My almost-a-teenager daughter graduated from elementary school on Friday. For most kids it is not that big a deal: you leave elementary school, then you go to high school; grade 7 is over, grade 8 begins soon. For a girl like my daughter however, this is a much more important transition.
Elementary school has not been easy for my daughter. She came late to reading; really only in this past year has she felt able to read on her own. Writing is and will probably always be a labourious process for her. She prints like a much younger child, holding the pencil and writing with deliberate and tiring ferocity. Despite her unusual memory, basic math skills such as multiplication elude her with counting still done on fingers and in the air. The answer she produces after this exercise is rarely correct. And then there are the social differences: she does not lie, takes everything at face value, rarely understands non-verbal communication and more. It probably sounds as though she is not ready to leave elementary school--- that may well be. However children are rarely kept back these days as the social ramifications of "failing" a child are thought to outweigh the benefits.
We had thought that we would do an extra year at elementary school but when it came time, my daughter was ready to move ahead. She physically appears older than her grade six and even some of her grade 7 classmates (at a school population of 92, every division is a split) and in so many ways except scholastically, was appropriate for high school. As it appears now, she will be in a class of about 2 dozen kids who are all at a similar place academically. There we hope she will go through high school at her own pace, learning the basic skills needed to become an independent young adult. She will not be doing calculus, PowerPoint projects on the life cycle of Gypsy moths or writing papers about Shakespeare's plays; rather she will be learning to tell time, how to handle money and what basic hygiene is expected of her.
One chapter ending, another beginning: all part of the rhythm of life. As one of my daughter's heroes Temple Grandin wrote to her in a short but wise note: "Work hard and you can achieve your dreams." That's what my daughter will be doing. It is all hard work for her but she will do it and we will be right beside her. And there is no place that we would rather be.
Elementary school has not been easy for my daughter. She came late to reading; really only in this past year has she felt able to read on her own. Writing is and will probably always be a labourious process for her. She prints like a much younger child, holding the pencil and writing with deliberate and tiring ferocity. Despite her unusual memory, basic math skills such as multiplication elude her with counting still done on fingers and in the air. The answer she produces after this exercise is rarely correct. And then there are the social differences: she does not lie, takes everything at face value, rarely understands non-verbal communication and more. It probably sounds as though she is not ready to leave elementary school--- that may well be. However children are rarely kept back these days as the social ramifications of "failing" a child are thought to outweigh the benefits.
We had thought that we would do an extra year at elementary school but when it came time, my daughter was ready to move ahead. She physically appears older than her grade six and even some of her grade 7 classmates (at a school population of 92, every division is a split) and in so many ways except scholastically, was appropriate for high school. As it appears now, she will be in a class of about 2 dozen kids who are all at a similar place academically. There we hope she will go through high school at her own pace, learning the basic skills needed to become an independent young adult. She will not be doing calculus, PowerPoint projects on the life cycle of Gypsy moths or writing papers about Shakespeare's plays; rather she will be learning to tell time, how to handle money and what basic hygiene is expected of her.
One chapter ending, another beginning: all part of the rhythm of life. As one of my daughter's heroes Temple Grandin wrote to her in a short but wise note: "Work hard and you can achieve your dreams." That's what my daughter will be doing. It is all hard work for her but she will do it and we will be right beside her. And there is no place that we would rather be.
That beautiful young girl is so blessed to have the family & friends she has, and you are all so blessed to have her.
ReplyDeleteThank you, yes!
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