is anyones kis NOT top of their class on mumsnet?

[cod]

Message withdrawn

why is it unkind (honest have no idea) is it referring to another thread?

Yes Enid, Cod said as much in her post of 10.26pm yesterday.

sorry non-entire thread reader

oh I think I know the thread where the year 2 child was on level 13-14 ort books?

yes didnt have anything constructive to post

other than I could read fluently by the time I went to primary and they used to get me to help the other children instead of read. I didnt care I just did more reading at home - great expectations at 7 anyone?

It didnt bother me tbh and there were other subjects I wasnt great at so I could flex my muscles on those instead.

Just wondering Cod - why start a thread like this if you can't stand threads like this? Not forcing your opinions by any chance are you?

This thread pissed me off at first as I was pondering the potential sacrifices we would have to make if ds gets into Oxford in 8 yrs time...
Will def not ask mumsnet about what it costs then!

ellbell, I only know because dd does tests at the start of the academic year, and they give you the results broken down so that you can see what % of children got each section right etc so you know approx where your child is!

Went to dd's parents' evening last night and she is good at everything. Her teacher said so . The only cloud on the horizon was that this child who taught herself to read at 3 is not in the top set for literacy as she talks too much and distracts the other children .

Of course I'm proud of her.

But I was just as thrilled with the certificate that ds brought home yesterday for "using his voca without prompting". They are both doing their best and they are both happy at school, that's the main thing.

(voca is communication device for non-verbal children before you ask)

Neither of my sons is top of the class in anything, though granted it's a bit early to tell with DS2 (just started Reception). I think it's fair for parents to want schools to support and stretch their children, as appropriate. So DS1 (Y3) is a good reader with a great vocabulary, and I want the school to encourage and develop this, while supporting him in areas that are not so strong (maths......)
And I think Mumsnet is (should be?) the perfect place to come to with queries that you feel uncomfortable asking people in real life.
It is tough to feel that you shouldn't be proud of your children for academic achievement, but it's OK if they're good at sport/drawing/music.
LOL Aloha about levelling PE and reading - I'd have been on the easy readers for ever too!

Anchovy and Fennel, the correct middle-class-over-educated assumption is that the teacher is wrong, misguided and clearly in the wrong job.

nothing wrong with being proud of children who are doing well academically. but isn't it just a teeny bit precious to see high academic achievement as a "problem"?

if they are doing well and top of their class they are lucky, and if they're a bit bored up there at the top, so what, they'll survive it. if they are really intelligent they'll eventually work out either how to achieve academically, or choose not to.

Now you see this is the attitude which bothers me. 'They're bright so they're OK. Who cares if they get bored?'

Bright kids have the same rights as any other kid to be educated, stretched, chellenged and to have their natural lust for learning rewarded, not squashed, sometimes irretrievably.

but the education system does reward the brightest children. they get all the prizes in the end, all the rewards, all the official success. more chance of scholarships. entry to the most prestigious unis. etc. the whole system is skewed to valuing academic skills.

in that context, do the high-achievers really need more attention than the others?

You causing trouble again SM? Feeling better now?

fennel unless you have money and power
look at prince harry as an example

Wotcher Drop. No. Feeling crap still. Hence dark posts.

Slightly better. Really hoping to be fine for the do.

Not 'more' fennel, but equal. I feel many bright kids get so disenchanted that they fail to learn and fail to reach their academic potential because they are ignored.

Message withdrawn

my kids are bottom of their classes and likely to remain so and I don't give a stuff cos they are doing their best and I'm chuffed to bits!

Ahem - Fennel said 'a bit bored'. Not 'bored for days and days and days'. We've all been there. Not fun, but not the biggest tragedy that school can inflict. I think that failing the succession of ghastly tests that schools now inflict must be much, much worse.

You better be-we have a date remember? Can't remember what colour rose we chose but you are one of only a handful I am really looking forward to meeting!

Same here Drop.

Did you choose a badge?

I agree with fennel's posts. Completely.

Absolutely, fennel. Spot on.