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Alternative Learning System (ALS) IAS: There is no doubt that ALS is one of the best IAS coaching institute in India. It has a good reputation due to its five star faculty and humongous success rate. I had enrolled to their Chennai center (ETEN ALS IAS).I was a student of Shankar IAS academy, but I did not like Shankar’s test discussions (any Tom, Dick and Harry can compile a question paper but the discussion part is really important), so I enrolled for ALS test series.I was so mesmerized by the standard of their question paper and specially their test discussion that I enrolled for their GS and Public Administration program the very next year.I would restrict my review to few important subjects:Polity: Polity is taught by Jojo Mathews and Manish Gautam and I must say that they deliver it really well. The best thing is the fact that they teach it from both mains and prelims point of view (which is how it should be taught ideally).Economics: Economics is taught by Mr. Arunesh Singh Chauhan, I call him a legend! { Aspirants often claim that Shriram IAS (SIAS) is best for economics but I really have no idea how good it is because I have never attended SIAS classes}.I did my graduation from St Xavier’s college (Kolkata), which is considered to be one among the best colleges in India but I must say that whatever I learnt about the Indian economy from Arunesh sir’s classes was much more than what I learnt in six semesters combined!History: It is taught by Mr. Krishna Reddy (KKR), he is an expert story teller. You would really love his classes.Ethics: It is taught by Mr. KM Pathi. He too is a good teacher, he would give you around 21 classes for ethics!But here is the catch:Is it necessary?Do we really need 21 classes for Ethics?Can’t we manage such non-technical subjects on our own?This is exactly the problem with almost all the Delhi-based tuition centers, they are spoon feeding us!They have a tendency to increase the fees every year, so how would they justify their ever rising fee structure?Simply by increasing the number of classes!Well you might say, what is the problem if they are giving us a couple of extra classes?Here are the problems:Too many classes means too less time for self study (if you are planning to crack civils in 3–4 years, then it won’t be an issue for you).Too many classes means too much unnecessary junk being injected into your head.For example, when ISIS was in news, Jojo sir took almost 2 hrs to explain in detail - what is Islam and all the descendants of the Prophet (and all the first timers/freshers were diligently jotting down each and every word uttered by him). That wasn’t required at all!Too much junk means no priority, at the end of the year when you take out your class notes for revision, it would be like an encyclopedia (with multiple volumes).Shankar sir never gave us any classes for culture and we used to criticize him for that, he used to ask us to manage these subjects on our own.ALS or any other Delhi-based institute would give you around 10 classes for culture.Is it good or bad?Really bad!Shankar sir was absolutely right, these subjects should be managed on our own.Let us do a cost benefit analysis:10 culture classes = 3 hrs x 10 classes = 30 productive hours spent in class (plus another 30 hours wasted in travelling).Output?200 pages of facts about the Indian culture!Now, you will have to spend another 30 hrs in reading the NECRT book on culture plus revising your class notes (which is nothing but a compilation of facts).Total time taken = 90 hours (30+30+30).What do you think, what will be the benefit?How much marks will culture fetch you? (do your home work, read previous years question papers).Moreover, when you are giving 90 hours to culture, you are compromising with some other subject.Solution?Simple, skip the classes and save your 60 hours!Jump directly into the NCERT books, borrow the class notes from your friend, have a look, if you find it worth reading then get a xerox copy.But most of the aspirants behave like kindergarten kids, they want to attend all the classes, they want to be spoon fed.The choice is yours.One more example - although KKR is a great teacher, but do you really need classes for Indian History?Do you really need classes for topics like Vedic civilization, Mughals, Indian freedom struggle, Bhakti and Sufi movements?(Please note : no matter how many classes you attend for History, you will have to read all the basic history books, don't be under the assumption that classes are a substitute for text books- this is civil services, all the basic books have to be read at least twice!).Again, apply cost benefit analysis here:40–60 hrs of classes & travelling plus 60 hrs of self study.You can straight away save those 40–60 precious hours for more complex topics under world history like renaissance, scientific inquiry, colonization, world wars etc (if you just do self study and borrow the class notes).Final verdict:ALS is good but one should use the coaching institutes as a dictionary.We don’t read the entire dictionary, do we?Prioritize, go for rigorous self study for subjects like History, Ethics, Culture etc and save that time for your optional classes, essay writing, physical exercises etc.By the way, your question just reminded me of my endeavors to crack UPSC :)I still remember this day when I welcomed the freshers to the seminar conducted by our institute (ETEN ALS IAS) in Chennai.Best of luck!Suggested