The brightest students not only fall behind, but often reach the bottom in society. Few actually see it let alone have awareness. These people are often consumed by depression and all else that comes with it which leads to poor methods of self medicating it, if not worse.
True gifted students are never seen as gifted by the institutions they attend nor by the peers who surround them. They are often bullied by their peers for having views, social skills, ect outside the norm becoming quiet, shy and withdrawn. They have little interest in the work even if they can do it to satisfaction. They know the work is neither mentally stimulating nor is it of any practical use. Such students become withdrawn, disconnected or hyper active. Teachers only see the byproduct of underachievement, not the cause. These student are often medicated (for parent who don't know better) or placed in special education where everything responsible for their underachievement becomes far more intense. These students are often placed with other low achievers who also poses behavioral problems such as bullying. Some students are even sent to special out-of-district schools for behavioral or learning disabled students which are nothing more than legalized child abuse run by convicts with no oversight. I know because I've seen it first hand. Gifted individuals have absolutely no place in public education unless a radical paradigm shift happens which I don't see happening any time soon.
Our fundamental view of education is wrong. Our fundamental understanding achievement is wrong. Our understanding of cognition is wrong. Our understanding of learning is wrong. Our understanding of talent and its nurture it wrong. Our understanding regarding the etiology of human behavior is wrong. And certainly our understanding of trauma on the brain and human development is millennia behind.
In regards to public education educators are neither trained in identifying gifted students nor are they legally required to provide an education that suits gifted learners in most states. And even when they are, how do they gauge what is appropriate?
The damages has been done and continues to be done out of pure assumptions.
