My Main Idea for Advancing Pedagogy: Part I

     This idea, like any other, has good points and bad, and perhaps has good and bad points I haven't even realized yet. 

     One of the bad points is that it might help the parents of home schoolers.  Home schooling is anti-social and undermines our crazy little world by insulating people from ideas.  Sure, if only geniuses did it, maybe things would work out well enough, but we know that, in large part, it is religious-tome-thumping individuals who are going to withdraw their children from the hated, debauched, decadent and depraved public school system (They don't sacrifice any school lunches to Zeus, by Jove!). They will do this to teach their offspring unpopular ideas.  That's really all there is to home-schooling, isn't it?  Wanting to teach children unpopular ideas like "Non-believers are damned for all eternity."  Perhaps not.

     The idea of "mine" is quite simple, and its roots come from experiences I have had.  When I was in kindergarten, at the very end of the year, one student was told he would not be advancing to first grade.  I guess these teachers were not the sensitive sort (telling him in front of everyone?) and the child ended up leaking an unpleasant smelling liquid onto the floor. 

     I was told I was a smart kid, and started to think of myself that way.  One possible event in the life of a smart kid is to skip a grade.  I even harbored hopes that they'd suggest that for me.  I was also told that it would kinda suck in some respects, so I never really worried that school administrators never called me to tell me I was just too smart for my current grade.

     Both being "kept back" and "skipping a grade" are events that have large impacts on child's life, impacts well outside of the educational goals a school education is trying to achieve. 

     Guesses what the idea is?  Have your own ideas?  Put them in the comment boxes below.