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Aiding Academic All-Stars

John Cloud's "Failing Our Geniuses" correctly identified a troubling trait in our public education system [Aug. 27]. He stated, "In a no-child-left-behind conception of public education, lifting everyone up to a minimum level is more important than allowing students to excel to their limit." It's no wonder we're witnessing a proliferation of charter schools, home schooling and private schools. In my state, an alliance of politicians and the teachers' union controls all funding and curriculum for kindergarten through high school. As a result, teachers and administrators are given little incentive to be creative in educating students with a wide range of aptitudes.

Neal Brunner MOUNT HOREB, WIS.

Thank you for being brave enough to critique the country's education system. We have ignored bright students for as long as I can remember, to our detriment as a nation. Slow learners receive most of the attention, and huge sums of money are allotted to educate them. If students are bright, they are left pretty much on their own. In integrated classes, they are forced to learn at the pace of the slowest. We need to raise the bar. There are exceptions to the rule, but on the whole not enough attention is paid to bright children. They need special classes too--and more money spent on them.

Linda Law, CARMEL VALLEY, CALIF.

There are two ways of raising average test scores: assist those at the bottom, and empower those at the top. Our society needs to do both.

Mark Podracky, FAIRFAX, VA.

I am distrubed the the implication that the needs of the highly gifted can be met by merely moving them up three grades. A 9-year-old, for example, might very well attend middle school. Bright kids have social and emotional as well as intellectual needs, and such a plan would be far too easy an out by school districts. Denver schools have classes for the highly gifted that are led by educators who have been trained to address students' specific social, emotional and intellectual needs. One needn't go to the Davidson Academy of Nevada.

Holly Miller, DENVER

It's not just the highly gifted who are forgotten. There are bright children who don't learn study habits when they're young because they have no need for them. When a child scores perfectly on tests, how does one instill the need for hard work and study skills? These kids can coast through school without reaching their potential because they are never challenged properly. It's the child who has to work for grades who does the best later on, whereas those for whom it comes easy falter. If we don't teach bright children to face challenges early, how can we expect them to do so later in life? Think what all those kids could do if given the proper tools.

Jennifer Hayes, ALBANY, N.Y.

Parents of gifted children must accept responsibility for meeting their children's needs. Home-schooled students stay with their families and communities; they choose friends and activities according to their personalities and interests and learn at their own pace. Many home-schooled children begin taking community-college courses in their early teens without leaving home, so they don't suffer the social isolation of the "hurried child" who leaves home for university life before he has matured. For those who fear they cannot teach or do not have time to teach, rest assured that there are options ranging from Internet-based distance education classes and tutors to home-schooling co-ops in which children can work with experts in any field.

Lisa Chernow, AUSTIN, TEXAS

As the mother of an 11-year-old boy with a Mensa-level IQ and photographic memory, I have pushed for grade skipping and spent hours meeting with school officials to champion gifted-child programs in a long struggle to educate my son in a school that challenges him. TIME's revelation that money spent educating students with the highest IQs is a paltry 10% of the money spent educating students with the lowest IQs comes as no surprise to parents of gifted children. Gifted youth who have the potential to find a cure for cancer or get the U.S. back to the moon and beyond deserve special curriculums. Because federal and state governments neglect the needs of gifted students financially, the opportunities for our best and brightest are diminished.

Wendy Ellis, TITUSVILLE, FLA.

I am by no means headed to the Davidson Academy. But I am a product of a school system that has allowed me to take advanced classes with older students. Schools should offer bright students the option of such accelerated placement throughout their school years, although in limited instances in the first few grades.

Jared Alves, ASHLAND, MASS.

Like one of the students featured in the article, I was taking Algebra II when I was 11 or 12. My mother pushed school administrators to allow me to do so. I had encountered resistance from a couple of teachers, and their lack of understanding caused some problems. It certainly caused me to abandon math and science. I became a lawyer instead.

Jeff Dover, SALEM, ORE.

Rove's Curtain Call

The sultan of spin, Kark Rove, may be leaving the White House but not with his tail between his legs [Aug. 27]. Writer James Carney reminded us that Rove brushed aside George W. Bush's failure in bipartisanship because of what Rove called the hostility of the Democrats. Rove also discounted polls that portrayed a damaged American image in the world as politically imprecise. He will spend a little more time with his family of two, cut a bit of Texas brush with his buddy at the Crawford compound and continue to pursue his dream of "a durable Republican majority." "Out of the Picture" Rove shall never be.

Celine E. Riedel, AVON LAKE, OHIO

Considering that Bush's presidency may go down in history as one of the most incompetent, on both foreign and domestic fronts, I'm not sure that I would want to be considered "the architect" or "Bush's brain." The stupidity and lack of forethought in all that this Administration has attempted have been shocking, to say the least. Can someone please tell me where was "the genius" in all this?

Loretta Korsmo, SAN DIEGO

What's in a Name

Brand recognition is an effective shelling tool only if the consumer is aware of the product linked to the name and the name conjures a pleasant memory. Until I read the story "Why We Buy" [Aug. 27], I thought that HeadOn was an ointment designed to lighten facial scars, not the homeopathic headache cure that it is, thanks to its maker's ambiguous ad campaign. No matter how often I've heard the commercial repeat the name HeadOn, I never would have bought the product, thinking I had no use for it. Now that I know what it is, I still won't purchase it. The commercials are as annoying as the company admits they are.

Thomas C. Rizzo Jr., LARGO, FLA.

