I'd Love to Teach, But...I think I see where some of the problems associated with educational settings for our HG+ learners are coming from, actually...
the sequelae of this particular Op-Ed (with which I concur about 110%, if that were possible) is that:
a. Our kids can't POSSIBLY be granted actual challenging learning environments, because those would result in too many of their "gifted" classmates not earning A's, so it's best to just teach material that EVERYONE can earn A's on, and keep our kids quiet. There aren't as many of us and our kids to complain, after all, so this is a win if you're on the other side of things.
b. Who WOULD stay in this profession?? Seriously. People who are either
so devoted to it that they can't fathom doing anything else... or... people who are so desperate that they can't DO anything else. I've known both types, and I can tell you which make up the majority of the 'gems' in the profession.
c. Good luck getting your child opportunities to "distinguish" him/herself from all of the other "gifted" children in his/her classroom. They're ALL 4.0 students now. See a. for why. No wonder there is a crazy arms race for spots in prestigious colleges. And no wonder there is starting to be pressure to "fix" grades in higher ed, too, as this cohort of kids gets there and expects to "do over" every assignment, to be able to turn things in late or not at all, and still earn the A's they've always gotten. Super-scoring is an abomination. And it's all of a piece, in my opinion. My DD didn't
need super-scoring, and neither do any other genuinely high-ability kids. Sure, anyone can have a bad day. So have a good one some other time.
We're in big, big trouble when we refuse to even ADMIT that some people are actually smarter or more capable than others, or that some people's efforts just aren't good enough to be considered "adequate" much less "exemplary."
How many of us here have had the experience of a shocked classroom teacher giving our child's half-baked work an "A" and having one of us say (to the child or to the teacher, or both)
"Um-- well, I certainly wouldn't have given that an 'A'. More like a 'D.' Here's why."When I have that conversation with teachers, I can tell you-- they LOVE me for saying it. And they are super-surprised. They *think* that a kid like mine *must* be the result of careful hothousing/grooming/Sikorsky management, and are delighted and enchanted to discover that she's the real deal. Well, the good ones are. The bad ones not so much-- they continue poking to figure out just HOW the trick is done. {sigh} But I can see WHY they do that, given the reality that they live with.
