NYC may end its gifted and talented program for students.

It's easier to knock the high achievers down than it is to lift the underachievers up.

 

That is a lame excuse for kids who are not intellectually gifted. I was in several gifted programs when I was in school. I was the poorest kid in school, and did not go to head start. My sisters graduated high school with 4.0's, and that is after horridly abusive childhoods. I majored in science in college and graduated with a 3.5 and I had two babies at home.
So much for trying to cover up the fact that we are not all equal.
You equality fanatics will all be the death of civilization.

 

We should also be realistic about how "high" we can "lift the underachievers up". Not everyone has equal intelligence, and no amount of schooling or funding or hand-wringing will change that. But that is no excuse to hold the advanced kids back. We shouldn't dumb things down to the lowest common denominator just to make everyone feel equal.

 

Because if we knock the high achievers down, that will somehow make the under achievers smarter.......... wait...... no, that's not it? Hmmm, no idea then.

 

The average person is actually able to do a marathon, just like they can speak Spanish.

It just takes practice.

And in essence, this is about some kids who have been cared for by parents who had the time to raise their kids up in all kinds of ways, giving them a good start in school. And other kids whose parents could be working 2 jobs to get the food on the table, have less time for their kid,.. who might be bright but lacks that good start. They just need extra help to overcome it, to than excel.

It just takes practice.

 

I do not care about your alleged personal experiences.

 

At 5'6" if I practice hard enough then I can dunk a basketball?

 

You're not putting a dent in my argument that some kids lack practice and so appear to not be as talented as other children. This school system starts at age 4! And so the argument flies, any normal person can learn Spanish like they can learn a Marathon. To show up without it, is a fail, and it's unfair to punish gifted children that early on for things they have no control over.

 

A word of advice for you.

If everywhere you go smells like crap, check your pants.

 

Spud Webb was 5’7” and WON the NBA dunk contest in 1986 over Dominique Wilkins, a player known for his dunking abilities. So barring some kind of disability that would prevent you from running and jumping, yes, you could dunk a basketball if you practiced hard enough.

 

So, Spud Webb was so special that he was awarded a spot on a NBA team? Good for him. But many his size are not that good and was not in the NBA and that ok too. No one tell the NBA to close down so that the inferior athletes like me can feel better.

 

Yeah he was pretty special. At least special enough to be drafted and play in the league for years. He faced a lot of naysayers. And no doubt he would. He was the tiniest dude on the court(for a few years). There’s also the Lilliputian sized Muggsy Bouges, who at 5’3” could also dunk(according to him, his 44” confirmed vertical leap, and his dunk in a pregame warm up).

So you absolutely could learn how to dunk. Just do what you gotta do to get to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.

 

It seems nearly all here think that "gifted" kids are somehow weak and inferior and need special treatment to excel. How many times have we heard that a truly dedicated child can excel no matter the obstacles, that black kids could get out of the ghettos if they just applied themselves? Now suggesting that "gifted" kids should attend not segregated schools they will fail?
Disadvantaged kids should suck it up and pull themselves out of poverty or they deserve to stay where they belong.
Gifted kids need to be coddled and helped because well, they just should be.

All schools should be given the same resources to provide for all their students gifted or otherwise.

 

It’s not that they are weak or inferior, they just need better and harder classes because they are smarter than their counterparts. Your logic seems to indicate places like MIT shouldn’t exist.