Your article reminded me of something I have thought about for many years. The political ads in which a candidate keeps repeating an opponent's name continually while listing all his negatives provides free advertising to the opposing candidate. The repetition grants name recognition to the wrong person. I believe it has the opposite effect of the one intended.

Sheila Laiks, PARSIPPANY, N.J.

Enough Is Enough

I agree with Michelle Obama: let's stop asking whether Barack Obama is "black enough" [Aug. 27]. I don't know why in the 21st century many of us are still fixated on race--or gender, for the matter. Let's concentrate on the real issues, such as Iraq, affordable health care, balancing the budget and fixing Social Security. Let's also celebrate the exciting field of candidates we have on both sides for a change.

Kurt Felts, BLOOMINGTON, IND.

What a great question: is Barack Obama black enough? I also want to know, Are the rest of the candidates white enough? Is Hillary woman enough?

Charlie Kearns, ZANESVILLE, OHIO

Broad Appeal

I'm a 15-year-old, and Zac Efron's face immediately grabbed my attention [Aug. 27]. James Poniewozik's description of the Disney Channel's High School Musical was accurate. It's a Disney movie that every kid loves, with its inspiring message to follow your dreams. I tuned in to watch the sequel, High School Musical 2, and while I again sang along with the musical numbers, I felt disappointed at the end. Unlike in the original, Efron's character, Troy, was willing to sacrifice his promising future just because his teammates and girlfriend became a little jealous of his newfound success. Disney could send a more consistent message, especially considering its influence on young, impressionable minds.

Abha Gallewale, LEXINGTON, MASS.

Thank you for your article on teen heartthrob Zac Efron. I recently became a big fan of his after seeing his performance in Hairspray. He is extremely talented and very sexy yet wholesome. I haven't been this excited about a celebrity in a long time. And he isn't just for the tweens and teens. I happen to be a 41-year-old mother of two boys.

Amanda Posito, CHATSWORTH, CALIF.

All the News That Was Fit to Fake

I am happy to see that such a highbrow publication deigned to write about the passing of the Weekly World News, a tabloid that will truly be missed by individuals stuck in the checkout line [Aug. 27]. But I disagree with Joel Stein's claim that it's "a sign of progress for a society to go from inventing gods and monsters to seeking catharsis in the real life of Paris Hilton." That's as laughable as Bat Boy running for President. The Weekly World News lost readers because people turned to the Internet. Instead of waiting for a weekly paper to suspend disbelief, they write blogs, generate websites and post videos on YouTube to publicize their ignorance. You will never convince me that reading about Paris Hilton is progress.

Vicki E. Green, FULLERTON, CALIF.

Kudos to Stein, with a shared sigh of relief, for his farewell to the Weekly World News. One can only hope that its demise does in fact signal the decline of American credulity and not just a shift to other fairy tales still told in churches, mosques and temples across the country.

Jonathan Chong, COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO.

Old-Fashioned Romantics

I absolutely loved Belinda Luscombe's "Who Killed the Love Story?" [Aug. 20]. She expressed exactly how I feel about today's cinema. I am a 20-year-old college student with a passion for the movies, especially the classics. I work at a movie theater as my summer job, so I get to see the majority of blockbusters, and rarely am I hit with a new idea, something that makes me dream and sigh right in the middle of a mouthful of popcorn. Like the women quoted in the article, I have turned to the classics to fulfill my need for good, honest romance, be it far-fetched or not. I do hope that somehow Hollywood will come up with ways to appeal to the masses once again, not just to the guys who need bathroom jokes to think a "chick flick" is worthwhile.

Meg Herrick, MUNCIE, IND.

Love has been a fascination of mine since I was old enough to have an idea what it's about. It's a shame that the movie people are having a hard time selling love. It's ridiculous that they can't think of good stories. Stop the first 10 people on the street, and I guarantee they will each tell a fresh, interesting love story. Heck, I have one, and I'm only 19! Instead of moviemakers complaining that no one believes the sex and kisses they are dishing out, they should start with something real and place it in an interesting and marketable setting. I just don't want to see anyone give up on love yet. Call me an old-fashioned romantic.

Sonja Rechelle Allen SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT.

LETTER FROM A STUDENT

SKIPPING CLASSES

Re your article about "a new model for gifted education" [Aug. 27]: I am a student of the Early Entrance Program (EEP) at California State University, Los Angeles, which takes grade skipping to its extreme by allowing young students early entrance to college. Students here begin taking full-time college classes at age 14, though our youngest student was 9. Every student is radically accelerated, usually skipping all of high school. The program provides academic support as well as a social framework that connects us with like-minded students. While other early-college-entrance programs exist, none have the social support of EEP, leaving gifted students isolated from both their peers and adults at their university. Julian Bouzanquet, ROSEMEAD, CALIF.

SETTING THE RECORD STRAIGHT

The Aug. 27 piece on the spate of merchandise commemorating the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley's death erroneously reported that he lived to the age of 46. He was 42 when he died.

FROM OUR STAFF

The mountain village of Yole was a bleak place until a giant, broken clipper ship mysteriously appeared in the town's little lake. How it got there and what would happen if the people of Yole rebuilt it are the secrets at the center of the novel Nacky Patcher and the Curse of the Dry-Land Boats, by TIME senior editor Jeffrey Kluger. Author of several other books including the best seller Apollo 13, Kluger is making his first venture into young-adult fiction. Publishers Weekly calls the book "a fully imagined fantasy with a twist of magic."

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