[trunnell]

We've heard:

- It can make kids "overconfident when they see material they think they already know, so they end up not engaging."

- Some programs, particularly RSM, are criticized for valuing speed over depth. Current culture for K-8 math teachers is the opposite, they value depth over speed.

Left unsaid:

- It can make the teacher's job harder when the class has a wide span of abilities.

- Current teaching culture is skeptical of accelerating and/or skipping grades in math.

Notably, we've never heard English teachers be upset about a kid reading a book outside of school that's above grade level, or using advanced vocabulary in an essay. They tend to praise it.

[niwtsol]

Got it, thanks for the response - I think my honest reaction is shocked by reading this. I was always good at math and it was such a source of pride and sense of accomplishment. In english I struggled, vowel sounds, grammar, it just didn't come naturally to me. I'm a little disheartened by this slide (for lack of a better word) of public school education, especially STEM.

[derwiki]

Maybe part of it is that math is objective and writing is subjective? A math teacher could be called out by a 13 yo for “being wrong” but for an English teacher, what is “wrong”?

[sometimelurker]

> valuing speed over depth

have you shown them the lengths of the homeworks RSM gives? vastly more depth than any hw a public school would give imo.

[niwtsol]

I believe there are some public schools that have stopped giving homework for k-5 completely which is just shocking to me.