I wish schools divided by abilities, not age!

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My son stands out physically from the rest of his classmates because he LOOKS so immature. He's like a 2 yr old in a class of 4 yr olds. He's above average height and weight for his age, but he's got a big head, a baby face, very soft and squishing body, and he's like 2 yrs behind in gross motor development.
We went to the park with two of his classmates today, and the differences were horrific. He could not keep up with them!

At least if they grouped by reading and math abilities, the kids could get to know other kids whom they could talk to, plus there would be a range of sizes, ages, etc, so everybody could blend in. My son is like a wise old man in a baby body. He just doesn't fit in with other 4 yr olds.

I wish they weren't divided...haha...The real world is people of all ages, classes, abilities, etc...having them mixed (at least for me and my opinion) allows children to appreciate others and not focus so much on the differences...I think when they are grouped, one is sure to stick out somewhere...whether their age, their abilities, their size, something...if they are all different, they learn to work and appreciate all...Again, just my viewpoint.

My kiddo was in a Sudbury School for a while...didn't work out, but I don't blame the Sudbury education, just the start-up school and the people running it where we live...

I also feel that schools shouldn't divide their students by abilities. I feel that kids of all sizes and abilities should be put together.

I believe that schooling should be divided based on capability, not physical age. I was perpetually frustrated with some teachers myself at school, who refused to let me "work ahead". (Most math/science teachers just let me do my thing, a few weren't at all accommodating).

I still see the same thing - children excelling or failing in some areas, but their school locks them into a fixed-level mentality, as if all children with fifth-grade math skills have fifth-grade home economics skills.

(One of the arguments I've heard is that it allows children to socialise within their own age group, thus encouraging better social behaviours. Of course, IMHO that doesn't do much good when the child wants to socialise with older/younger children, because they have more in common!)

my daughter's issue is that she is WAY ahead of her classmates academically, but WAY behind her classmates socially...........ability grouping won't fix that. she is fortunate to be in the Talented & Gifted program which pulls her out of the regular classroom once a week to do all sorts of research projects based on her interests. It's a great program which seems to be providing her with enough extra stimulation.
ability grouping does not address many of the issues our children have. ultimately, we all have to come to terms with what matters most~ raising someone who is vastly more intelligent than most & has absolutely no social skills and therefore can't hold down a job...........or raising someone who is vastly more intelligent than most & has the social skills to hold down a job.
our family choice is to raise someone who can hold down a job & function well in society.

Schools/classes should be divided by learning style. For example: Children who learn better on their feet or with hands on.(kinesthetic learners) would be taught in the way that allows them to learn the best. Children who learn best by sitting and listening to the teacher talk would be put in that environment and visual learners in another, etc. .
I believe that disabilities would not be so apparent if things were done in that way.

Well, actually, my post about not dividing by age and/or ability is more related to the fact that I also don't think that in a classroom children should be made to learn something they're not ready to learn or stopped from learning because an adult feels that's too advanced for them. So, mixing the kids of all ages and abilities is more aligned with also providing the materials necessary for them to learn at their own pace, not forcing them into a specific "level".

I agree with some posts here that your child is ahead of the class and he is either "pushed aside" for that one class or he's just made to sit and endure the boring stuff he already knows until all the others catch up...If instead they had the ability to go at their own pace, that would not be an issue...Also, because ALL kids are better at some things than others, it would encourage the one who is good at math to not be looked at as a NERD, but rather those who aren't good at math could go to him for help...where as the one good at math could go to someone with better social skills for help as well...

Ah, just my crazy philosophy of that perfect world...hehe

What I wanted in school was to be able to do my lessons at home on my own time and just send them in for grading, therefore I wouldn't have to deal with all the social nonsense that takes place in school, like bullying, harassment, jock worship, etc.

I'm glad such an alternative is now available to students through such things as independent study, cyberschool, etc. Would have made learning alot easier for me.

That's what skipping grades are for. If you rated on ability it may seem easier, but actually it'd make things very complicated. Not even going into the resources it'd take to group over a million children, can you immage what that would do to self esteme? Older kids that are placed in lower classes would be taunted cruely, same with the younger in older classes. Not ranking at all would mean nothing would get done.

well, good points. I was feeling pretty bumbed out that my son was not riding a scooter like his classmates, but a friend of mine said, "How do you even know if he wants a scooter in the first place?"

I was in a mixed age class in first grade. I was a first grader reading at fifth grade level who had older classmates reading at first grade level. I realized that I did not really belong in that class, although my teacher was excellent. I was a lot like Ster's daughter-way ahead academically, but way behind socially.

Look into Montessouri schools. in gneeral they are free of charge, the difficulty lies in finding one close by