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Duchess specifically asked me to tell the internet that she managed, in the classroom contest today, to recite from memory pi to thirty-five digits. She also asked me NOT to tell the internet that she came in second to her friend the Nerd King, who recited it to forty-one digits. I got her permission to tell the internet that, however, because I wanted to write about her academic relationship with the Nerd King.
Duchess is, for the first time, part of a small clique in her class that has persisted for more than a few days. The clique is Duchess and two boys, and the three of them are understood to be the academic champs of the class. They have a lot of nerdy fun, making up secret languages and whatnot. I have the impression that the Nerd King has significant intellectual power, leaving Duchess and the Nerd Earl fairly far behind. This has been unsettling for Duchess, who wasn't used to having her academic superiority challenged, let along trampled. However, lately she seems to be stepping up to the challenge, spurred on by the hope of doing as well as or better than the Nerd King. When the pi contest information was passed out to the kids at the end of the school day yesterday, the Nerd King memorized ten digits during the few minutes they waited in the gym for parents. Duchess wanted to beat him, and she worked pretty hard on it. Thirty-five digits is a lot of digits. The contest was optional, and only five kids participated. The Nerd Earl got to thirty digits, and the other two kids got nine and seven digits. I'm pretty sure that if the Nerd Court wasn't around, Duchess would have memorized nine or ten digits and been very pleased with that. While memorizing digits of pi isn't exactly a life skill, it's just the beginning of how the Nerd King is already expanding her idea of what she might be able to do.** Her friendship with these two boys is making her push herself harder academically, and that's great.
If the Nerd King leaves, for private school or homeschooling or the magic TAG school, Duchess will lose this motivation. She won't have the reminder that she can do more and better, or the competitive push to try harder. She'll go back to thinking that because she can do well without breaking a sweat, she doesn't have to break a sweat. THAT'S why kids who are doing exceptionally well, and kids who are doing exceptionally badly, should be at least somewhat mainstreamed.* There's no reason to try to swim faster when you're already the biggest fish in the pond.
*Okay, not the only reason.
** Not to mention the Nerd King's imperturbable confidence. When the class sociopath taunts him, the Nerd King apparently waves him off and says in a bored tone "...expected..." Duchess, who is unable to brush anything off, is as impressed by this as by any of his other skills.
Duchess is, for the first time, part of a small clique in her class that has persisted for more than a few days. The clique is Duchess and two boys, and the three of them are understood to be the academic champs of the class. They have a lot of nerdy fun, making up secret languages and whatnot. I have the impression that the Nerd King has significant intellectual power, leaving Duchess and the Nerd Earl fairly far behind. This has been unsettling for Duchess, who wasn't used to having her academic superiority challenged, let along trampled. However, lately she seems to be stepping up to the challenge, spurred on by the hope of doing as well as or better than the Nerd King. When the pi contest information was passed out to the kids at the end of the school day yesterday, the Nerd King memorized ten digits during the few minutes they waited in the gym for parents. Duchess wanted to beat him, and she worked pretty hard on it. Thirty-five digits is a lot of digits. The contest was optional, and only five kids participated. The Nerd Earl got to thirty digits, and the other two kids got nine and seven digits. I'm pretty sure that if the Nerd Court wasn't around, Duchess would have memorized nine or ten digits and been very pleased with that. While memorizing digits of pi isn't exactly a life skill, it's just the beginning of how the Nerd King is already expanding her idea of what she might be able to do.** Her friendship with these two boys is making her push herself harder academically, and that's great.
If the Nerd King leaves, for private school or homeschooling or the magic TAG school, Duchess will lose this motivation. She won't have the reminder that she can do more and better, or the competitive push to try harder. She'll go back to thinking that because she can do well without breaking a sweat, she doesn't have to break a sweat. THAT'S why kids who are doing exceptionally well, and kids who are doing exceptionally badly, should be at least somewhat mainstreamed.* There's no reason to try to swim faster when you're already the biggest fish in the pond.
*Okay, not the only reason.
** Not to mention the Nerd King's imperturbable confidence. When the class sociopath taunts him, the Nerd King apparently waves him off and says in a bored tone "...expected..." Duchess, who is unable to brush anything off, is as impressed by this as by any of his other skills.
Comments
"...expected..."? Genius!