The competition for the program (which is a standard pull-out for a few hours per week) is such that the program is named in a sort of ambiguous way, I think to help "hide" it from the uniformed for as long as possible. The kids are identified in secrecy, as far as I can tell, and we find out if the kids "got in" on the first day of each unit offered, by a letter sent home with the kids (which by the way, takes pains to point out that your kid's participation in the GT class may change with each subsequent quarter.) The result is a watered-down pull-out program, with the added anxiety of not really knowing how the kids are chosen and whether your own will be participating in the next quarter.
I'm OT again, but I think part of what *creates* pushy parents is opaque gate-keeping by districts. I've been in a district that did not do this and in one that did but has become more transparent. I wasn't aware of any pushy parent stuff in the district that pulled kids out for harder/more advanced work by subject area. There is pushy parent stuff going on in my current district around the academically irrelevant GT enrichment pullout.
Yes, I'd agree with this. I think there's a lot of paranoia that builds if the system is confusing. I've seen it in my own school system where there are not enough spots at the gifted schools to serve the population and the system ends up being quite arbitrary. That open the doors for tutors for IQ tests, etc.
As for the self-taught learners or better put gifted students that didn't have parents pushing the schools for accommodations. Yes, they exist. I've known a few and happen to be married to one too. If you limit your criteria to one who gets a grad degree at MIT, no, I don't personally know anybody. But I do know others who have gotten absolutely no accommodations in school and have gone on to ivy league universities at some point in their lives (either as a professor or postdoc or student). These people have an absolute AMAZING drive and passion. I'd say it's not typical and there are some hang ups that can occur that can haunt them for the rest of their lives.
