This is a great discussion. Thanks for initiating the conversation, Questions.
I am in agreement with Val about including kids with IQs of 115 and above to petition for subject acceleration whenever required. This angle will attract many supporters and could also help break down some of the resentments and accusations of elitism as LOG needs are differentiated.
I suspect that some resentment is elicited because parents recognize correctly that their own children could do more difficult work in a particular subject. If it were a more prevalent practice and many kids were subject accelerated, our ds may have benefited also by having an opportunity to progress several years ahead in math and science by now.
But in the end, it's all about the money - if the schools had the funds and every child was accommodated, I don't think the special programs would be begrudged.
In our area, it has more to do with attitude than money. Our two districts each have multi-millions in money market accounts (which they don�t touch) and raise our property taxes each year to support the latest project. The high school has been pretty consistent in spending a large portion of their income on multi-million dollar sports complexes and domes.
