Originally Posted by aquinas
It seems incredibly cruel to the child to be pushed so aggressively. Why any parent would want to make their child look more gifted than they naturally are is a total mystery to me. The underlying message is, "You are unlovable just the way you are."
If you are in NYC, and the choices are
(1) get your 120-IQ child into the 130-IQ threshold public school gifted program with some preparation
(2) pay $40K annually for private school
(3) put your 120-IQ child in a public school where the average IQ is maybe 90

the appeal of option (1) is apparent. And even (2) may require preparation -- the elite private schools are both selective and expensive.