Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the center kids I've known just understand higher level ideas at a younger age. It's not a matter of memorizing, it's that they can grasp a concept more quickly. When kids like this are together, it's just cool seeing how they work and learn in a group setting.

It was like that a few years ago, but the center classes have such a broad range of kids in them now that the amazing dynamic is almost a thing of the past. I have an 8th grader and a 3rd grader. Thier cohorts are amazingly different.

It seems like the group will continue to grow. With the expansion of AAP center programs and more local level iv, combined with the critical mass requirements, more children will be in AAP classes. We only have so many 99.9% kids in the district. The rest of the classes will be filled out with the kids that are bright but not gifted.

I thought the expansion was just spreading the existing kids out? So there would be no more 400-kids-at-1-school AAP Centers and instead those 400 kids would be spread over 2 schools (200 kids at each school, 50 kids per grade level).

Cant understand this obsession with gifted. Usually there may be one out of 100 who is really gifted. Rest of them are kidding themselves thinking that they have gifted kids

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the center kids I've known just understand higher level ideas at a younger age. It's not a matter of memorizing, it's that they can grasp a concept more quickly. When kids like this are together, it's just cool seeing how they work and learn in a group setting.

It was like that a few years ago, but the center classes have such a broad range of kids in them now that the amazing dynamic is almost a thing of the past. I have an 8th grader and a 3rd grader. Thier cohorts are amazingly different.

It seems like the group will continue to grow. With the expansion of AAP center programs and more local level iv, combined with the critical mass requirements, more children will be in AAP classes. We only have so many 99.9% kids in the district. The rest of the classes will be filled out with the kids that are bright but not gifted.

Anonymous wrote:A lot of the center kids I've known just understand higher level ideas at a younger age. It's not a matter of memorizing, it's that they can grasp a concept more quickly. When kids like this are together, it's just cool seeing how they work and learn in a group setting.

It was like that a few years ago, but the center classes have such a broad range of kids in them now that the amazing dynamic is almost a thing of the past. I have an 8th grader and a 3rd grader. Thier cohorts are amazingly different.

A lot of the center kids I've known just understand higher level ideas at a younger age. It's not a matter of memorizing, it's that they can grasp a concept more quickly. When kids like this are together, it's just cool seeing how they work and learn in a group setting.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and I should point out, our base school did the same project.....so again, no different between center and base.

But if you could compare the projects, it is more than likely that the center kids are presenting more complex and more detailed facts about their chosen person.

Yes...but if a kid is just expected to challenge themselves by extending their own assignment, then what good is the center?

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Oh and I should point out, our base school did the same project.....so again, no different between center and base.

But if you could compare the projects, it is more than likely that the center kids are presenting more complex and more detailed facts about their chosen person.

Did you compare both projects? Or is it your vanity speaking?

Anonymous wrote:Some of the vocab and math homework they give is so tedious and repetetive and meaningless, it contributes nothing to their knowledge. It reminds me of kumon.

Haha, good point!

Anonymous wrote:Oh and I should point out, our base school did the same project.....so again, no different between center and base.

But if you could compare the projects, it is more than likely that the center kids are presenting more complex and more detailed facts about their chosen person.

Our center experience has been night and day compared to our years at the base school. My daughter is thriving with the faster pace and she does have a lot more work that requires deeper thinking. OP You may not know all things your child is doing. My daughter will basically mention none of the cool things they do in class and I only find out about them every few weeks when class work comes home in the school folder.

Some of the vocab and math homework they give is so tedious and repetetive and meaningless, it contributes nothing to their knowledge. It reminds me of kumon.

Oh and I should point out, our base school did the same project.....so again, no different between center and base.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:More work does not equal more challenge, and faster pace does not equal deeper knowledge.

Well said!

Exactly!
My ds is at a highly regarded center and is very unhappy. He wants to learn more, and they're just brushing the surface of everything in the name of fast-paced AAP.

OP here...

THIS IS MY POINT This is why I am unhappy and so is my DC. 5 tests in one week, but only 1 in depth hands on type project this entire year. Why do 3rd graders need to take 5 tests in 1 week?

Mind you the one project that the kids got to do taught my DC more than any other section so far this year. Most of it was done in class so not to upset parents that want family time and honestly I think to make sure the kids were doing their own work and not getting too much parent "help". The kids were able to pick who they wanted to research, spent their time finding information on that person, wrote a paper, gave an oral presentation and made a visual aid. They taught the other kids in their class about said person and then all the kids took a test (of course lol) over what they learned. A 40 question test on several different famous Americans and my DC LOVED every minute of the project, including friends presentations. For weeks we have been bombarded with fun facts about all these people, DC loves to share the info. This project made a lasting impression, more so than any standard worksheet and simple reading could have provided.

Granted I know it can not all be like this, but the hurried pace they push these kids isn't their time now for things like this? If not, what is the point?

Anonymous wrote:At our center, DC loved 3rd and 4th. 5th has not been so great.

At our center, DD loved 3rd, 4th and 5th grade. 6th grade? Not so much. She's counting down the days until starting middle school.

At our center, DC loved 3rd and 4th. 5th has not been so great.