Reply to Just got AAP screening file from AAP teacher and My DC's GBRS was 9, NAT 145 and VQN 93.

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Reply to "Just got AAP screening file from AAP teacher and My DC's GBRS was 9, NAT 145 and VQN 93. "

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Second graders are too young to know anything about "waiting for the right environment."
AAP is not about "trying your best" or "working hard for a good result." AAP is not a prize given for a good effort. It is simply about providing  suitable classroom teaching for elementary school children. For the kid who needs it, it can make all the difference in the world. [/quote]

Teacher here:  the problem is that most kids don't "need" it.  No one other than parents think they "need" it.  Yes, they may qualify, but they don't need it.
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I don't think the current AAP program is set up for those who "need" it.  It just seems like a program for kids who can do well working at a faster pace.   I don't see anything wrong with that, but I think there is misperception, especially on this board, that  there is some special way of teaching in AAP that works better for kids who "need" it.   It's basically a classroom working at a faster pace.  So basically any child who has done really well academically in k-2 would be able to do fine in the current program.  [b]It is not a "gifted" program.  It is more like an elementary school program with all honors classes[/b].[/quote]

In which case it should be open to all kids who can handle it.  I say this as a parent whose oldest went through the program when it was still called GT (and not so many years ago) and whose younger kids went happily through our neighborhood school.  Do you really think all kids who can work at an advanced pace or even the most qualified kids are currently in AAP?  I've seen scores on this board-- both test and GBRS -- that wouldn't have come close to getting kids into the program just a few years ago, now routinely pushed by parents (and accepted by the screening committee apparently) as good enough because the kids are hard workers or bored.  I don't think this matters at the elementary school level, but it definitely does bright kids an injustice in middle school. There, AAP kids get classes that prep them for high school and similarly intelligent kids who weren't pushed onto the fast track at 8, are stuck in classes like "Honors English" where there can be no required reading and assignments like writing a short story are deemed too advanced for them, but not their AAP (and often solely math-talented) peers.  This isn't just inequitable, it's not good for the kids.  And here I mean both AAP and general ed, since they'll all be together in those 9th grade honors classes excepting the miniscule % that go to TJ.

Yes, I have strong feelings about this, but I also have experience seeing kids (and not just mine) go through both systems.  It's been my impression that many of the folks who worry about this the most are parents of younger children and don't fully understand how all this plays out.  The system should not be set up so that some kids get special attention to the detriment of others who are at least as capable.  If you go back to AAP centers as only for the truly gifted who do learn differently, that's one thing, but the current system is not only poor educational policy, it's unfair.
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