Why can parents of athletically
gifted kids brag about their accomplishments on the
playing field and send them to all-state competitions
and then to the Olympics but our brightest minds have
to keep their talents low-key? If my son was a great
baseball player would that mean everyone else in his
class or school or town should feel bad because
they're not as good at the game? Then why does saying
"My son is smart" mean everyone else must be stupid?
I've been frustrated by this for a long time.
Maybe it goes all the way back to being separated into
reading groups in first grade. Everyone knew who the
smart kids and the dumb kids were, even if you called
them the "Bluebirds" and the "Cardinals" instead of
Groups A, B and C. Parents seem to think that ability
grouping is some sort of unassailable caste system and
that those of high ability necessarily look down on
everyone who doesn't measure up. Is this part of the
victimization culture we live in?
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4 comments:
Cuz schools are stoopid??
::big evil grin::
Sure, but this is a bigger issue, imho. My question is why something that happens when we're six now has permeated the whole world...
Don't know. None of it matters 'in the real world,' only in school.
Take away the school and .... voila! No more segregation. The rest of the world isn't divided into the smart, the average, and the slower. MOst of the world is separated by interests...
But it's not, which is exactly the point I'm trying to make. There is a definite anti-intellectual bias at work. If your kid is a first round draft pick, that's terrific and the whole town rejoices with you. If your kid is a National Merit Scholar (essentially the same thing) and you tell people, you're bragging or you're one of those pushy parents or both. It's a double-standard.
There's more tirade in today's blog entry. ;)
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