This topic has shown up in enough threads and I've held my tongue but want to add on I was a student in largely remedial classes at my initial kindergarten/ele

This topic has shown up in enough threads and I've held my tongue but want to add on I was a student in largely remedial classes at my initial kindergarten/elementary school, regularly suspended and sent to detention for misbehavior, usually being distracted in class, and for years the school pressured my parents to apply heavy medication. just before middle school I was finally kicked out, but this ended up being the single best thing to happen to me, as I ended up at a school that had a gifted program. Within the first few weeks my math teacher had contacted my parents about it (entertainingly, this was her response to my being distracted in her class rather than just suspending me, I'm forever grateful to her for this.) and I was rapidly moved into a different track. It is not exaggeration to say this likely saved my life. I was bullied HEAVILY as the new and nerdy kid who was literally always reading a book, and had a ton of trouble fitting in, and this gave me something that I felt competent at, a place away from the normal class behavior that involved far more fights than learning, as well as friends and a path forward. I say this final part not to brag but to be clear about where this ended up: I graduated a national merit finalist and went to an ivy and then into research. The efforts to gut gifted programs makes the pit of my stomach drop, and I have no skin in the game. It makes me think of where I'd have been without that outlet, and what students in the future will not have access to, and it makes me truly sad.