I think we came from a generation of parents who did NOTHING, and many of us had good outcomes. BUT times have changed, continue to change, & in fact things were starting to change back in the late 70s & 80s. Just look at NCLB testing and it's importance in public schools. When we were in school, we took a test on one day--not for 2 weeks, like my kid's elementary school does. When I was in a gifted magnet high school, 2 girls for the first time took a course at the college...now our state legislature mandates that every kid take a college class or an online class.
I do think it's possible to do nothing and have successful kids. But research has also shown that PG & HG kids have a higher rate of depression, suicide, high school drop out, underachievement, substance abuse, etc. One thing that helps them be successful is to challenge them, accelerated them, grade skip, etc. Recently I talked to the mayor of my town who didn't understand why physicians keep moving away because of the schools here--he said, "my kids went to school here, and they're fine". I told him, "things have changed".
