Betsy is not Understood
A few years ago I checked the children's classic, Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield Fisher, out of the library for my girls to read. I read it myself and was struck by the educational component. One of the advantages Betsy gains by her country move is the education of a one-room schoolhouse. In the city, she was just given the books according to her grade level (she is 9 in the book) even though she is far advanced in English and somewhat behind in math. In the one-room schoolhouse, on the other hand, she is allowed to take the books that match her level. She is no longer forced into the mold of what is expected in fourth grade, but is free to do English above grade level and math below it without having to go through a process to label her learning disabled. It is, in other words, a Montessori approach. I didn't know that the author was familiar with that educational system. But according to the Amazon review: "Fisher is a wise, personable storyteller, steeped in the Montessori principles of learning for its own sake, the value of process, and the importance of 'indirect support' in child rearing."
I was just thinking of this again because we have just started a new school year. The term "avid reader" is an understatement with respect to my youngest. I explained to her teacher of this year that she reads 2 to 3 years above grade level and I really appreciated that teacher last year customized her assignments for her, so that she wouldn't just coast through the standard reading for her grade. But I don't think it is happening this year. The teacher sends home letters to parents urging them to encourage their children to read. They have a reading log that requires 10 minutes a day. Well, my daughter is more likely to read 100 minutes a day -- on a school day, mind you. In fact, I have to tear her away from books to get her to do her homework. She is way beyond the point of playing reading by pointing out signs and other reading opportunities in the wide world. But she is stuck in the standard mold of second grade with spelling tests on words like "mom" and "bike." If she is advanced beyond that, the school's attitude is that I should just be happy she is doing well and not struggling in that area.
When I brought up the question of skipping a grade last year, the principal demurred. The approach of schools today is not to focus on the strengths of a child but to look for her weakest point. She said that even if a child is completely able to handle the academics of the more advanced grade, she will still have a liability like being not as advanced in jump rope or ball.
Really, that argument is bogus. I did follow the school advice in retaining one child who was at the time behind in certain skills. Giving her that extra time did not result in marvelous jump rope skills or the like. Now she is the oldest in her class and far more mature than 99% of them. But that is not the advantage one might think it is.
I was just thinking of this again because we have just started a new school year. The term "avid reader" is an understatement with respect to my youngest. I explained to her teacher of this year that she reads 2 to 3 years above grade level and I really appreciated that teacher last year customized her assignments for her, so that she wouldn't just coast through the standard reading for her grade. But I don't think it is happening this year. The teacher sends home letters to parents urging them to encourage their children to read. They have a reading log that requires 10 minutes a day. Well, my daughter is more likely to read 100 minutes a day -- on a school day, mind you. In fact, I have to tear her away from books to get her to do her homework. She is way beyond the point of playing reading by pointing out signs and other reading opportunities in the wide world. But she is stuck in the standard mold of second grade with spelling tests on words like "mom" and "bike." If she is advanced beyond that, the school's attitude is that I should just be happy she is doing well and not struggling in that area.
When I brought up the question of skipping a grade last year, the principal demurred. The approach of schools today is not to focus on the strengths of a child but to look for her weakest point. She said that even if a child is completely able to handle the academics of the more advanced grade, she will still have a liability like being not as advanced in jump rope or ball.
Really, that argument is bogus. I did follow the school advice in retaining one child who was at the time behind in certain skills. Giving her that extra time did not result in marvelous jump rope skills or the like. Now she is the oldest in her class and far more mature than 99% of them. But that is not the advantage one might think it is.
Comments
gifted students are ignored and left to atrophy and the weak students left to struggle. I spends 10 times what my parents did on yeshiva education but my children cannot speak hebrew. This is no surpirse considering their Rebbes cannot speak hebrew.