I worry too much. And I know it. But still . . .
When Fletcher brings home his report card and his grades are all 99s and 97s, I should be thrilled. Instead, I worry that he isn’t being challenged enough. When yesterday he brought home his Lexile score (a complicated assessment of reading level that is now being adopted by our county), I should have just been proud of the fact that my son is an incredibly good reader. And I am. But it also makes me wonder.
Fletcher’s score at the start of second grade is 858. I met with his teacher today and she said she has students whose score is 0. Zero. The goal is to bring them up to 150 before the end of the year. And Fletcher is at 858.
Now I just feel lost. I don’t know what to do with this information. I know he is a great reader. I know he is a super smart kid. I know he could be doing work much more advanced than what he is currently doing.
But he is only 7 years old.
And I want him to be a 7 year old.
I’m sure we could plop him down in 3rd or 4th grade and he could do the work without hesitation. But I would never even consider moving him up a grade. He’s going to grow up fast enough without that. But I also want him to be challenged. I don’t want things to always be so easy. Challenges are important. Even failure is important. They shape us in ways that successes can’t.
OK. Like I said, I worry too much. It just feels like such a fine line we are walking, between advocating for our children’s education and ensuring high standards, and just letting kids be kids because the rest will sort itself out. I haven’t found that balance yet. But I’m still looking.
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