Tom T

Imagine teaching a seventh grade English class of 20 kids, 15 of whom read at a fifth grade level. Would the assignments you give, your standards of grading, your classroom instruction, or the amount of time spent on remedial instruction be the same as if you had a class of 20 kids with 15 reading at a seventh grade level? Or with most of the class reading at a ninth grade level? Probably not. In which class would a girl that currently reads at her grade level be most likely to fall behind? Or simply waste her time? Probably not the one with proficient peers. But maybe I’m wrong and the techniques and strategies for acquiring skills in a public school are completely different than they are in private schools, charter schools, parochial schools, dental schools, medical schools, law schools, swimming schools, tennis academies, music conservatories, fine art ateliers, youth sports development programs, trade schools, clown colleges, seminaries, nunneries, and every other form of human endeavor.