tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post116492081124249615..comments2024-03-25T09:43:27.402-04:00Comments on Divrei Chaim: educational malpracticeChaim B.http://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-1164989869988129912006-12-01T11:17:00.000-05:002006-12-01T11:17:00.000-05:00I'd like to pint out that I have an April birthday...I'd like to pint out that I have an April birthday but was not the youngest in my class. There were other Aprils, a May, and even a June (that would be 6 months past the cut off by today's standards) The girl with the June birthday was one of the brightest in the class.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-1164977885085041302006-12-01T07:58:00.000-05:002006-12-01T07:58:00.000-05:00Some thoughts: I don't know if you can generalize ...Some thoughts: I don't know if you can generalize from your situation to all others, e.g. my wife finished college at 19 and has always been one of the youngest in her peer group. I wonder if there are research studies on this (any ed psychologists out there?) Also, while you realize now that skipping ahead may have not been socially the best solution, it did allow you to move ahead academically - there was a tradeoff between alleviating the potential boredom of school work below your level with a not-great social mix. Once you acknowlegde that there is a tradeoff and no one best answer, shouldn't the issue be left for parents to decide rather than have one option or the other forced on them by school administrators?Chaim B.https://www.blogger.com/profile/02231811394447584320noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-1164939826017801662006-11-30T21:23:00.000-05:002006-11-30T21:23:00.000-05:00Re: the first school's desire to place your daught...Re: the first school's desire to place your daughter in a lower grade: there is a valid reason for their attitude, to which academic acheivement is not really relevant. I was born in March, and should have started first grade a year later than I actually did. My mother had me tested, and based on the test results I was labeled gifted and worthy of being started in first grade a year early; so I was always in classes with children who were a year older than me. Over time, I tended to gravitate socially to kids who were my age but a year behind me in terms of academic grade levels. This became really obvious in college, when every single one of my friends was in the year behind me. <BR/>How things would have differed if I was kept to the grade level of my chronological peers, it is of course impossible to say. But that they would have differed, I am certain.<BR/><BR/>And I've survived bad handwriting for four decades now. The two things I always came close to flunking were penmanship and phys. ed. So I wouldn't be too worried about your daughter's penmanship. Just teach her how to type in the near future.kishnevihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01437400043049608843noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-1164932140341718592006-11-30T19:15:00.000-05:002006-11-30T19:15:00.000-05:00My girls' school really has this thing about handw...My girls' school really has this thing about handwriting. My son can write sloppy without being analyzed for it. But I truly believe there is a gender bias in this. Girls are expected to be neat, and so messy handwriting is regarded as a major failing on their part. I know that my own bad handwriting (and I have a PhD BTW) has often been pointed to as proof of my not caring about what I was writing or its intended audience.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-20173285.post-1164929913792081672006-11-30T18:38:00.000-05:002006-11-30T18:38:00.000-05:00What kind of idiot teacher suggested poor penmansh...What kind of idiot teacher suggested poor penmanship was a sign of a learning disability? You should have reminded him/her that Doctors are known to have the worst handwriting. I had a nutjob teacher in preschool who used to send bad boy notes home to my parents because i didnt color in the lines - ironically i grew to become a talented creative artist.The Town Crierhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15102555182223418591noreply@blogger.com