This is an interesting discussion.

I have a daughter who is intellectually gifted. What that means for her is that she learns very quickly, and has educational needs that differ from the norm.

In some ways it makes life easier for her than some of her peers, and in other ways it makes life harder for her than some of her peers. It certainly doesn't make her 'better' than any of her peers. Nor does it guarantee her any success in later life - that will depend on her character, her work ethic, her persistence and her own personal goals. And THAT will all depend on, to a degree, her experiencing an environment and educational system that can meet her needs NOW.

If she doesn't experience challenges, she will not learn to overcome them. If she doesn't need to 'work' at learning anything, she will not learn persistence. If she can skate by with doing nothing yet still passing all the tests and exams, she will not develop a strong work ethic... and it is those traits that correlate most with those will become successful later in life and those who will not, not intelligence.

There seems to be a misconception out there that gifted children receive a 'free ticket' by virtue of their intelligence. There also seems to be feeling of resentment towards them. I assure you that 'ticket' does not come cheaply. For my daughter, who is only eight years old, she has paid the price in low self esteem, rejection by her peers for being 'different', and years of frustration with an inappropriate education that bores her to tears and then punishes her for being bored.

I am a strong believer in the right of every child to receive the education and care that best supports them to develop and grow holistically and healthily in body, mind and spirit, no matter what their unique challenges and abilities are. It doesn't matter whether they are gifted, have a developmental disorder, a learning disability, are perfectly neurotypical or are physically disabled - every child deserves that.

And... the sad fact is that the educational systems we have in place are not able to deliver that, and probably never will be.