should I ask school to bump my child up in math class

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My 7th grader has been getting A's in math class for the last two years -- he works hard, it doesn't necessarily come easy, but he does well. Currently he is in the mid-range math class. We have had experience with him being in remedial English -- with other kids who are either special needs or just plain difficult kids, and when we asked that they bump him up to regular English this year, he has worked hard and received A's. It was a great idea, mostly for social reasons -- he's with the smarter kids who are not behavioral problems.

We are considering bumping him up to the higher-range math class. There will be more homework, which I am somewhat concerned about for him. My whole reasoning for doing this is so that he will be in the same class as more of his current, and potential friends -- the smarter, geekier kids. Currently, his class has a couple of behavioral problem kids, and I think limiting that type of kid in the class would be a good thing for him -- he can concentrate a lot better when the behavior problem kids aren't in his class. BUT, I am concerned about putting too much stress onto him with the higher level math.

Any experience with this sort of thing?

I would say DO IT!! !! !! I had a chance to get into advanced classes, and declined. I always hated the idea that I didn't.

I had a reverse situation - this is how it went for me:

In 7th grade, I was put into an accelerated math class - for two glorious weeks. We talked about number theory, different base systems & other exciting concepts. The class was filled with the joy of numbers.

Then, the administration came to the realization that, with our city's school districts changing in the next year & a new Jr. High being built - there were only two of us in the accelerated class who would be going to the new school. So they yanked us out of the accelerated class & put us in regular math (so we wouldn't get ahead.)

For most of the rest of my school math career, I was an average student (not just in grades, but more in the way I tried to fit in with the kids around me.) The rest of my 7th grade year, I sat in the back row of math class & copied my homework assignments from the kid who sat next to me (in exchange, I showed him how to do the work.) Assignments were supremely boring & repetitious. It seemed to me that there was no point in doing the same problem 25 times, once I understood how to do it.

I did eventually rebound, after a fashion. By my senior year, I was a straight-A student again & was considered for outstanding math student at graduation - but it took forever for me to overcome the trauma of being held back.

If your son has the chance to get into a more advanced class, I think he's likely to rise to the occasion.

well, ask your son! Sit down with him and list the pros and cons.

the worst thing that could happen is he could go back to the other class.

There ya go, that is what I was going to say. He's old enough to make these choices for himself, and SHOULD make them.

You can always jump off the math fast track, but you cannot always jump on. It quickly diverges at this age to a point where it won't even be an option, to enter advanced, so that is important to be aware of. This really is probably his last chance as the advanced kids will be doing algebra, then geometry, and so on, while the regular kids stay in pre-algebra for a while. It needs to be his choice, either way.

My question to you is: Does he want to be bumped up? That's not to say you should cater to his whims and do only what he wants. However, either having his agreement or getting him to buy into it makes a huge difference. Children at that age are notorious for being rebellious and often do the opposite of what their parents want, if for no other reason than to be contrary. If you son sees it as an opportunity and not an obligation, you have won most of the battle without even firing a shot.

Again, I'm not saying that you shouldn't seek to advance him if he doesn't want to. People are always capable of so much more than they think, but often seem to do just the minimum. So, do ask the school about bumping him up. They should have experience with willing or unwilling children and be able to assess whether he would do well. Given your son's success after advancing from remedial English, he would probably be eager to do it for math. But if he goes kicking and screaming, don't expect he will continue to get As, or even Cs.

Your question is whether you should ask the school about advancing your son. You have nothing to lose by having that discussion with them. Always ask - the worst anyone can say is no. The real question then becomes whether he should advance. IMO, that is a question best answered by you, your son, and the school.

Thank you for all of your replies. I haven't asked my son if he would like to bump up yet, but I certainly will.

I asked a neighbor who's son has had the teacher that my son would most probably have, and I definitely think that bumping up would be a good idea. Apparently this teacher is VERY structured -- so much so that she gives out a sheet AT THE BEGINNING OF THE WEEK specifying all of the homework for the entire next week. That right there is reason enough to want this teacher!

Also, I agree that this is probably the last time that we will be able to bump him up. He's just going to an Algebra class, not number theory or anything like that, so I don't think that it will be too demanding, as he already has had some algebra and has done well with it. Also, he is not a rebellious sort at all -- if anything, he will just go along with whatever he thinks we, as his parents, decide. But it is his decision --

The funny thing is, we had a son who was quite gifted. We lived where we are, and he was in the GOAL program in elementary school. Then we moved, and when we moved back to this area again, he didn't want to be in the gifted program, or anything associated with being a smart kid. We let it slide, and he did somewhat mediocre work throughout high school. We encouraged him to take AP classes, as we knew he would enjoy the other students more than the students in the average classes that he was taking, but he resisted. He finally took AP courses in his senior year, and then yelled at US (the stupid parents) for not MAKING him take advanced classes before that point! So, you can never win . . .

It really depends on the program. Ive always been good at things like math and science. I easily learned the concepts and could grasp the lesson in 5 minutes while it took other children several days. As such, I got into the 'advanced' math programs.

My first school that I attended had an 'advanced' program that was the exact same lessons as the standard program, but with more homework. I didnt learn anything different, or get to do anything interesting, I just got a boring lecture, and more then twice the homework. And that makes no sense at all to me. If I can figure out how to do something in 2 problems, then why do they think increasing the homework from 20 problems to 50 problems is a good use of my time? I really did hate that 'advanced' class and I wanted desperately to get out, but my mother didnt believe in listening.

At 8th grade, I attended a new school. Their 'advanced' class was basically just taking math with the next year's students. When it came time for math, the 'advanced' 8th graders, and the normal 9th graders took math together. Likewise the 'advanced' 9th graders and normal 10th graders took math together. There wasn't a separate math class for advanced students, just taking math with the next year. I skipped 2 years, and wound up running out of math classes to take my junior year. As such, I went to the local community college at nights to take calc+calc II. I can't say I loved being in the next year's math class. It was still rather slow paced for me, but it was definitely better then my first schools 'advanced' classes. Although I did enjoy my first college classes while I was in high school, which I think was a good thing.

So, all that to say...
It really depends on what this 'advanced class' really is. If it is just more homework then dont bother. If you have the opportunity to learn more and be in a better environment then go for it. Just make sure to research it and talk to some students in the class to see what it is about, and then discuss it with your son.

I am a parent who has accelerated both of my brilliant sons. They were both at the top of their class. The older one, who has a tad of Asperger's is now 18 and a Junior in college. The younger one is 16 and he has just graduated. While I worked hard to keep the school work at the level they were able to do, the school really got a cop out because they did not have to teach my sons, they just put them in harder classes.

So, ask your son. Since he is in the middle range of the math class, that sounds like a good place to be - still room to move up, but not overwhelming. However, there is a chance that he is in the middle of the class because he is bored. Only he can answer that question.

The big question for you, is if your kiddo is bright enough to be accelerated in Math, what else is he bright enough to be accelerated in??? And then what happens when your son is 16 and out of school? -- Oops that's my problem - but do think about what acceleration means:

he will be with older kids
he might be overwhelmed and no longer in the middle but at the bottom
it might spark his interest in school and he will be off and running
what about his social skills - perhaps working on them is better than working on math - only he knows

I wish I had a parent with an older aspie to who had been there when I put my son in an accelerated school program.