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The school didn’t care. They didn’t want him to repeat grades if he already knew everything. They were focussed on his development than arbitrary restrictions a

The school didn’t care. They didn’t want him to repeat grades if he already knew everything. They were focussed on his development than arbitrary restrictions around age.

SoftTalker 4y ago
OK, but physical development is important too. Middle school would be rough as a 9/10 year old. He was 14 graduating from high school?
- ptero 4y ago
  The "elementary/middle/high school" distinction might have been virtual. My grandfather told me that most rural schools in his time, including the one he went to, had several grades in a single room. Occasionally a single room for all students. For "elementary" grades it would be primarily by function (can read? can write? can count?) rather than age. And it would not be uncommon to have a much older kid from a poor family sit with little kids at the "cannot read" table. In this setup jumping a grade could be as simple as sitting at the next table. Can read -- go there. Can count -- one more step. Physical development came from carrying water, herding cattle, bringing and splitting firewood, etc. outside of school.
  - brewdad 4y ago
    That's a more severe version of what my child had in elementary school. To keep classes the right size, they would have a few 1st grade classes and a few 2nd grade classes and one 1st/2nd shared classroom. Repeat for each of the following years. My child was always put in the younger half of the shared classroom. After 3rd grade the principal invited them join the regular 5th grade class and skip 4th grade altogether.
    - Consultant32452 4y ago
      This arrangement is by design in some teaching styles, like Montessori. Unfortunately the Montessori schools in my area aged out after Elementary, would've loved to keep my daughter in that kind of environment.
- vkou 4y ago
  Middle school isn't a universal thing, a lot of places have just elementary (~1-7), and high (~8-12) school. And the grades mix/don't mix on their own volition at lunch and recess, anyways.

The school didn’t care. They didn’t want him to repeat grades if he already knew everything. They were focussed on his development than arbitrary restrictions around age.

SoftTalker 4y ago

OK, but physical development is important too. Middle school would be rough as a 9/10 year old. He was 14 graduating from high school?

ptero 4y ago
The "elementary/middle/high school" distinction might have been virtual. My grandfather told me that most rural schools in his time, including the one he went to, had several grades in a single room. Occasionally a single room for all students. For "elementary" grades it would be primarily by function (can read? can write? can count?) rather than age. And it would not be uncommon to have a much older kid from a poor family sit with little kids at the "cannot read" table. In this setup jumping a grade could be as simple as sitting at the next table. Can read -- go there. Can count -- one more step. Physical development came from carrying water, herding cattle, bringing and splitting firewood, etc. outside of school.
- brewdad 4y ago
  That's a more severe version of what my child had in elementary school. To keep classes the right size, they would have a few 1st grade classes and a few 2nd grade classes and one 1st/2nd shared classroom. Repeat for each of the following years. My child was always put in the younger half of the shared classroom. After 3rd grade the principal invited them join the regular 5th grade class and skip 4th grade altogether.
  - Consultant32452 4y ago
    This arrangement is by design in some teaching styles, like Montessori. Unfortunately the Montessori schools in my area aged out after Elementary, would've loved to keep my daughter in that kind of environment.
vkou 4y ago
Middle school isn't a universal thing, a lot of places have just elementary (~1-7), and high (~8-12) school. And the grades mix/don't mix on their own volition at lunch and recess, anyways.