October 13, 2015 Testimony - Konstantin Komissarchik

My name is Konstantin Komissarchik. I have a 4th grader in the EAP program at Bear Creek as well as a preschooler and a toddler. I am speaking today in support of retaining the Challenge program. I want to focus on the emotional impact a widely-differentiated classroom would have on students like my son, who have an over-developed sense of fairness. I realize that my son may not be impacted by the removal of the Challenge program. He will be able to take advantage of the AAP program, but the over-developed sense of fairness is not unique to him, it surfaces fairly frequently among highly capable kids.

I shudder to imagine what would happen if my son saw a student next to him getting an easier problem set. It would not matter at all that the problem sets are tuned to their particular abilities. The only thing that would matter is that the student next to him is getting easier problems. The emotional reaction to this perceived unfairness would be severe and would not create a positive learning environment for him or other students. Even a best-trained teacher would struggle. There would be a strong inclination to diffuse the situation by giving him the easier problem set, which would not serve to further his educational needs. Beyond the emotional response, he'd figure out very quickly that by doing poorly on the assignments, he'd get the easier problem set.

One might ask why this scenario wouldn’t unfold if we differentiate across classrooms instead of within one. My son is happy in an EAP classroom. While he does grumble occasionally at home about having to do harder work than other 4th graders, he doesn't get the constant reminder of this in the classroom, therefore we avoid the corresponding emotional response.

We have an obligation to provide a positive learning environment for all students. This requires that we provide a way to group students based on their abilities, whether or not they qualify for the EAP/AAP program or able to attend a different school. I support the Challenge program. I urge you to continue supporting the Challenge program.