What would you have wanted?
On the way back from the school, with little Charlie in the backseat, Jenny and Jason spent the ride in silence. Though they had a lot to talk about and a lot to think about, they didn't want to get Charlie involved just yet. But when they arrived home, they let Charlie play on his own under the care of one of the staff, while they went up to their room to discuss what to do next.
"So, what do you think? ...Should we really do what the teacher says?' Jenny asked, hoping that Jason might have an answer to their current dilemma. But Jason let out a deep sigh as he dropped himself on the sofa across from Jenny, who had her feet stretched out on one of the other sofas. "I don't know. At this point I am no longer sure what is best for him. I do get the whole 'best of both worlds' approach but I don't really believe in that. There is no such thing as best of both worlds. You simply get a part of each and you hope that on most days it is the best parts. But no matter how you look at it, he will miss out on a lot of worriless playing around. Having homework before he has had a day in a sandbox like a normal kid his age. Solving math equations while other children are learning to colour within the lines."
Jenny rested her arm on her forehead and turned her eyes towards the ceiling as she said, "Though I love that he is so smart and quirky, sometimes I wish he was normal. That he was just like any other kids. So, that he wouldn't have to deal with these things that no other child has to deal with. Chose between just playing around, while being bored intellectually or pick stimulation and lose out on time to be a kid." Then suddenly it occurred to her that Jason wasn't exactly what one would describe as 'normal'. Even she herself had been above average. Wouldn't their decision become easier to make if they though back on what they would have wanted in Charlie's situation. She turned her face to the side and asked, "What about you? What would you have wanted back when you were Charlie's age? You are definitely gifted. I don't know if you were on Charlie's level back when you were younger but I don't think the standard curriculum sufficed in keeping you entertained. It wasn't even enough for me and you undoubtedly surpass me intelligence-wise."
Jason thought about this question as his eyes turned upwards as he tried to think back on those days. After thinking about it for a moment he said, "I think I would have liked such an opportunity as he is being offered right now. I was bored out of my mind half of the time and the teachers could offer me nothing other than to work ahead in my assignments. Simply deferring the problem instead of solving it. Though back then I was still a goody goody, it was hard to look around the classroom and see everyone hard at work, while I had absolutely nothing to do. It was even harder to watch my teachers struggle to answer questions that I could solve with my eyes closed and hear them tell my classmates that there was no such thing as stupid questions, while my mind was screaming that there was. How are you supposed to look up to someone, trust what they are saying as they are teaching you something, when you have seen them be wrong about something more than once. Being called a smartass just because you are in fact smarter than they are."
Jenny nodded as she had a similar experience. "Yeah...I was thinking the same thing. I remember being done with the week assignments on the second day of the week and having to read or work ahead to entertain myself. Sometimes I would be allowed to play some educational computer games or I would be asked to help out one of my struggling classmates with their assignments. Like tutor them. But it was indeed hard not to feel frustrated with classmates who were taking forever to solve a single question or see those blank stares when the teacher asked a, what I felt like was an extremely easy, question. This wasn't fair to those kids nor to me. I don't want to make him go through that same experience. So, keeping your past experience and my own in mind, do we really think that keeping him in his current situation, with his teacher's observation in mind, is fair to him? Do we really think that his experience will be any different if we decide to make him stay in kindergarten like this?"
Jason let out a sigh as he got up from his seat. As he said, "I guess we have made our decision then.", he lifted Jenny's legs up and sat down with her before he lowered her legs on his lap. While his arm was leaning on the backrest, he was using the far reach of his long limbs to put his hand against the side of her head. As he stroked her head with his thumb, he smiled gently at her as he knew that she was struggling with the conclusion they had just reached and was in need of some comfort. Meanwhile his other hand had pulled her legs close to him and he proceeded to run it along the side of her outer leg, moving his hand up and down in the same rhythm as the strokes of his thumb on her head. Jenny let herself be comforted like this, eventually grabbing the hand that was stroking her head to hold it in her own, while she prepared herself for telling Charlie of the big news they had received today.