I agree with polarbear. This is a great discussion starter. I like polarbear's idea about talking about differences in how people learn. I think it helped my kiddo when we explained that not everyone understood things as quickly as he did (just like he isn't as athletic as some of the kids).
Also, I think this is a good statement to bring to the attention of the school when you are advocating for differentiation or acceleration. Ask them, "What do I say to my child who just told me that he should be in 2nd grade, and not 1st?" (although you'll have to figure out a way to say it so they don't think that you fed the line to him...) I think that teachers do respond to concerns of the kids. E.g., when I told my son's kindy teacher that he cried every day before school and didn't want to go, she was very surprised and then tried to figure out how to make things better.
