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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]The basic problem with G&T is that you’re reducing a spectrum of different levels of aptitude across different subjects (that can even change from year to year) with a single, binary, immutable “gifted” status. And inevitably either you set the threshold too high and leave out most of the kids who’d benefit from differentiated education or you set it too low and have everybody complaining that it’s meaningless.

Differentiated instruction within a classroom seems like a much better approach, particularly for a big messy school system like NYC; put the strong math kids at a math table with other strong math kids, put the strong readers with strong readers, assign extra enrichment for kids who need it, offer extracurriculars like math team and debate and writing contests… everyone gets what they need and nobody is reduced to a single “gifted” flag or not.

(This sort of approach is much easier to pull off with a smaller classroom, which is why full implementation of the class size law is so important)[/quote]

Agreed that the flag of "gifted" is suboptimal and leads to unnecessary resentment. What I disagree on is differentiated instruction within the classrooms in a huge system like NYC. Teachers focus on those who are behind. This is the reality. Smart kids are left to their own devices because of course they'll be "fine". Too often they are used as in-class tutors for other children.

With regard to the class size law, NYC already has small class sizes, mostly in undersubscribed schools in less advantaged neighborhoods. Class sizes are larger in schools in the best districts with the most desirable schools. It's a fool's errand.[/quote] let’s not kid ourselves.  The class size law is just designed so we don’t need to reduce the school budget.  The population of students has declined yet the spending keeps going up.  The DOE and the entire city budget is just for grifters and special interests.

If nyc ever looses its charm for the uber wealthy and middle class families it’s gonna suck.  Who is going to pay for all the poor people and government employees ?[/quote]

The main effect of the class size law - and you see the pushback against it growing now, because the people who believe that any time the government does something nice for somebody who *isn't* underprivileged the system has failed have finally caught on - is to make crowded, wealthier NYC public schools competitive with suburban ones in terms of staffing ratios. Which will hopefully keep more families here. It's true that we already had small class sizes in less advantaged neighborhoods; if we also offer them in wealthier ones too, the argument for giving up your happy little life with your 1-2 kids in your 2-bedroom UWS condo to move to some 3500 square foot monstrosity in Westport or wherever gets substantially weaker.[/quote]

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