Originally Posted by nanobot_swarm

they're children, just because they seem to be "smarter" than others doesn't mean the should be treated better than others

Originally Posted by Crazy Wolf

"Better" treatment? If you want to say that, yes. Above average people should be given above average training/care, as above average people don't always get along well with normal people(using words that the normal people don't use, defeating the kids at Scrabble with it, getting beaten with sticks because of it)

Originally Posted by J-Hertz

Public education is a waste of time in the United States. I learned more English by talking shit in video games then I did in class.

What irritates me the most about public education is that it wastes so much time trying to teach students to be socially interactive.

The concept of a 'gifted' student is somewhat de facto, for I do not believe any one mind is limited to it's intellectual capabilities. Numerous scientific investigations have gone into the advancement of intelligence through practical means, not genetics and luck.

My interest in intelligence comes from the intellectual need to improve upon myself. That said, why should we place certain people in a pointless social class - 'gifted'? How do they benefit, exactly?



How do you classify an above average person? Via IQ tests? If you've ever done any research into the subject, you would know that an IQ test is not a real measure of intelligence, but simply a measure of abstract reasoning and logic. As far as the mind goes, logic is completely seperate from base intelligence. (Self awareness, emotion, survival instincts, et cetera)

Yes, there are those with a higher perception of space and logic - but that isn't to say they would benefit more by going to a different school. All educational institutes should allow for individual variety.

There should be a base educational system, representing core knowledge. Mathemetics, english and science - that should be it. From there, an individual academic program should be designed and applied to every student addressing his or her abilities and goals. If this were the case, there would be no 'gifted' class, only a class of the highly perceptive and logical.

Point: There are no 'gifted' students, all minds are capable of the same intellectual capacity, though some may be more efficient. Of course, there are genetic offsets that seperate certain people, what most would call 'mentally retarded'. Though, it's somewhat irrelevant. (That's definitely a discussion for a different time.)

Originally Posted by Crazy Wolf

Think of how much more well-adjusted people would be if they didn't suffer from an inferiority complex as a child, or weren't beaten up at school for being better than their peers in academic pursuits.

Originally Posted by Relander

That's because the very high quality of the Finnish public education system in general which is made up from national teaching plan & regulations, competent teachers, supporting all schools by the government instead of separating them into good & bad schools, giving proper funding for schools & institutions and taking care of "problem cases" & less gifted ones while giving room for bright students to succeed. And it's almost totally "free", paid by tax money: education is the key for individual's and society's success. People must be given equal educational chances and all students are taken care of while giving room for gifted ones (those who have higher IQ and/or are more hardworking & punctual).

Though Finland has no private schools we have a couple of elite high-schools for the most gifted students but no top universities like Harvard or Oxford. The details I provided in my last paragraph are the reason why the Finnish education system does so well in international surveys of learning results: students are there to learn, not to have fun and creating social relations merely comes as a side-product. Football universities, strong individual schools, splitting the education system in half and not giving adequate funding are not the ways to go.

Originally Posted by Relander

I agree with Crazy Wolf here. It's in everyone's interests to give more developed & tailored teaching for smarter students than keep them in the same phase with normal students:

* Smarter students learn better and more while their teaching isn't hindered by less able students.
* Teachers can teach better & with less stress as they know their students' specific needs & skills.
* Normal students learn in their own phase without having to hurry up due to smarter students.
* Enterprises & institutions get highly educated people who bring high tax income for the society.

The point should be that ALL students are taken care of and given equal chances while the ones who succeed should be let to do so. Anything else is a dangerous waste of potential which will not cost for just individuals but also for enterprises and society as a whole. There's no such thing as total equality nor there should be, people are inherently different.