Comments on: Bass-Ackward http://themorechild.com/2008/04/14/bass-ackward/ Extreme giftedness, re-forming education, homeschooling, parenting and more...as seen from the Washington, DC suburbs. Sat, 19 May 2012 02:47:34 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.com/ By: Crimson Wife http://themorechild.com/2008/04/14/bass-ackward/#comment-330 Thu, 17 Apr 2008 03:57:01 +0000 http://themorechild.wordpress.com/?p=87#comment-330 Why would GATE students need to worry about their middle school GPA’s? The only middle school students who should be concerned about their GPA’s IMHO are those who are getting lousy grades. I seriously doubt that is a widespread problem among the gifted kids. What possibly benefit can it serve to start the high achievers obsessing about grades so young?

This whole obsession with external markers of achievement is a big factor in our decision to homeschool. In our social circle, the anxiety starts before the kids are even out of Pull-Ups. My DD is 5, and a number of her little friends have been subjected to drill-and-kill Jr. Kumon since age 3. It’s absolutely nuts!

]]> By: Katie http://themorechild.com/2008/04/14/bass-ackward/#comment-328 Mon, 14 Apr 2008 15:59:56 +0000 http://themorechild.wordpress.com/?p=87#comment-328 Not. At. All. I went to a british public (i.e. private :) school and every time we had a test/exam/homework assignment, the teacher would read out the list of marks, starting at the top and publicly telling off anyone who got a low score. This vastly exacerbated my natural perfectionism, and basically lead to us all just wanting not to be bottom, rather than aiming to learn the material! I always thought that this was just a peculiar tradition to that type of school….. but it is hurtful, even if you are lucky enough to generally be near the top.

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