readings:General studiesHow do I approach systematically all the subjects for civil services exam preparation?What are the sites for economic lectures for IAS?Is it mandatory to read Dutt & Sundaram, Uma Kapila, Mishra, & Puri for IAS?Which book is good among India Since Independence and India's Struggle for Independence by Bipan Chandra, for Civil Services?I am reading Laxmikant for the first time and facing problems with the language. Is it normal for everybody reading it for the first time?Where can I get Bipin Chandra's notes about India's struggle for independence?How can a college student utilize his vacation to prepare for UPSC CSE ?Do we need to read Shankar IAS Environment from cover to cover or some parts should be skipped for UPSC Civil Service?Newspaper readingIs it necessary to discuss newspaper and other subjects with your friends while preparing for Civil Services?When should I start reading the newspaper for UPSC prelims, including Mains also?Optional subject: Public AdministrationIs it logical to take public administration as an optional subject for UPSC these days?What is basic strategy for public administration? Basic books? How to become expert in it?EthicsIs Michael Sandel’s lectures on justice helpful for UPSC paper IV (ethics) ?Does morality of human acts depend only on the consequences?CoachingCan I get a first-hand review of ALS IAS coaching centre?I will take UPSC exam in 2015. Should I go for coaching this year or will it be better to take coaching in 2014?Questions worth pondering overShould I prepare for the IAS? (I am ok in math and reasoning. I don’t even remember map of India!)I wish to crack UPSC in one go ironically I have no direction and I am skeptical about coaching classes. What should I do?What will happen if the fundamental rights do not have the corresponding duties?Why does the United States give so much foreign aid to Pakistan?What is the drain of wealth theory?What are some macro trends that emerging markets generally experience but India has missed out on?Beyond UPSCWhat should be my plan B if I don't succeed in UPSC? Should I do some postgrad which will secure me a job first and then prepare?My blogs: The Astute Investor, The Floating SchoolSubscribe: Youtube

Before reading my viewpoints on the question asked, let’s first review the main federal programs that already exist to help the poor and working class with the stated goals of reducing material poverty, helping the poor get an education, and improving economic opportunities.Social Security covers every U.S. citizen and legal immigrant. However, the program is largely a vehicle for income redistribution. The Social Security system redistributes income from young to old and rich/upper middle class to poor. The program will run approximately $100B in cash deficits in 2019, unfunded liabilities are projected to be in the tens of trillions of dollars, makes billions of dollars in fraudulent and incorrect payments, and it is a bad deal for the vast majority of workers.Supplemental Social Security Income is a program designed to provide cash payments to low income Americans who either older than 65 or those under 65 if they are disabled or blind. This program’s budget was $54B in FY 2018.Earned Income Tax Credit is another redistribution program designed to give people who have paid no federal income an income transfer payment. The OMB estimates that almost a quarter of all payments are improper or fraudulent. The program paid out $56.8B in FY 2018.Child Tax Credit is a program that pays out transfer payments to low-income working families with children. The OMB estimates that almost a quarter of all payments are improper or fraudulent. The program paid out $19B in FY 2018.Medicaid is a program designed to provide healthcare to low-income people. The program is a joint federal and state program. The OMB estimated that almost 10% of Medicaid payments are improper and fraudulent. The federal government spent $400.4B in this program in FY 2018.CHIP is a program designed to provide subsidized health coverage to children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid but are supposedly “unable” to purchase private health insurance. The program is a joint federal and state program. CHIP and Medicaid’s administrators work closely together. The federal government spent approximately $12B on this program in FY 2018.SNAP is a program designed to help low-income people purchase food. An important point to note is that this program is rampant with fraud, the OMB estimates that ~3.7% of payments are fraudulent. The federal government spent $60.6B on this program in FY 2018.Child Nutrition is a program that provides breakfast, lunch, and after school meals for free to children whose families earn less than 130% of the federal poverty line. The program provides subsidized meals for children whose families earn less than 185% of the federal poverty line. The federal government spent $13.6B on this program in FY 2018.TANF is a joint federal and state program that aims to help the poor become self reliant families that ideally will be weaned off of welfare. The program was originally designed as a simple cash transfer system, but states have lots of flexibility to implement solutions that they believe are suited to their constituent populations. The program’s fraudulent payments are close to 15%. The federal government spent $16.3B on this program in FY 2018.Housing Assistance is a general category to describe the various programs that are administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. The program sees more than $2B of fraud annually. The federal government spent $49B on all housing assistance programs in FY 2018.Pell Grants are a program administered by the Department of Education to promote tertiary education to students from poor backgrounds. Grants don't need to be repaid. Grants are awarded based on a formula that primarily takes attendance costs and family/student contribution. Estimated fraud is ~2%. The program has largely proven to be ineffective and many of the students in the program do not finish any education program. The federal government spent approximately $28B on this program in FY 2018.Head Start and Child Care is a combined program to aid low income families in sending their children to pre-school and daycare and in addition, helps parents with family services such as training, counseling, education, and government monitoring to promote “the health and education” of children. The federal government spent approximately $17.9B on this program in FY 2018.WIC is a program designed to provide healthy food to poor pregnant women and children who are up to 5 years old. Fraudulent payments are estimated to be close to 5%. The federal government spent approximately $5.8B on this program in FY 2018.Job Training are various programs administered by the Department of Labor to provide job training and employment services to poor Americans. The programs have largely provide inconclusive and ineffective in the medium term. The federal government spent approximately $6.2B on this program in FY 2018.LIHEAP is a program to aid low-income households who pay a high proportion of their income for energy bills. The federal government spent approximately $3.3B on this program in FY 2018.Lifeline is a program to subsidize low-income people’s monthly phone and internet bills. The FCC administers this program. Program fraud is estimated at more than 41%. The federal government spent approximately $2.3B on this program in FY 2018.All of these programs (minus Social Security) add up to approximately $800B. That is approximately 3.8% of GDP and approximately 19.5% of the federal government’s $4.1T budget. Just for some perspective, this figure is approximately equal to America’s comprehensive defense expenditure.An additional $400B is spent on welfare programs at the state and local levels.The modern welfare state was created during FDR’s presidency. A devastating economic depression was raging in the country, people weren't sure why (the Federal Reserve is primarily responsible), and they wanted an energetic president to come in and do what was necessary to restart the economy and restore a sense of normalcy to the country. Unfortunately, the people chose an economically illiterate spoilt brat who was an actual socialist in the sense that he was largely comfortable with the ideas of government owning the means of production for many sectors of the economy, forcefully confiscating wealth and income from the wealthy to redistribute to poor voters, and disregarding private property rights and prudent policies that promote economic growth and individual liberty. FDR himself and many members of his administration admired Soviet Communism. FDR was molded by the ideas of his progressive statist 5th cousin President Theodore Roosevelt and President Woodrow Wilson, a fascist admired by Benito Mussolini himself. FDR was a believer in the Teddy Roosevelt viewpoint on presidential power. The viewpoint in which the president can do whatever he wants as long it is not explicitly restricted by the constitution. Even if the action is unconstitutional, the president can do it anyway because being elected to the presidency apparently means total power over the fate of the republic and its peoples.FDR continued to win reelection and he casually busted past the term limitation precedent by the father of our country, George Washington. He won, not because the economy recovered to some semblance of normalcy. He won not only because he legitimately gave people hope with his excellent public speaking skills, but more because he tapped into people’s class warfare mentality and exploited that mentality with the promise of bread and circuses and “soaking the evil rich”.Once that framework was firmly implemented in American politics, all future presidents of both parties did the same thing as FDR because it quickly became the only way to win elections. It was only a matter of degree. President Johnson totally changed the game again. He was motivated to win elections, consolidate his power, but most importantly cast himself into a heroic image like FDR. The Johnson administration started an extremely expensive and ambitious program called the Great Society. The program rapidly expanded the size and scope of the federal government by introducing and expanding federal control and expenditure over retirement programs, higher education, medical care, development, transportation, the arts, cultural institutions, and private businesses. A major aspect of the Great Society was a humongous expansion of the welfare state that led millions to perpetual dependence on government, billions of dollars wasted that could have been put to productive use, and a major beatdown of the American nuclear family institution (especially the black family). The federal poverty rate was falling strongly until the Great War on Poverty. The rate has largely been stagnant for decades. There is no relationship