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| I mean, how hard is it to just know an equivalent school year, you know? |
If it's so simple, then why is it not so simple for everyone else? Why are WE the ones who have to do the age-to-grade conversion? Why isn't it just okay to take a 10-year-old as a 10-year-old? Doesn't everyone else already know that 10yo "equals" grade 5?
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| I guess in part I don't like the simple answer because I think the age/grade lockstep is one of the most problematic aspects of public school. |
Exactly. And not just in school, but it's become pervasive across our society. Kids aren't considered by their age or their individual development level, but by their school grade. Like others have said, as homeschoolers we have to be aware of the 'equivalent' grade level for registration in various activities. But why do these activities go by grade and not just by age?
Grade level has become the number one qualifier and describer of a child. Which, because of arbitrary cut-offs which vary from place to place, means some kids just a week in age apart are different grade levels, and THAT is how most people think of them. You hear "third grader" and "fourth grader" and you assume that one is a year more advanced than the other, when really they're only a week apart (or whatever) and are, in all likelihood, more socially and developmentally similar than kids a year apart would be.
School grade divisions are somewhat arbitrary, and the numbers are just a convenience for labelling and sorting. It's arguably necessary in a large group setting like public (and private) schools, but I really really really strongly feel that it should NOT be the primary way of labelling your child in terms of their level of development/achievement/etc. outside of school.
Heck, you even see it in things like newspaper articles about kids who have done something like won some sports trophy... "John, a 6th grader at Our City Elementary school".... As though that's the most important thing to know about them, their primary IDENTITY. Why not "John, an avid stamp collector" or "John, an 11-year-old cat lover with dreams of becoming a vet"? If it's just for 'placement', to label their age... then just give their AGE!
Why has it become the FIRST question asked upon meeting a child? "What grade are you in?" Arguably it's because a child's life IS school, their life revolves around their classroom, teacher, and homework. And I think that's a darn shame. That their arbitrary placement within a school level has become their identity. That the thing most people consider most important about a child is that identity of a particular school level, rather than anything ELSE about them.
If you're just asking to know how old they are, then you should be satisfied knowing how OLD they are.
Heck, I find myself having the reverse problem. When someone tells me their kid is in grade 4 or whatever, it's close to meaningless to me. I do the math and say "ah, so he's around 9 years old, then?" That has more meaning to me. It's about the individual, not about the label some institution put on him.
Do we go around introducing adults the same way? "This is my husband George. He's a third-year employee on the 2nd level of the junior payscale." We either take them at face value, or if we need to know their age, we ask their age. It's almost, to my way of thinking, a way of demeaning and devaluing children, by referring to them as their label in reference to a mass group, instead of as unique individuals.
I should make it clear that I don't have anything against the idea of 'levels' for academic instruction. It certainly can be quite useful, and like I said, arguably necessary for a public school setting. It's the pervasiveness of this labeling OUTSIDE OF SCHOOL that drives me bananas. It is NOT the most important aspect of a child and shouldn't be the primary means of identifying them. School grades are for school... age and development should be for everything else.
My kids are usually right at grade level (for their age) anyway and only go about six months to a year ahead in most instances and that's usually in the spring of the school year right before summer when they get started on the upcoming school year a little bit early.
So far, our tentative plans include cc classes at the high school level. Other than that, when he's done, I guess. When outside learning takes place more than home learning, when he's a giving member of society, when he takes over completely and sets his own path.
However, when it comes time to sign up for library writing classes or math camps her actual working grade level in the subject may be more appropriate. So, the simple answer or the more detailed one depends upon the audience.
