Decisions decisions
Not sure what to do.
My little one, Alex is in the 1st grade, 7 years old. A quick witted, funny, very smart little boy.
He’s been doing remarkably well in school, so well that we have a meeting with the Teacher and principal on Monday to discuss promoting him directly to the 3rd grade next year. I just don’t know what to do.
For every “con” that is presented I can come up with a reason to disprove it. I don’t know if I’m just leaning towards doing it or what. I’m just very confused.
Here is some of my and Willy’s thought processes.
1.He’ll be separated from his friends
2.He’ll be too young to be in the third grade
3.He’ll be too small and won’t fit in
4.It’ll be harder when he gets to High School
5.Athletics will be tougher when he’s in High School, ‘cause he’ll be smaller, less developed than the rest
My responses to these “negatives”
1.He’s already in an afternoon class with all 2nd graders and has friends there
2.He’s a December baby and barely missed the Kinder cutoff so he’s not THAT much younger
3.Have you seen my kids???? LOL Really, he’s already one of the biggest kids in his class and just about even with the current 2nd graders
4.Might be, might not. The way our High school is run you can pretty much take on the difficult classes as you like after the minimum requirements are met. Everything else is pretty standard.
5.Might be, might not. He’s already got really good coordination, so he’s not “behind” or “young” in that area either. Who knows when puberty will hit and change his body, but that’s different in every kid
He’d be 17.5 When he graduates from High School. Is that bad?
Ok, so what if I DON’T allow this?
He gets bored beyond belief in his classes. I can request that the teacher gives him “special” work. I can request that they put him in a higher “reading” class. But all of his skills are not being challenged then. What about math? Is it really fair to ask the teacher to devote such time and effort to him? Hey, I work in the schools I know what it’s like. Teachers are so stressed and intent on “remedial” students and making sure that most of the kids are just meeting the standards that the others don’t get much in the way of “challenges” And things are getting worse, seriously I really see a trend to getting students just “up to par” than helping those that are beyond the basics.
I just don’t know what to do. Once we go forward we can’t go back.
Hopefully we won’t have to make a decision soon. We’ve asked him and he’s all gung-ho. I just don’t know!
Any input? Good? Bad?
This is my 4th child so a lot of what I'm basing my answers on is how I see my other children reacting to their Teenage years.
My little one, Alex is in the 1st grade, 7 years old. A quick witted, funny, very smart little boy.
He’s been doing remarkably well in school, so well that we have a meeting with the Teacher and principal on Monday to discuss promoting him directly to the 3rd grade next year. I just don’t know what to do.
For every “con” that is presented I can come up with a reason to disprove it. I don’t know if I’m just leaning towards doing it or what. I’m just very confused.
Here is some of my and Willy’s thought processes.
1.He’ll be separated from his friends
2.He’ll be too young to be in the third grade
3.He’ll be too small and won’t fit in
4.It’ll be harder when he gets to High School
5.Athletics will be tougher when he’s in High School, ‘cause he’ll be smaller, less developed than the rest
My responses to these “negatives”
1.He’s already in an afternoon class with all 2nd graders and has friends there
2.He’s a December baby and barely missed the Kinder cutoff so he’s not THAT much younger
3.Have you seen my kids???? LOL Really, he’s already one of the biggest kids in his class and just about even with the current 2nd graders
4.Might be, might not. The way our High school is run you can pretty much take on the difficult classes as you like after the minimum requirements are met. Everything else is pretty standard.
5.Might be, might not. He’s already got really good coordination, so he’s not “behind” or “young” in that area either. Who knows when puberty will hit and change his body, but that’s different in every kid
He’d be 17.5 When he graduates from High School. Is that bad?
Ok, so what if I DON’T allow this?
He gets bored beyond belief in his classes. I can request that the teacher gives him “special” work. I can request that they put him in a higher “reading” class. But all of his skills are not being challenged then. What about math? Is it really fair to ask the teacher to devote such time and effort to him? Hey, I work in the schools I know what it’s like. Teachers are so stressed and intent on “remedial” students and making sure that most of the kids are just meeting the standards that the others don’t get much in the way of “challenges” And things are getting worse, seriously I really see a trend to getting students just “up to par” than helping those that are beyond the basics.
I just don’t know what to do. Once we go forward we can’t go back.
Hopefully we won’t have to make a decision soon. We’ve asked him and he’s all gung-ho. I just don’t know!
Any input? Good? Bad?
This is my 4th child so a lot of what I'm basing my answers on is how I see my other children reacting to their Teenage years.
posted by Rebecca at 5:55 PM
3 Comments:
I'd say go for it. If Alex is ready to do it, that means he's really wanting to move forward. Since his b-day is in December, he's not that much farther behind. Heck, I was born in September and had friends in my grade that were born in November. If he's not challenged now, he might give up on wanting to learn if he's stuck below his actual learning level. It's only helping him out mentally and socially. (...yikes...write a book, why don't ya, Lara...)
I'm with Lara but with reservations. The biggest thing about really smart kids who skip grades or start college way early isn't the school education part but the psychological developement. School isn't all about book learning...school is learning how to deal with people, social situations etc. It doesn't sound like the school work would be a problem, the social aspect might. As long as you figure out how to deal with that he should be okay.
Rene
Well, technically, you could go back if it doesn't work out. I would say yes, since he really wants to and is physically not going to have issues (being the smallest or youngest looking). I was 17.5 when I graduated and it was fine, didn't feel too young. With older brothers and stuff, I don't think he would have much problem with the social aspect either. And you are right, teachers really have to go with the "slowest" ones in the class and he needs to keep that brain stimulated. Congrats on the smart boy, momma!
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