I've been thinking about J's IRI test scores this evening. Why do the scores only go up to 3? It's because the state doesn't care if a kid is doing well, they only care if they're not.
I have searched in vain for any sort of program, support group, or even a teacher resource for children who are above grade level. The school system (and the government) is so worried about leaving a child behind that they don't even pay attention to the kids who are ahead!
It's as if they think that a smart child can figure things out for themselves. Sure, a gifted kindergartner can read, so he ought to know how to walk down to the library by himself and choose a more challenging book that his teacher has the other kids reading?? Not likely!
I can't remember where I read this, but it really stuck with me. Maybe it was a book, maybe a web site. The government spends millions of dollars to make sure a child of below-average intelligence gets all the help he needs to become a minimum-wage worker. They start these programs at the preschool level. But where are the programs for the children who will one day cure cancer? The kids who will become physicists and physicians and engineers and who knows what else? Those programs don't start until 2nd or 3rd grade, and with the economic downturn, many programs are being cut altogether.
Excellence in early childhood is not rewarded.
This is a confusing topic, because I don't really want the government's fingers in everything. I understand that some children who don't get help with reading will end up illiterate and on welfare instead of pulling in a steady minimum wage. And I know all too well that everybody feels passionate about the issues that they face personally, and not so much about others. This is an issue that perhaps few people are passionate about.
It just seems so screwed up, ya know?
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