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by simplestats 1608 days ago
If your goal is average kids, then sure, you need to focus on average kids. But I'd say the smart self-motivated kids are always the biggest bang for the buck in education. Sometimes I get a sense that people (not necessarily here) consider disproportionate success among geeks to imply a program is "backfiring".
3 comments
scroot 1608 days ago
What does "bang for the buck" in education mean specifically?

If we are thinking in terms of democratic societies here, then certainly the (utilitarian) point of education should be to raise the bar especially for the "average kids," shouldn't it? Don't we want a better average in a society that we all operate together? That's to say nothing of the richness in life that education can provide...

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simplestats 1608 days ago
I mean that the smart kids will show the most results for the same budget.

The utilitarian metric could also show that the average moves the most, and society benefits most, when those with the most potential can realize it. It's an interesting question. Either way though, I think it should be a basic constraint for an education system. Basically it's the same as saying classes should never be too slow for their students.

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DarylZero 1608 days ago
Raise the bar? Maybe they don't want to jump higher.

Not clear how the average is going to be "better" in any way by forcing them to.

> the richness in life that education can provide

The danger to deny the richness to those who can appreciate it.

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sokoloff 1608 days ago
Creating the next generation of tech workers and founders and just generally tech-savvy generation has value. I wouldn’t want to only import tech from the US.
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DarylZero 1607 days ago
Yes, and again, is that going to be the average student?

Not in any society on Earth yet.

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mwcampbell 1608 days ago
> disproportionate success among geeks to imply a program is "backfiring".

Perhaps the logic is that the bright, self-motivated kids already have an advantage, so helping them get even further ahead is a net negative.

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sokoloff 1608 days ago
If society moves ahead by 100 points and the bright, self-motivated capture 75 of those points, I think that society is still better off.
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KerrAvon 1608 days ago
Bang for the buck in what sense? What “smart self-motivated” kid needs the help? Show us a computer screen just once and our life pattern is set.
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