2 ms·
This I can agree with. I benefited a lot from having older cousins around. At the moment I have a kid who is asking me about chemistry, and I can't just wait 5
by lordnacho 5y ago
This I can agree with. I benefited a lot from having older cousins around.
At the moment I have a kid who is asking me about chemistry, and I can't just wait 5 years for him to get to that age where they teach people specifically chemistry (as opposed to general science). There's no reason I can't tell a 9 year old about valencies and that kind of thing, so why does school wait with it?
- em-bee 5y agoi think once you go beyond the basics of math, reading and writing, the problem is to order all the remaining material into some sort of sequence, but it matters less what the actual sequence is. you could start with chemistry earlier, and anyone homeschooling may do just that, but this is going back to the exact problem that started this sub-thread: schools being designed to teach everyone at the same pace.
- brimble 5y ago> There's no reason I can't tell a 9 year old about valencies and that kind of thing, so why does school wait with it? Not enough staff (teachers) to differentiate instruction that finely. A lot of stuff sounds like a great idea until you're looking at a classroom of 18-28 students and everyone else around you is trying to deal with a similar-sized class of their own. Special-ed kids might get help down to having one entire adult just to help and follow around that single kid all day (!) but there's no stomach for spending that kind of money to help kids who are ahead, or to reduce class sizes so regular classroom teachers can realistically do a better job of differentiation. Best most places get are very-part-time gifted programs.