[CaKe]

Originally Posted by kronas

so you expect money for the gifted to come out of thin air ?

Noone knows where the money should come from - just like many other things in this country, education is underfunded & always needs more money. Noone has said that it should be taken from the special needs budget that already exists though!

Originally Posted by kronas

is it so hard to understand for the rest of you ?

Is there really any need to be so patronising? Everyone has a different opinion. Don't be so intolerant, just because your opinion differs from someone elses. We understand, we just don't agree.

Originally Posted by kronas

how are they suffering they are the smart ones ?

State-school education, in some cases, is crap for gifted children. They suffer as they do not receive the level of education they need. Imagine sitting in a classroom now, at the age of 18, and being taught at the level of a 13 year old. At the age of 7, I was reading books at a 12-13 year old level. Sitting in a classroom listening to the teacher reading 7 year old books didn't interest me, and as a result I was packed off to the library to read on my own. Doesn't it matter that I was being singled out & bullied cos I wasn't like everyone else, I'm not suffering, I'm a "smart one". This carries on, through all kind of schools. In secondary school, which I said before for me was a "private" school, things changed. Coincidence? Maybe - or maybe it was the fact that we were all "gifted" enough to have passed the entrance exam, and with smaller classes & more funding I, like many others, had the attention we needed to concentrate & learn effectively.

Originally Posted by kronas

furthering an already skilled person in such away is discriminating against disabled people

So we shouldn't let gifted people achieve their full potential anymore? OK then. As long as they have a place in a school, regardless of whether they're being supported or not, we'll just leave them to it. They're clever enough to look after themselves. If they're bullied, well, it's not as if they need the education anyway is it, they're clever enough to learn on their own & get the grades they need.

Tell me, exactly how am I, or anyone else, discriminating against anyone by wanting the best education for their children? If I'm lucky enough to have children, I'd hope that, regardless of their IQ level, results of 7 & 11 year old tests, etc, they receive the most suitable level of education for their needs. If they require extra help with reading & writing, I hope the help & encouragement is there to gain the skills they need. If they're flying ahead in subjects, I hope they're not held back.

Originally Posted by scastle

While I don't object to the state providing better education for brighter kids, I think that it would cost too much to do it with Private Schools (and may actually leave the state funded Private School pupil open to insults). I think if any extra money is made available, it should be spent improving facilities within state schools.

I agree. I'm not suggesting that every gifted child should be given a private education, I just think that improvements need to be made somewhere and funding does need to be made available. This should NOT be taken from the budget that already exists for special needs education.

In this case, yes, the parents can probably afford to send their child to a private school themselves, but what about the people that can't? Every child should have the right to the level of education they need.