What if we prioritized the best students instead of those who are behind?

When I was in public school for a few years (1st-3rd grade), I was easily outperforming everyone else in my class. Unfortunately for me, I was often forced to wait for everyone else to catch up with me, resulting in chronic boredom and behavior problems. I was reading at a 7th-grade level when I was in 2nd, yet I had to use the same stupid readers as everyone else. I also wasn’t allowed to work ahead in maths because we “hadn’t covered it yet.” Compounding the problem was a lack of G&T programs in my area and a clear focus on trying to push the dullards through.

Once I started homeschooling in 4th grade, I did a lot better. I could actually learn at my own pace without being shackled by those who couldn’t read their way out of a paper bag. I learned many things that I would have never learned in public schools at my age (or at all) - geography, history, art, logic, organic chemistry, and the like.

So I was thinking...what would happen if we shifted resources toward the best students instead of the worst? Give them a challenging, advanced environment and I believe they will thrive. Who knows what untapped potential they could have that is currently being atrophied by a system that doesn’t care about them?

Submitted March 19, 2020 at 06:50PM by Strider755 https://ift.tt/2Uq9CGJ