Agree, too. If anything, I actually feel that the focus on education is stronger in the past few years. I think it's because of the sense of crisis that any economic downturn will bring. As to gifted education in public schools, it's also a matter of resources. When there is enough resource for everyone, it's easier to run special programs for all special people. But when resources are not enough to go around, the schools tend to keep the basics and cut the specials. As to the attitude toward giftedness, I may be wrong but my feeling is that the US society in general cares a lot about "talent" rather than "achievement", compared with many other societies. There is a lot to do to improve education for all children in our society, but as it is, the US does have a lot of educational resources for gifted kids--many options are probably unheard of in even some of the societies that really care about education.
