Should Tracking Be Eliminated ?

Tracking should not be eliminated. Tracking allows students to be in the class they belong in whether they are succeeding at it or not. While it does create a stigma for those who aren't doing well in certain areas, being in a classroom with students who are all excelling, I believe, would make it even worse for the student who is not doing so well emotionally and vice versa for those who are learning at a fast pace. However, tracking should definitely be implemented differently in order to eliminate the "smart vs. dumb" reputation around the aspect. Yes, there should still be separation of classes based on what a student can handle (in terms of academics) but I believe that the classes with the students who learn at a slower pace, should actually provide that extra help that those students need and also those classes shouldn't be left behind; the teacher assigned to that class should be a dedicated one. In addition, tracking should also be avoided until a student gets to higher level of education when they know what subjects they specifically need help with and are aware of their capabilities. Some might disagree and say that even when tracking is delayed until high school or college, you are still labeled by what you can do when you are a small child; realistically, everyone is going to get labeled by their ability somehow but no child should feel bad about themselves. Instead, similar to GO, children should have that option to be separated by choice if necessary and schools should have more specialists even for kids who are aware of their abilities because it allows them to see that someone is dedicated to helping them catch up, which would boost their self esteem and break that idea that someone is "stupid" if they need extra help. All in all, everyone is better at something than they are at another thing, therefore tracking should not be eliminated in order to meet the needs of these children.