Part 1:

Review the statements on the Acceleration Anticipation Guide.

Discuss your thoughts about these items and other concepts from
your readings.
While completing the Acceleration Anticipation Guide, I tried to be as thoughtful as
possible in what I chose based on my learnings during this course and throughout my
teaching career. After completing the required readings, I noticed that many of my
selections were closely matched to those within article. I try to put on my teacher’s hat as
well as my parent hat when thinking about the best approach to each of these questions.

In education we try to do what we think is best for the child based on the average we are
seeing within the current classroom and that of the prior classrooms. I think that parents
view their children as individuals, which can cause a bit of a discrepancy when it comes
to placement and possible level of achievement. It is our job to help parents understand
that students are either being met where they can excel or be given the proper data to
support the decisions being made.

I currently have students who are performing well above the average that the grade-level
data points explain, but because of the strange ending to last school year and the fact that
testing is not taking place as of yet this current year, I am stuck with extending and
finding support within the system to help them achieve greatness. I think that because we
had not planned for this type of circumstance that these next few years will be difficult to
place students within the Advanced Placement courses, which will result in students
struggling to live up to their potential. I hope that we can create a “plan B” for addressing
the data and how we can provide a non-biased solution to the demand of these high
achieving students.

Part 2: 
A Nation Deceived informed us of the research-based practices for
challenging our gifted students. A Nation Empowered informs us of
research on acceleration, how the information has been applied, and
how educations can use the findings to make decision for our
brightest students. The author of A Nation Empowered states,
"Classrooms are the only place where age matters more than ability."

o What does the quote mean to you?

 For me, this quote really does say a lot because I have two small children at
home, both of which are learning and performing skills at different rates.
My oldest, a girl, is like a sponge and her preschool has advanced her once
and debated on possibly putting her in Kindergarten this school year
although she is in Pre-K. My husband and I spoke on this and decided that
even if that was an option that we would keep her in her current group
because of the social and emotional aspect of her age. We think that once
she is in the structured building of elementary school, if this topic is
brought up again, then we would revisit it when she was old enough to
understand and have a say. We believe that it is her education and she
should have a say in what directions she takes it in. On the flip side is our
son, he is 18 months younger and far less mature. His birthdate is also the
end of August. We have already decided that he will repeat either Pre-K or
Kindergarten simply because he is not as interested as our daughter and has
less motivation to learn the materials. Also, he is less mature than his sister
was at the “level” in education, which his teacher points out often because
she taught our daughter just last school year.

I think age truly maters most when it comes to relationships and

accountability. Once a child is old enough to understand these and have an
input then it should be addressed. These should be factors but not the main
determinant. Again, a student placed in Accelerated programs should be
held accountable for their work and understanding, if they are not old
enough and mature enough to understand what this means then they
probably have no place being added into an Accelerated program.

o Re-read one of the vignettes from A Nation Empowered. What

do you think this quote means to student, parent, or teacher in
the vignette? Why?

I think upon reviewing Madeline Bernstein’s vignette, she holds a similar

thought to what I think when it comes to the quote. Students must be able to
be accountable; they must find those individuals to support, challenge, and
encourage you in a way that will guide your abilities to greater levels. She
stated, “Bright students have to be able to navigate middle school social
pressures. They have to find people – students and teachers – in high school
who will push them to excel.” (pg. 19) I believe that she, as a student, was
able to see where age can play a major role in education as students progress
into the higher-grade levels. She noted about the social pressures and the
change of focus on academic encouragement on young girls in the maths and
sciences.

When you have a driven student, like Madeline, it can become difficult to
continue to push yourself when you are also trying to “fit in” with your peers
at a different age. It is important to know your own desires and drive, and to
find others who will help motivated you and steer you in the direction that is
best for your goals.