<DIV>Hi Samantha,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Samantha writes:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>..."No, I don't think so. I went through a "good" public school system <BR>that had nearly nothing for me. It was geared to some average, more <BR>numerous students' needs. I am not even at the stratospheric top of <BR>the intelligence chart. I knew more than a few really bright kids who <BR>dropped out out of boredom, frustration, feeling utterly alien to the <BR>entire scene and most of their "peers". A minority of them managed <BR>to release their brilliance into world to some (but I can't help <BR>believe diminished) degree regardless. Many of the withered or became <BR>very misshapen long before they even discovered what their <BR>capabilities were. By the time you can label the "extremely <BR>capable" in a non-mundane environment where their
capabilities get <BR>noticed you have begged the question. Much potential is wasted before <BR>it can ever get to such an environment."</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I couldn't agree more. The current American public school system is a monumental disaster of epic proportions. Having graduated from a typical high school not too long ago, I can admit that my "hard time" in that prison nearly managed to sap the very last ounce of my intellectual curiosity. Frankly, it's remarkable that I have retained *any* scholarly interest whatsoever. I definitely don't think I'm a genius, but I have no doubt that I could have achieved far more by this time, if I had not been driven to levels of near-hatred for the various subjects being "taught" (read: "forced on me").</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I'm not saying that public education in general is a bad thing. I do believe it's important. But our system needs *major* changes at the fundamental level. We
need to start experimenting *now* with wreckless abandon - I don't think it could possibly get much worse than it currently is.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Best Wishes,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jeffrey Herrlich <BR><BR><B><I>Samantha Atkins <sjatkins@mac.com></I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR>On Nov 5, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Lee Corbin wrote:<BR><BR>> Mike writes<BR>><BR>>> On 11/5/06, Lee Corbin <LCORBIN@RAWBW.COM>wrote:<BR>><BR>>>> Here is my solution: segregation. Segregation today,<BR>>>> segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.<BR>>>> Right now in California, everyone needs segregating:<BR>>>> because the white kids can't keep up with the Asians,<BR>>>> and many of them conclude that math, English, and<BR>>>> science are for smart kids, not them. As the whites
can't<BR>>>> keep up with the Asians, the Hispanics can't keep up<BR>>>> with the whites, and the blacks can't keep up with the<BR>>>> hispanics, so we ought to go back to... yes, segregation.<BR>>><BR>>> Why does it have to be racist and sexist? Why can't we<BR>>> 'segregate' (to use your negatively overloaded term) along<BR>>> dimension of performance capability?<BR>><BR>> Oh, I agree. I was being a bit flippant, but as Robert has<BR>> just said, there is a point at least insofar as gender is concerned.<BR>> As for racial segregation, it really isn't practical anymore. For<BR>> one thing, it would just be politically (and probably socially)<BR>> impossible. For another, unlike the case of sex (gender), there<BR>> are a lot of people who are intermediary between races. And<BR>> you know what problems that would create!<BR><BR>Guess again on gender being completely binary.<BR><BR>><BR>>>
There ARE white kids who are smarter than the "average"<BR>>> asian, so why hold them to a lower standard due to genetics?<BR>><BR>> Of course. But the point is that kids in schools can tend to<BR>> identify their capabilities in terms of everyone around them.<BR>> Not all kids to be sure. The extremely capable will be fine<BR>> no matter what.<BR>><BR><BR>No, I don't think so. I went through a "good" public school system <BR>that had nearly nothing for me. It was geared to some average, more <BR>numerous students' needs. I am not even at the stratospheric top of <BR>the intelligence chart. I knew more than a few really bright kids who <BR>dropped out out of boredom, frustration, feeling utterly alien to the <BR>entire scene and most of their "peers". A minority of them managed <BR>to release their brilliance into world to some (but I can't help <BR>believe diminished) degree regardless. Many of the withered or became <BR>very misshapen long before
they even discovered what their <BR>capabilities were. By the time you can label the "extremely <BR>capable" in a non-mundane environment where their capabilities get <BR>noticed you have begged the question. Much potential is wasted before <BR>it can ever get to such an environment.<BR><BR>- samantha<BR><BR><BR>- samantha<BR>_______________________________________________<BR>extropy-chat mailing list<BR>extropy-chat@lists.extropy.org<BR>http://lists.extropy.org/mailman/listinfo.cgi/extropy-chat<BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR><p>
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