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The question isn't whether "it's bad to let smart people excel". Obviously, we never want to actively stop anyone from exceling. The actual question is whether
by munchler 1y ago
The question isn't whether "it's bad to let smart people excel". Obviously, we never want to actively stop anyone from exceling.
The actual question is whether smart people should receive a disproportionate amount of a finite resource, like education. This imbalance creates a potential runaway effect in which one group grows ever more successful at the expense of other groups.
- yesfitz 1y agoCan you expand on how gifted program students receive a disproportionate amount of education?
- munchler 1y agoG&T programs are potentially disproportionate in terms of attention from the best teachers/classes, access to high-end resources, pipelines to the best colleges, etc. If those were available to everyone who could benefit from them, then there wouldn't be such competition for them. Source: Am a parent of a G&T student and I see the intensity with which parents push their kids into the program.
- yesfitz 1y agoI think the word "potentially" is carrying a lot of weight there. Do you have any sources that these things happen and/or that they negatively impact students outside of those programs? The argument I've heard previously is that G&T programs remove peer role models from classrooms, which lowers the class's average behavior and achievement. I was a G&T student for 5 years (2nd through 6th) and have close relationships with people who were educators then administrators in a G&T program.