Kindergarden Debate

The choice whether to delay your child's kindergarten year or start it early is a very big topic for parents. In the book we are reading for rogate  the author Malcom Gladwell states that children the have been "redshirted" (had their kindergarten delayed) have a accumulative advantage towards other students. In another New York times article neuro scientists Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt both agree in their Article that redshirting children is a bad practice used by parents. They claim that kids that started kindergarten early have an advantage over redshirted kids when it comes to reading and writing. They also claim that redshirted kids are less motivated in high school. I agree with Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt's theory that starting school late for kids is a disadvantage. In Sam Wang and Sandra Aamodt's theory they also stated that when children are 6 their brains are undergoing massive changes. They argue that since the brain development can not be put on hold, there should be content available to support the brain growth. Which I think is very important because the kids will be using their brains for the rest of our lives and that stage of development is the most important one we will undergo in our lives.

All About Being Gifted

There are many different advantages and disadvantages of being gifted. There are also many myths. Some common ups of Rogate are get treated differently. Your teachers could think you are exempt from some work, or you don't have to do as much as the other students. But being treated differently could also be a disadvantage. The teachers also could think that because you are gifted, you need to be challenged more then the other students, or do more work then them. Another up of being in Rogate is the feeling that you are in Rogate, you are a gifted student. Not necessarily better that the other students, but smarter then them. And an up has an equal down, you might be made fun if people know that you are in the smart kid class. There are also many myths about Rogate that are not true. The myth that all kids are gifted, is a very controversial topic. The truth, all children are gifted in some way or another. But, the gifted label used in school refers to an educational standpoint. Another myth is that all gifted children get good good grades. That is definetly not true.  There are many kids in my rogate class including me, that do not get perfect grades in school, but are still considered gifted. 

First Official Blog Post

My name is Ryan Howard and i am a freshman (9th grade) in Northern Burlington High School.
Ten things I like are video games, electronics, sailing, baseball, lacrosse, listening to music, tubing, building stuff, my phone, and my iPad. Ten things I dislike are school, reading, cleaning stuff, my brothers when they are annoying, having alot of stuff to do, country music, the Yankees, studying, not being able to see my gym locker, and presenting. The highlight of my summer was pretty much the whole summer, because I sail all summer which is really fun. The highlight of sailing this summer was when me and my team got 2nd in the team race. I don't know what G&T unit I am looking forward to this year.

First Rogate Post

This my first post for Rogate. This blog is where I will post everything we do in Rogate as a freshman.