How Degrading

 

1. Drew, one thing I can not fathom is why you would believe it’s best to hide the lamp.
   Why should you hide the lamp simply because some might be overwhelmed?  Have you thought it might do em a bit of good the have that light fall on them too?  For those who choose the darkness to light, well heck. Ignore them. Surely you aren’t willing to join them in their cave.

   Posted by peiper       01/29/2013  at  01:04 PM  



2. Oh, I’m in complete sympathy, having been the same sort a mere few years later.  One hides the light when it becomes clear the incessant justifying that must be done.  “They” are too invested in their mediocrity to benefit.  It was fortunate for me that I was able to cope physically with those designated my peers, but I let them forget, and surprised many teachers along the way.  it made me smile like an inside joke.

   Posted by Mr Evilwrench       01/29/2013  at  08:45 PM  



3. What Mr Evil says. But if everyone else is in the cave, then the cave is the place to be. A lonely child can’t rationalize such things; they too want to fit in.

   What always confused me was that the dumb kids who couldn’t do math or read could memorize sports player’s names, teams, histories, and statistics, and be able to analyze those stats meaningfully at a quite young age. They weren’t that dumb at all; they just used their smarts for the limited things (sports) they were curious about.

   Maybe these days, when all the kids at every Lake Woebegone are far above average, schools have regular steady programs for the gifted. Seems to me that some do sometimes, but these programs often get cut first when fiscal troubles arise. But there’s always endless money, time, staff for the dumb kids, to help them catch up. Hell, it’s hard even finding a teacher to run a gifted class; many adults simply can not deal with a 9 year old who is far smarter than they are. They get quite uppity. Also, any “advanced” class has to be filled out to make it “worthwhile”, so half the class doesn’t really belong there. Administrators have a hard time not seeing children like this as lab rats. “Hey, let’s put the 2nd grader in 6th grade and see how he fares!” Well, duh, result: he can do the school work with ease, but he gets his ass kicked by 12 year olds who now look stupid in front of teacher compared to a little kid. Gee, that works.

   Posted by Drew458       01/29/2013  at  10:23 PM  

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.