> 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 different

> 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.