[extropy-chat] here's how complicated it is

[A B]

Hi Samantha,
   
  Samantha writes:
   
  ..."No, I don't think so.  I went through a "good" public school system  
that had nearly nothing for me.  It was geared to some average, more  
numerous students' needs.  I am not even at the stratospheric top of  
the intelligence chart.  I knew more than a few really bright kids who  
dropped out out of boredom, frustration,  feeling utterly alien to the  
entire scene and most of their "peers".   A minority of them managed  
to release their brilliance into world to some (but I can't help  
believe diminished) degree regardless.  Many of the withered or became  
very misshapen long before they even discovered what their  
capabilities were.    By the time you can label the "extremely  
capable" in a non-mundane environment where their capabilities get  
noticed you have begged the question.  Much potential is wasted before  
it can ever get to such an environment."
   
  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").
   
  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.
   
  Best Wishes,
   
  Jeffrey Herrlich  

Samantha Atkins <sjatkins at mac.com> wrote:
  
On Nov 5, 2006, at 10:56 AM, Lee Corbin wrote:

> Mike writes
>
>> On 11/5/06, Lee Corbin wrote:
>
>>> Here is my solution: segregation. Segregation today,
>>> segregation tomorrow, and segregation forever.
>>> Right now in California, everyone needs segregating:
>>> because the white kids can't keep up with the Asians,
>>> and many of them conclude that math, English, and
>>> science are for smart kids, not them. As the whites can't
>>> keep up with the Asians, the Hispanics can't keep up
>>> with the whites, and the blacks can't keep up with the
>>> hispanics, so we ought to go back to... yes, segregation.
>>
>> Why does it have to be racist and sexist? Why can't we
>> 'segregate' (to use your negatively overloaded term) along
>> dimension of performance capability?
>
> Oh, I agree. I was being a bit flippant, but as Robert has
> just said, there is a point at least insofar as gender is concerned.
> As for racial segregation, it really isn't practical anymore. For
> one thing, it would just be politically (and probably socially)
> impossible. For another, unlike the case of sex (gender), there
> are a lot of people who are intermediary between races. And
> you know what problems that would create!

Guess again on gender being completely binary.

>
>> There ARE white kids who are smarter than the "average"
>> asian, so why hold them to a lower standard due to genetics?
>
> Of course. But the point is that kids in schools can tend to
> identify their capabilities in terms of everyone around them.
> Not all kids to be sure. The extremely capable will be fine
> no matter what.
>

No, I don't think so. I went through a "good" public school system 
that had nearly nothing for me. It was geared to some average, more 
numerous students' needs. I am not even at the stratospheric top of 
the intelligence chart. I knew more than a few really bright kids who 
dropped out out of boredom, frustration, feeling utterly alien to the 
entire scene and most of their "peers". A minority of them managed 
to release their brilliance into world to some (but I can't help 
believe diminished) degree regardless. Many of the withered or became 
very misshapen long before they even discovered what their 
capabilities were. By the time you can label the "extremely 
capable" in a non-mundane environment where their capabilities get 
noticed you have begged the question. Much potential is wasted before 
it can ever get to such an environment.

- samantha


- samantha
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