Don’t exclude gifted students

I have been watching with great interest the debate over the change in admission policy for the GATE program. My daughter attended GATE during the early 1990s, so I have an excellent perspective on the old admission system. She was surrounded by children who could do calculus by age 9, yet who could not contain their frequent emotional outbursts. Despite the challenges, my daughter flourished as a consequence of the advanced curriculum and the hard work of her teachers.

My son, who is equally gifted, did not attend GATE because he just was not ready for the advanced pace of studies or the emotional toll. The program was designed for the brightest students, not just good students. Dumbing down the program to satisfy the needs of parents who cannot accept that genetics is a cruel reality does not serve their child’s interest or the interests of more gifted students who are being excluded.

While it’s true, all of us would have appreciated to have been given a few more neurons at birth, life is not fair. Don’t punish the gifted because they got a better roll of the dice. Appreciate the fact that the Davis school system is truly excellent. My son suffered in no way not being part of GATE.

Mike Clegg
Davis