It certainly seems like the program you attended was poorly implemented. I was sent to a gifted program full time with other gifted peers collected from around the region. I was still often ahead of the class, and couldn't imagine how miserable I would have been if I was forced to learn at a regular pace.
Yes I agree we should be wary of setting up Lord of the Flies in our schools, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore the existence of children like Bluejay[1].
> Can't we come up with a better model that enriches all kids?
I think the basic answer is "no". Past a certain pace/complexity many children will simply be unable to keep up and retain information. We should strive to rid ourselves of the modern delusion that since everyone is equal morally, they must all be equally capable and have equal potential.
I don't mean to say we should enrich all kids in the same way though. I mean we should enrich them along axes that are important to them or interest them. Having enrichment and non-enrichment programs is only really one step removed from saying everyone is equal. You're now drawing a distinction, but now we need to wonder: why this distinction in particular, and is it really distinguishing the way we think?
For instance, why aren't we putting all the kids into a room and testing their artistic aptitude, and funneling the kids who are the best artists into elite art programs to foster that ability? Why were IQ tests the only tool used to distinguish students? My wife's school had various different "academies" with disciplined focus areas -- arts, music, sports, etc. - which sound like a good way to do things.
I guess my general point is that all children deserve enrichment, not just the high IQ ones. And even if the high IQ children are more needing or deserving of this enrichment, the methods I've experienced used to make the determination as to who is of high IQ are heavily flawed, although my experience is out of date.
Yes I agree we should be wary of setting up Lord of the Flies in our schools, but that doesn't mean that we should ignore the existence of children like Bluejay[1].
> Can't we come up with a better model that enriches all kids?
I think the basic answer is "no". Past a certain pace/complexity many children will simply be unable to keep up and retain information. We should strive to rid ourselves of the modern delusion that since everyone is equal morally, they must all be equally capable and have equal potential.
1. https://www.cbsnews.com/video/bluejay/