argue... just trying to get a measure of the goal.  If the AAP kids just get to Point B a year ahead of everyone else, then I'm not sure it's a goal I want to pursue.  Are AAP kids better prepared for college?  For Honors classes? For AP classes?

What are we all racing toward?[/quote]

You make it sound as if there must be a goal of "getting somewhere" ahead of other students. Why must it be a competition? The goal to pursue is a well-rounded child who is challenged and not having to wait around while the teacher works to get everyone caught up on basics. Are they better prepared for college? Honors? AP? I don' have a kid in HS yet but I'm sure the prep is going to help. My child is doing extensive, daily writing (well beyond what I know classmates in base are getting -- my child has a class just on writing every single day as one of her rotations); social studies projects that expect a lot of depth and insight and expect the child to make connections (and that get real feedback from the teacher); science that is, again, expecting a lot of depth and detail. These kids will be ready to write better labs in HS, write better essays sooner in HS, think more critically. So yeah, I think it does prepare them for HS and AP etc.

Please ignore all the yakking about resumes to get into TJ, parents angling to get kids scores on certain tests, etc. Does it happen? Yes. I've seen it. It's sad. You ask about the goal -- it's to get a kid to think and love learning, not just to get into TJ or get to point B that year ahead of everyone else, as you put it.[/quote]

AAP is great, but you make it seem like they don't do these things in general education. When the teachers differentiate the classes, the students are working at different paces. They are not sitting around waiting for other kids to catch up, because they are working on their individual task. They do daily writing, with written assignments and writing journals. The students who are talented in a subject matter are being challenged in that area.

Parents should take a look at what their base school has to offer. Some AAP parents don't really know what is going on in general education classes since their kids are not in them. [/quote]AAP writing is great. But social studies projects are time waste. [/quote]

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