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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]I don't know where some of you are getting that these kids were "average", much less "below average". I understood that their parents chose to enroll Idris and Seun at Dalton because, at age 5, they were incredibly bright and precocious kids. It is not spelled out, but it appears that their other children did not go to Dalton, probably because they did not show the same exceptional promise early on. Unfortunately, their intelligence at 5 did not translate into academic success at 18. It is unclear how much that had to do with the unique challenges of being black in America, or AA at a mostly white school, and how much came from the fact that a high-stress environment coupled with parental pressure and micromanaging isn't always conducive to intellectual growth. [/quote]

I called Idris "average" or "below average" based on the college outcomes. He was waitlisted at Trinity, accepted at schools that "average" kids go to, and rejected at those for the intellectually "superior". I only consider him "average" academically. He was actually gifted in so many ways. He was intelligent, self-aware and well-spoken from an early age. He was also sensitive, just a wonderful child and person of tremendous promise. I hold the same opinion of Seun.

I wonder if the other kids didn't go to Dalton because the parents decided it was simply not a place that can educate African-American males. That's really the premise of their entire documentary.

I don't think that any of Idris' problems were due to his race. I think it all stemmed from parents refusing to appreciate him for who he was, while trying to force him to be what he wasn't: a kid who was suited for the type of academic pressure cooker that is Dalton.[/quote]

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