The Talented Ten

Education is great! The educational system is bullshit.

I am one that loves and appreciates the pursuit of knowledge along with the benefits of applying it to life. One the other hand, I do not feel that everyone should be required to reach a basic level of knowledge especially if they do not have the aptitude to reach that level of achievement. In layman's terms, I understand that some people are not as intelligent as others; some are even dumb. Add in the apathetic people that have no desire to learn, and it becomes clear that there is a large disparity between the top and bottom of this academic spectrum.

The very disparity is the problem that is the apparent subject of the United States' No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Reading over the purpose of this act, I couldn't help but notice the obvious burden of this disparity being placed on institutions, administrations, and teachers. Understandable. But this part struck me:

closing the achievement gap between high- and low-performing children, especially the achievement gaps between minority and nonminority students, and between disadvantaged children and their more advantaged peers

The educational system cannot mend what we as a society do not take the time to value, but I applaud them for admitting that there is a gap between minorities and their counterparts. In nearly every case, a low performing school is a product of the environment in which it serves. We all know that but challenge the school system to correct the fact that the community could give two fucks about education. Does that seem fair?

Lost in this shuffle is the fact that we're spending time trying to brighten the dull lights. What about are bright students? I remember being one of the bright students in class trying to remain engaged as my teachers tried to drill the point home to my peers that were struggling to understand the lesson of the day. Now I see that those same people are now making acts that are encouraging teachers to close the gap between children like me and the ones like them with no regard to the fact that there is a natural separation in top, middle, and low performing students. Why close the gap?

I feel that we should work to widen the gap. Instead of providing a ceiling for the top performing students through focus being placed on the lower performers, why not seek ways to continue to challenge the sharper minds and push them to new limits? "We do," you say? Are you sure? It takes a sharp mind to challenge another. The vast majority of the readers of this very post are not considered to be a part of the the talented ten percent. Even I with all my scholastic achievement, would not be considered to be in that group therefore it's hard for us to even entertain the idea of challenging someone with academic aptitude greater than our own.

At the end of the day, the education system ends up becoming one where equality is the goal. Those in the middle, the 47%, spend time seeking someone to blame for the fact that everyone is not meant to be an A-student.  School becomes a journey of extra credit assignments (what's the real purpose), zero-proof assignments (how can one get credit for getting everything wrong), and pointless uneven group projects. Remember it's the teachers', administrations', and institutions' responsibility to correct what God created in us, and I was thinking that He never made mistakes. I guess man knows best.