One size fits all - utopia

In a utopia, everyone is equal.  In real life?  Not so much. London Daily Mail:

NYC cancels gifted and talented schools program because it 'discriminates against black and Hispanic students' - but parents AND teachers say it will halt smart kids' learning and leave others 'behind'

• • Mayor Bill De Blasio announced on Friday he is ending the gifted and talented program that puts advanced students in separate NYC public schools and classes
  • He, and other critics, say it discriminates against black and Hispanic kids, fewer of whom are in the schools
  • Most of the schools in black and Hispanic areas closed in recent years, per The New York Times in 2019, because too few local kids passed the test to get in
  • Now, the majority of the spots are taken up by white or Asian American kids
  • De Blasio's solution is to put all kids of mixed abilities in the same schools and classes
  • The gifted kids will be given 'accelerated' learning programs - ie, different material
  • Teachers say it adds to their workload and parents say it benefits neither the gifted kids nor the less gifted kids

New York City is ending its gifted and talented schools program for exceptional students and will put all children in the same classes, claiming that the current system discriminates against black and Hispanic kids.

Announcing the decision on Friday, Mayor Bill de Blasio - who is in the final months of his term - said: 'The era of judging four-year-olds based on a single test is over'.

Critics of the program said it was racist because most of the gifted schools were filled up with white and Asian American students.

But parents and teachers say ending the program in its current state will create more problems for students: the gifted kids will be bored and slowed down in classrooms of mixed ability, and those who need more attention will be 'left behind,' they say.

Words fail.  Talk about shooting yourself in the foot.