Parents of more educated and financially well off homes tend to work with their children, playing with ABCs, puzzles, counting to 10 books as a matter of what you do with your baby and toddler.
Reading or playing with puzzles isn't what I meant by hothousing; I definitely wasn't trying to say that! These activities are great if the preschooler wants to do them.
What I meant was this: puzzles, etc. are a part of a good childhood experience and aren't the same as sending a child to a test prep consultant. I define one aspect of hothousing as
activities conceived solely by adults that are designed to boost scores on standardized tests.
I kind of doubt that 1/3 of children in a large geographical area would qualify for gifted programs aimed at the 98th percentile and above. But yes, the idea is to serve everyone who qualifies as gifted, and to put other kids into learning environments most appropriate to their needs.
There would be crossover (eg, gifted at reading but struggling with writing). Ability grouping would help here.
Val
