The Many Faces of Acceleration

“America's school system keeps bright students in line
by forcing them to learn in a lock-step manner with
their classmates. Teachers and principals disregard
students’ desires to learn more—much more—
than they are being taught.

Instead of praise and encouragement, these students
hear one word—no. When they ask for a challenge,
they are held back. When they want to fly, they are
told to stay in their seats. Stay in your grade.
Know your place.

It’s a national scandal. And the price may be the slow
but steady erosion of American excellence.
—A Nation Deceived

Why Acceleration?
Gifted students are, by definition, more advanced than their age peers in some significant ways. Their rate of development has been faster than expected. They have reached a level of maturity that puts them out of sync with their age peers and with the curriculum of the regular classroom. Not only have these students acquired more information in a shorter time, but they think with the greater depth and insight of older students. The older they are, the greater the discrepancy between their level of maturity and that of their age mates.

The two most significant assets for gifted students are an appropriate educational fit and friends of similar maturity.”

This is the start of a very well crafted article by Dr. Nancy M. Robinson, professor emeritus of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the University of Washington, entitled The Many Faces of Acceleration: Creating an Optimal Match for the Advanced Learner. It is available, in full, at The Duke Gifted Letter, and is well worth reading and sharing with other parents and school officials. http://www.dukegiftedletter.com/articles/vol6no2_feature.html