individualized classes

I have another quote from Losing Our Minds. p. 272 "Sometimes teachers offer bright children the opportunity to come up with their own projects, but students shouldn't be expected to develop their own curriculum, particularly before middle or high school ages. Instead, the teacher might ask these childen what they are reading, watching, or doing in their spare time and then use that information to tap into what might constitute an appropriate project."

I thought this quote was great for a couple of reasons. First, it strikes as completely absurd to expect so much maturity from students to not only do their own work but also to create it. I have trouble believing that any teacher finds that an acceptable practice. Second, this just ties right back into TPRS and the personalization. It's a matter of course in a TPRS classroom that the teacher asks students what they have been doing and develops those activities into the primary lesson.

And another quote with the same basic thoughts:

p. 272 "Students like these [highly gifted] are rarely motivated to do something simply because someone else told them they should. Why should they want to do their best on every assignment or project that comes along? In addition, being a mainstreamed student in a regular classroom can squelch these children's motivation to learn. A long day of school, even when non-challenging, can still exhaust one's energy. Materials and topics that are motivating should be provided during -- not after -- the school day in order to be effective."

In fact, why would any student not want this? I don't think this is relegated just to the needs of gifted students, but in fact to all students.