Anonymous wrote:Honestly, I have this on both sides.

For my kid with Dyslexia, we spend a massive amount of time, money and energy basically providing in-home support via tutors and us because we can't tell whether he will get excellent services in school. Are there years where he absolutely gets amazing support and grows exponentially in language arts. Absolutely! Was there also a year where the classroom was run like a cat cafe and the SPED support was useless. Yes.

We don't have the luxury of time to trust he will get everything at school.

What is difficult is that he's also amazing at math. So we chose to work ahead because it was an area of strength and the depth was useful to bridge examples of reading where it's more than bulky text. Word problems are actually great for reading and helpful.

The result is he is doing great in both now.

So, YMMV. Not all of us are trying to prep our kids for Harvard. We just want to support their ability to...read.

Thanks, this is a perspective I hadn't considered. I am glad to here your DS is doing great now, thanks in no small part to your efforts!

Anonymous wrote:Next, the project-based learning has been a joke.

Given that project-based learning has been proven in studies to be ineffective as a primary learning strategy, is this a surprise to anyone? Kids should be instructed directly by teachers, and projects should be to enhance learning, not as the primary method of instruction.

Honestly, I have this on both sides.

For my kid with Dyslexia, we spend a massive amount of time, money and energy basically providing in-home support via tutors and us because we can't tell whether he will get excellent services in school. Are there years where he absolutely gets amazing support and grows exponentially in language arts. Absolutely! Was there also a year where the classroom was run like a cat cafe and the SPED support was useless. Yes.

We don't have the luxury of time to trust he will get everything at school.

What is difficult is that he's also amazing at math. So we chose to work ahead because it was an area of strength and the depth was useful to bridge examples of reading where it's more than bulky text. Word problems are actually great for reading and helpful.

The result is he is doing great in both now.

So, YMMV. Not all of us are trying to prep our kids for Harvard. We just want to support their ability to...read.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.

Acceleration is fine but I would focus on depth rather than speed.

Kids getting to algebra 2 in 8th grade without any real sense of numbers and how to manipulate them are likely to implode later.

If your kid is doing things like mathcounts and RSM/AOPS and AMC and is accelerated, then that's fine but if youa re just shoving them up to Algebra 2 in 8th grade without any of the rest of it, then they are going to crash and burn because they don't really understand what theya re learning.

DC has been doing BA pretty consistently for the last couple of years and has enjoyed it. It works for us because it's online/self-paced and affordable. And they do a good job of it. The in person classes are too far for us and less flexible. I don't have experience with RSM or AMC to know what we're missing but BA has been a success in our house.

Anonymous wrote:You're in FCPS. UVA is going to be difficult to get in unless your kid dots all the Is and crosses all the Ts. It's an arms race for the most selective colleges, or the in-state but still very good options, because they all have quotas for each high school, and there will be plenty of kids in your child's high school who will have perfect academic and extra-curricular profiles. So you want to position your kid to get on all the advanced tracks in secondary school.

You've been warned. Of course it's about keeping kids challenged. But don't lose sight of which colleges you want your kid to go to.

OP here. Thanks. We aren't originally from this area and I didn't realize it was so competitive to get into UVA.

I work in higher ed and have noticed more high schoolers reaching out re: internships--probably at the behest of anxious parents. It's mostly resume padding; these students don't seem to have time or desire to make real contributions or learn anything. Had a few bad experiences and have been turning them away since. Will not advise my child to play these games but rather to pursue more meaningful contributions rather than a long laundry list of extra curriculars. If that means no UVA then so be it.

We enriched because our child was bored and wanted to. He wanted to play soccer, so he played soccer. He wanted to do Scouts, so he does Scouts. He wanted to do math so we found him a class.

It is not about accelerating, it is about following a child's interest. And yes, there is a benefit for school in that he is ready for more advanced math classes and won’t find them particularly hard. He isn’t doing Geometry this summer, he is going to Scout camp and traveling with family.

Ask your kid if they want to do more academic work. If they say yes, find something they enjoy. But do it because your kid is interested and not because you want them to be accelerated. The way I see it, ES math is meant to cater to students at grade level. Enrichment gives kids want more and can handle more an opportunity to challenge themselves. I know some people on this board are very invested in getting kids as far as they can in the math because they think it is important for kids to be years ahead. That isn’t us but you need to do what you think is best for your kid.

We have been taking our 4th grade kid to Harvard every summer since pre-K. So they know the goal of acceleration and why it is so important.

Dont lose sight of the big picture.

Anonymous wrote:DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.

Acceleration is fine but I would focus on depth rather than speed.

Kids getting to algebra 2 in 8th grade without any real sense of numbers and how to manipulate them are likely to implode later.

If your kid is doing things like mathcounts and RSM/AOPS and AMC and is accelerated, then that's fine but if youa re just shoving them up to Algebra 2 in 8th grade without any of the rest of it, then they are going to crash and burn because they don't really understand what theya re learning.

You learn ahead so that you get to take Algebra at 7th grade and Calculus BC at 10th grade. This way you show the colleges you are smarter than others.

It is a silky game but nobody can stop playing it in AAP.

You're in FCPS. UVA is going to be difficult to get in unless your kid dots all the Is and crosses all the Ts. It's an arms race for the most selective colleges, or the in-state but still very good options, because they all have quotas for each high school, and there will be plenty of kids in your child's high school who will have perfect academic and extra-curricular profiles. So you want to position your kid to get on all the advanced tracks in secondary school.

You've been warned. Of course it's about keeping kids challenged. But don't lose sight of which colleges you want your kid to go to.

Next, the project-based learning has been a joke.

Anonymous wrote:First, sweetheart, set your expectations. AAP is not truly advanced. It's just extended math in 3rd grade. Not even advanced.

And?

First, sweetheart, set your expectations. AAP is not truly advanced. It's just extended math in 3rd grade. Not even advanced.

We were not trying to advance our child but to challenge him. He loved math and the math at school was not engaging. He found math competition and math competition classes and has been happy competing. We use school math as time to practice and solidify foundational skills.

We wanted him to continue to enjoy math and that meant finding a way to do math that was fun for him and challenged him. We went the RSM route and have been happy.

He was in a language immersion program at school which was a nice challenge for him. We make sure he reads for 30 minutes a day but that is about it for LA.

DC is entering full time AAP in fall (third grade). We have him doing some math and LA enrichment this summer. Decided to give him something challenging since the school year was pretty much a joke. But then I think that he will be bored in AAP. Or is it likely to still be interesting given the project based learning? And the fact that many others are also ahead? Otherwise is the a good rationale for getting ahead? I have always wanted to see him challenged and not idling, so if school is slow we do stuff at home, etc. But I would like to hear other people's thoughts on why they accelerate.