I have such mixed feelings about situations like the one Ben is in.
I'm not convinced that taking the absolute hardest of everything is always good, even for the really gifted kids like Ben. Or even necessary. If they are able to do it without suffering too much stress, that's ok, I guess, but if it begins to affect their happiness with themselves or with school overall, it doesn't seem worth it, even though they are bright enough, they may not always benefit if they're not ready emotionally. Plus it can separate them from their peers.
As for computer courses- CW took one course in high school, thought the teacher was stupid, didn't learn a thing and never took another. Yet he made a perfect score on the COllege AP computer exam, won the Texas State Science Fair with a computer project in the 10th grade, and was the first high school computer intern at Ernst and Young in Dallas-having taught himself all the languages and whatever else he needed. I don't think high school computer teachers are terribly good for what these kids want and are capable of. Especially if the teacher is anal about pen colors.
Are these advanced courses weighted at all? They added ten points at the end of CW's high school GPA AP course grades. BUt the teachers seemed to think that they had to make sure this meant nothing. So that a C was often a fairly good grade throughout the year. It was almost punitive.
On the other hand, CW was ready for college becuase of it, and is doing really well at Rice.
ON the other side of the fence, we tried Ammo in an Honors Algebra in 8th grade. And he started getting sick to his stomach in the mornings. We decided that there was nothing to be gained from that kind of pressure and put him in a regular class where he made 98s and was very happy. It's just an individual call, I guess, for every child.
Your kids sound so wonderful and kind and sweet. That's the important stuff.
By the way- I've done a column on school projects and I used you and the Roman gladiator in it. |
