Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion A rising tide floats all boats...

A lot of people live from crisis to crisis and never figure out how to plan and then work their way to a stable life.

Kids born into this type of life will never escape it unless they move into an orderly location and see another perspective.

In our society there are three main areas for providing stability and another viewpoint for kids from troubled circumstances. These are school, work, and friends' families.

The rising tide analogy relates specifically to work. A decent job empowers a kid to make their own decisions, gives them a value that is based on a stable contribution, and gives them independence to choose a better life.

For the kids that learn to plan ahead, the rising tide lifts them. For those that do get a job, but don't plan, it helps them for a little bit. Others will choose not to work at all.

The decision making process and wealth are highly correlated.

http://seedmagazine.com/content/article/poor_decision_making/

This might be just a weird coinsidence, but Renzulli, perhaps of a similar age to your FIL uses that saying all the time to support gifted education - see

http://www.gifted.uconn.edu/sem/semart03.html

What do you think?
Grinity

Exactly my thoughts! If a boat is high enough up the mountain, it's not going to be reached by the tide! And I certainly would not classify today's educational system as another Noah's flood!

I've only skimmed the article thus far, but my initial impression is that it would not be convincing to fil re providing more for high ability children, especially high ability children who are not economically disadvantaged. The article does mention pushing the services often found in GT programming into the regular classroom for all or most kids b/c kids other than gifted kids can benefit from them -- something that fil would support but something that also sounds a lot like everyone can benefit from these services, so we don't need to be doing something different for gifted kids only. The early profile of a child who lives in public housing and whose family receives food stamps would be a child he would see as one who needs support b/c he doesn't have it. White, middle class gifted kids don't need anything in his opinion, though, b/c they have educated parents and aren't poor.

To paraphrase Calvin Coolidge

"Don't expect to build up those weak in academics by pulling down those who are strong"

"A rising tide floats all boats..."

was just thinking. tend to do that sometimes. I'd hate to be the one *waiting* for the tide to rise.