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Home : 2007 : July : 3

MaryRuth
By josephineg

The real question is not "Do you really want a 16 year old college freshman?"

The real question is: Are the best interests of the child being served?

"Acceleration options should be available at each stage
of development in a child's educational program from early entrance to primary school up through early college entry in order to even out the curriculum challenge. Parents may also wish to seek out accelerative opportunities beyond the school setting in order to accomodate an individual student need that cannot be met in traditional school settings." (National Association for Gifted

Children, Position Paper, "Acceleration.)

Good teachers frequently do not have the resources to make sure every child is challenged. The fact that your son and daughter were both reading chapter books before kindergarten does not address the point.

You may have had students who skipped kindergarten, but the research supports skipping kindergarten for certain students. And yes, if the placement is properly made, they grow up just fine. Please take a look at the report: "A Nation Deceived: How Schools Hold Back America's Brightest Students", The Templeton National Report on Acceleration, downloadable at: http://www.nationdeceived.org.