Teacher: Public Schools Can’t Support Gifted Students

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

Teacher: Public Schools Can’t Support Gifted Students | Intellectual Takeout

We stand in awe today that a 15-year-old could graduate and advance to college at such a young age and with such stellar scores. But the fact of the matter is, such a phenomenon was a regular occurrence during the early days of the American founding.

Is it possible that students like Caitlyn should really be the norm instead of an anomaly? Have we brought public education in America down to such a low shelf that we’re depriving even children of normal intelligence of the education they deserve?

 

[ThaumaturgicTheorist]

Honestly, I don't think that curriculum is at all unreasonable or necessarily "genius" for a 15-year-old with the necessary classical background.

But yes, of course we've sunk abysmally low. I thought that was common knowledge by now. Really, the story about another gifted kid has nothing to do with that - it's all relative.

 

[Hawthorne]

How has this thread been up for over 24 hours without anyone bringing up the "social maturity" argument? Shameful.

 

[Kingu Kurimuzon]

How has this thread been up for over 24 hours without anyone bringing up the "social maturity" argument? Shameful.

I hate that fucking argument, personally. My gifted son will stick out like a sore thumb and have difficulty fitting in with older students, sure, but he already has difficulty fitting in with students his own age. The school strongly advised against skipping him ahead because of that very " maturity" argument. he is stuck going over material he has already learned, doing 2nd grade math and reading when he is already at least at a 5 th grade level. As a result, he is bored to tears in school and acts out. Other kids resent him for being smarter and the teachers are too busy trying to make sure the " normal" and " slow" kids know their shit, so my kid and his gifted peers get neglected.

He might have some social issues in an older group but at least he might feel more challenged and engaged by the curriculum.

I understand socializing kids is an important part of school but when did it supersede, um, learning as the #1 priority in public schools.

 

[ThaumaturgicTheorist]

I've found myself thinking lately we need to have more actual gifted schools. Not just classes. Schools. Dedicated solely to genius where age doesn't matter as much.

 

[Tellenbach]

We should have schools just for gifted children and they should be given the best instruction from the best teachers and leaders of industry - sorta like the Battle School in Enders Game.

You guys might find this article interesting:

The Montessori Mafia

Ironically, the Montessori educational approach might be the surest route to joining the creative elite, which are so overrepresented by the school’s alumni that one might suspect a Montessori Mafia: Google’s founders Larry Page and Sergei Brin, Amazon’s Jeff Bezos, videogame pioneer Will Wright, and Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales, not to mention Julia Child and rapper Sean “P.Diddy” Combs.

When Barbara Walters, who interviewed Google founders Messrs. Page and Brin in 2004, asked if having parents who were college professors was a major factor behind their success, they instead credited their early Montessori education. “We both went to Montessori school,” Mr. Page said, “and I think it was part of that training of not following rules and orders, and being self-motivated, questioning what’s going on in the world, doing things a little bit differently.”