[Essie]

The schools are trying to make everyone a scholar. When my children went to grammar school, I knew many kids who were being stuck with all kinds of labels because they could not perform up to "expectations". Anyone with enough humanity to see them as they were would have seen that it was not there. When these low achievers went to high school, most of them dropped out or went to alternative high schools.
Modern educational theory assumes that all people can learn anything or are equally talented. That is utter nonsense. It also assumes that teachers can teach a classroom with mildly retarded children through gifted; this is not possible either. Tracking is supposed to be a form of discrimination, but not tracking is the real discrimination. In an untracked class, the smartest are held back and the slowest never catch up. And if you believe that a teacher can effectively teach a mixed class, I have a bridge in Brooklyn with your name on it. Modern educational ideas have made it impossible for most teachers to teach effectively and for most kids to learn.

[wintertime]

the smartest are held back and the slowest never catch up.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

Call this what it is: Emotional Child Abuse!

The slower children are forever emotionally frustrated by not being able to keep up. The brighter children are bored to stupefaction.