Where Do the Failed 0.1% Go? (2015) [pdf]
<i>Teachers disliked him, because they knew how easily he picked up information.</i><p>I&#x27;m a teacher, and this is one of the things that frustrates me deeply about our education system. I welcome students like this; they&#x27;re so much fun to work with. But I usually have to make them feel accepted before I can begin to work with them. I teach in a small alternative high school, and by the time bright students get to me, they&#x27;re often used to being shut down for picking things up quickly and not having to do homework.<p>I met a really bright and interesting guy once who told me about his experience in first grade. His teacher gave everyone a math workbook, and he was really excited to be learning math. He finished the workbook in a day or two, and excitedly brought it to his teacher, expecting to be given another workbook. Instead she glared at him and said something along the lines of, &quot;I can&#x27;t believe you cheated on your math workbook in first grade!&quot; She gave him another copy of the same workbook and told him to do start over, and that she&#x27;d be watching him. He thought to himself, &quot;Well that sucked, but she&#x27;ll watch me do it this time and know I can do it.&quot; So he did, but this time she just got mad at him and said something like, &quot;I don&#x27;t have anything else for you to do, so here&#x27;s another copy of the workbook. Don&#x27;t finish this so quickly.&quot;<p>He learned what so many bright kids learn: if you learn things too quickly and speak up, you&#x27;ll just make the adults around you mad and they&#x27;ll give you more meaningless work to do. I know there are many teachers who handle bright kids really well, but as a system we fail many kids. These effects last years, and often times decades.