I'm certainly glad the extremely athletically gifted 3rd grade boy is good natured about playing on teams with my boys and showing them how to do things, the queen bee 2nd grade girl was happy to hold my boy's hand and help him navigate social experiences, and that there are whole groups of non-GT (or even delayed) kids who look out for other kids in ways other than intellectually within a school environment.
I agree that this sounds really great. But are they being explicitly assigned to do these things by a teacher? Are they being denied their own learning because this is the role they are expected to play, every day? Does the role suit them, or are they expected to do it even when it potentially makes them disliked and brings out negative aspects of their personality?
Also, I think it's important to keep in mind that academics are the primary purpose of school.
