Re: No Genius Left Behind

[EMAIL PROTECTED] (Herman Rubin) wrote in message news:<[EMAIL PROTECTED]>...

[the "bratty, snotty, disruptive" smart kid]

> >There are very few of those. Most geniuses get along better than the
> >rest in class. Many fewer of them are disruptive. They prefer to listen
> >in class and carry on their own pursuits at home.

Objectively, yes.  But what matters is the teacher's opinion.
Geniuses may be on average better ethically developed than the
teeming masses, but that counts for little in class, and for
nothing in the schoolyard.

"Bratty":  Individualistic.  Target for bullies.  I don't mean
someone who keeps the glue or stapler for himself and doesn't
let the other kids use it.  I mean someone who's not afraid to
express himself (until beaten out of it).

"Snotty":  Independent thinking.  Unpopular.  Refuses to go with
the flow, be cool, join in, or follow fads and fashions.  Demands
freedom of association.  Questions unjust rules.

"Disruptive":  Not by design.  But the teacher might think other-
wise, especially when she's always being corrected about factual
course knowledge, or loses her position of intellectual dominance.

> >And if you have a disruptive kid, don't try to console yourself
> >believing they're some kind of genius in the rough, it's MUCH MUCH 
> >more likely they're just a stupid asshole.

Unfortunately the stupid assholes with "street cred and street
smarts" are less likely to be noticed, much less punished, then
the well-meaning smart kids.  Especially if the smart kids are
creative and think outside the box, rather than just quietly
run up high grades.

> We have many accounts of geniuses who have dropped out from
> sheer inability to stand the boredom.

Or have committed suicide.

> This is NOT unusual; it is the idiots in the schools of
> education who believe in repetition, the "spiral" method,
> doing trivial problems and other busy work.

Rote learning, boot-camp discipline, excessive group work.

> If a child knows some material, keeping
> that child in class while it is being presented should result
> in those responsible providing compensatory tutoring and 
> paying major damages.

Which is why a truly gifted child needs more than just enrichment,
more than just grade skipping, more than just one or two "pull
out" classes.  He or she needs a whole new environment.  Maybe
that is segregation.  I don't care, as long as it *works*, and
meets their real educational needs, and keeps them from jumping
off bridges.