Here is a Twitter discussion with a mother of an intelligent
kid. She did not block me as she is not promoting any ‘wares’ unlike most of
those who blocked me for no reason. We would have reduced if not eradicated the
number of kids who leave school as illiterates if discussions are as civil as the
following discussion. I read the following tweet and commented:
It doesn’t cost much to teach kids
more effectively. It costs basically nothing to enforce standards, use proven
teaching methods, group students by ability
Instead, we waste money searching
for ways to help struggling students without also helping smart kids (“close
the gap”).
Luqman Michel @luqmanmichel
You and a majority have got the
following wrong - 'Instead, we waste money searching for ways to help
struggling students without also helping smart kids (“close the gap”)'. It is
the struggling kids who are the intelligent kids. Do you or any other readers
want to discuss this openly.
Panda Potentate @jillianjane
Struggling kids may very well be
intelligent and can excel with some support. That doesn't mean that kids that
are already excelling without support are not intelligent, or that they don't
deserve a chance to excel further.
Note now added:
Kids who are already excelling now may also be the geniuses
like Edison and Einstein who could have been taught to read by parents or went
to kindergarten where they were taught the letter sounds correctly – without extraneous
sounds.
Panda Potentate@jillianjane Replying to @luqmanmichel and @NielsHoven
While I agree that some children
need only a little support to show their true potential, I disagree that that
means high achieving/gifted children will then have to catch up to the formerly
struggling children. Some people have more intelligence, motivation, etc.
Note now added:
I agree. I should have explained that I was talking about
the intelligent kids who could already read in grade 2 and not the exceptional
gifted children. If the Einsteins and Edisons who struggle in grade one, because
they had been taught letters with extraneous sounds and thereby shut down and
are wrongly classified as dyslexic, had been taught correctly they would
definitely be doing better than the other students.
Panda Potentate @jillianjane Replying to @luqmanmichel
World of possibilities -
identification of a specific learning disorder like dyslexia, dyscalculia,
processing disorders and using assistive tech, or even as basic as a child
needing glasses or hearing aids.
Note added now:
Basic needs of a kid who need glasses and hearing aids should
have been noticed by parents before they attend school. The case of my friend’s
grandson is a good case in point. His mother was desperate that he was not able
to read like his cousins who lived in the same house. She said that he may be dyslexic. In my second lesson with
him I was confident that he had a eye problem. Read my post written in 2010 at LINK.
Panda Potentate @jillianjaneReplying to @luqmanmichel and @NielsHoven
All of the kids may very well be
able to read by the end of grade 1. Assuming that the class does not have any
children with intellectual disabilities, developmental delays, emotional
disturbances, low functioning autism, etc that greatly impair their ability to
learn at pace. In the US, we often try to educate children with severe
disabilities in the same class as neurotypical children. It can work but can
also slow down advanced students.
Luqman Michel@luqmanmichel
Severe disabilities in the same
class as neurotypical children? This should not be allowed in any country.
I would not be able to talk about
autistic kids as I know zilch about that condition. I am an expert with
so-called dyslexic kids. Which kids have intellectual disabilities? I won't be
able to talk about children with mental problems. That is beyond me.
Note now added:
In Malaysia we have separate schools for dyslexic children.
Panda Potentate @jillianjane Replying to @luqmanmichel and @NielsHoven
They may also have other challenges
like dyslexia that could be overcome with your expertise in that area, but you
would first have to overcome the fact that that child is hitting you, throwing
chairs in frustration and running out of the classroom...
Note now added:
A majority of kids who throw chairs and misbehave in
classroom are kids who are intelligent but cannot read like their peers. This
frustrates them and they misbehave to avoid shame. This was already discovered
by researchers of the Children of the Code. LINK
Panda Potentate @jillianjane Replying to @luqmanmichel and @NielsHoven
I'm middle aged, was an
"advanced" child myself, now mother to an intelligent 2nd grader.
Yes, the US education system has a variety of challenges but behavioral
disorders overshadow actual learning in many classrooms. It's very frustrating.
Note now added:
She could be someone who could have been classified as a
dyslexic but someone could have helped her to read from grade 1. She could have
helped her child to read thus making her child more advanced than the other
kids in her class.
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