A case for the 6th grade

A week ago my older son came home and announced that he wanted to change schools. It's not the first time he did that - I've heard it a couple of times before. But this time he was very persistent and serious. "Just give me a chance to shadow in another school, - he said - maybe the stuff they teach will be more difficult. I am bored. I just want to try another school."

It's not in my plans to change schools. I love this one, we've been happy with it for years. I also have a younger son who would also need to change schools should I do it for the older one, and he would be extremely unhappy about the change - he has so many friends in this school, and he loves it. Besides, changing schools wouldn't make any difference - they all follow pretty much the same curriculum. With the knowledge and understanding that Alex has, the only solution is to promote him to a higher grade. I've thought about it for years, and done nothing. I knew I would face an uphill battle. Here in US, it's just not done. But that evening, I was left with no choice. I wrote a teacher a letter describing the situation and asking for a meeting. They promised to address the situation and meet with me.

So they did today. I met with an assembly of teachers, counselors, and the principal. It was quite a gathering. Sadly, it was also quite useless. They really wanted to show that they care. But they had no idea how to address Alex's needs. Despite the assurances that they brainstormed a number of ideas about how to better challenge Alex, they presented not a single one, save one additional math class that he would be taking. So, after listening to them, I presented my idea - to promote him to a 6th grade (I also mentioned it before in my letters to them, so it wasn't a surprise). After that, a meeting turned into a duel.

"We wouldn't do it to him - said one counselor - while he may be ready academically, there is also an emotional aspect, and you can't hurry that up." "All the research shows that this creates more problems that it solves," - said another one. "You are only saying that because you feel helpless. This is not the solution." "This is not on the table, - said the principal - and if you decide to change schools, be very careful of a school that would agree to promote him. This is not a good school."

Why? Why won't they promote a child who is obviously far ahead academically? He is wasting his time working on the material which has long been familiar to him. I tried to reason with them. I tried to explain that while to most kids, even gifted kids, school is about the experience, friends, working together on a project, to Alex school is about getting information, it is about learning new things. He's always required a lot of new information, new facts, new data. He is not getting it.

"We often repeat the themes that we teach, - said the principal, - but we always add a new dimension to them, so students are learning." No you don't. You study native americans, year after year after year. Half a year of history is devoted to native americans. Every year. At home, we've done history of Russia, history of England, Ancient Grece, and life of Leonardo da Vinci. We've also visited the exhibits on Genghis Khan and Tutankhamun and learned about them. We've covered Greek mythology. You study native americans. We've learned world geography and can point most of the countries on a map. You study states and their capitals, and present learning state birds as a challenge. Very useful one. We go to planetariums and have learned about planets, galaxies, stars, and black holes. You teach how salt dissolves in water - something a toddler discovers for himself at age 2.

"Alex's writing skills are right at 5th grade level, - said the teacher, - they are not beyond that". Yes, I know. Writing is our weaker subject. Writing is not about facts, figures, and data, so Alex does not devote a lot of energy to it. But is this a reason to hold him back? Because by not promoting him, they are holding him back. We'll work on writing. We'll take extra homework on writing if required. But a child needs to learn, and he is not learning.

The meeting ended with a counselor's promise to meet with Alex and with me (separately) next week. Why? She wants to talk to us. She wants to know where we are coming from. She wants to know our background and why we are not feeling satisfied. A child is not learning. That's why. What else is there to know and what does our background have to do with anything? Again, they want to show that they care, that they are making an effort. But that does not help us.

There is one useful thing a counselor suggested. "If Alex is not feeling satisfied, - she said, - he has to advocate for himself. He has to go tell a teacher, right at that time. Saying "I am bored" next week does not help." She is right. This is an advice I can give Alex. Keep bugging them. Tell them you need more information. Tell them you are not learning anything new. But my feeling is that will not help much, either. They will learn how to tune him out.

What choice do I have? At this point, only one - look for a school that will take Alex straight to 6th grade (because again, they all follow the same curriculum, and finding a more challenging 5th grade will be next to impossible). But I am so reluctant to do it. To me, there is much more to a school than just information, and our school has all those other things. But it's not about me. It's about my son. Back in the Soviet Union, all schools were the same, and we attended one that was close to home. Here, schools are different, and you need to find one that fits your child best. Our school fit up to this point. Now it doesn't. Time for a change?