between welfare spending and reduction in poverty in Western countries. Welfare spending continues to rise, but poverty more or less doesn't budge.President Reagan and to a lesser extent President Clinton did less bread and circuses and promoted more self-reliance, personal responsibility, and economic liberty.Now that we’ve gone through that comprehensive review, let’s get to your question.This is an extremely loaded question but I would like to hear thoughtful answers from conservatives. What do you have to offer to the poor and working class especially regarding educational inequity, social mobility and economic stability/security?The fundamental conflict between what are termed “liberals” and “conservatives” in America is not the question of whether there are recognizable problems in society and whether those problems should be somehow solved. Many liberals today are not liberal and some conservatives are not conservative, but I will use those terms as they are in common use for the sake of brevity.From this point on, I am speaking for myself. I cannot claim to represent the views of every conservative. I will speak with a mix of my personal views and general societal beliefs.The problem is that liberals believe society is rife with “problems” and “injustices” and that government has the “solutions” to the issues that liberals feel are problems. Conservatives tend to believe that issues like poverty, illness, difficulties at home, and different forms of inequality are the natural aspects of the human condition. Every single political and economic system will still feature people suffering through those issues. You cannot alter the fundamentals of the human condition to fit a utopian viewpoint of how people should be. In reality, there are no solutions. There are only trade-offs. When we look at an issue, we have to be rational in whether government can realistically do anything about that issue without infringing on people’s liberties and wasting obscene amounts of the taxpayer’s money.These are 3 questions (formulated by Economist and author Dr. Thomas Sowell) that we must ask when looking at an issue, deciding whether we can do anything about it, and if we are going ahead, what trade-offs we are making.Compared to what?At what cost?What hard evidence do you have?Another fundamental problem is the conflict of visions, another phenomena that Sowell and others have written extensively on. The question is, what is the role of government? I believe that the role of the federal government is constitutionally limited to 5 main functions.Provide for the defense, security, and integrity of the American republic, its people, and their property.Ensure the people’s natural rights are not encroached upon. Natural rights should be protected equally regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc. That protection from encroachment includes encroachments from different levels of government, the mob, and other people.Enforce contracts between individuals. Settle disputes in a peaceful manner.Run general government operations such as congress, courts, executive branch, military, intel agencies, diplomatic offices, and elections in a manner compliant with the constitution.Provide a common monetary system.Liberals tend to believe government has the right, authority, and most absurdly the capability to solve unsolvable issues like inequality, poverty, and illness. The uncomfortable fact is that the natural human condition is poverty. Only with the advent of free enterprise has that fact been turned on its head. This preposterous liberal ideological viewpoint totally disregards the sum total of all human knowledge and experience thus far.If government does something like tax person A’s income to give to someone who is unproductive, that is a blatant violation of a person A’s right to private property. You have used a coercive and violent force (government) to forcefully confiscate what doesn't belong to it and give it to someone else who has not earned that property.You can reduce people’s material poverty with welfare programs and social services by giving them some cash, giving them food, and providing some place for them to sleep. However, you have created a dependency. That person is not a self-reliant citizen any longer, he has transformed into a subject of the state because he is dependent upon the benevolence of politicians and bureaucrats to eat, be clothed, stay warm, and have a roof over his head. You have swallowed a part of his soul. The part of the soul that needs to feel pride in the fact that one did a hard day’s work and is not reliant on others for the basic functions of daily life.Government welfare destroys one’s sense of personal shame which is a powerful motivator to turn down charity, work hard, survive, and show the world that one is worth something. Government welfare depersonalizes charity, so that some feel no shame when accepting checks from the government. If you are on welfare, you might think you're just screwing the government and after all, no one has sympathy for Uncle Sam. However, if poverty and destitution makes it necessary for you to accept charity from your community. You are likely to be ashamed and will be motivated to quickly turn your life around and somehow repay those who helped you in your darkest hour. It is likely that once you get back on your feet, you will be encouraged to pay it forward and help others who are in trouble.Even liberal hero President Franklin D. Roosevelt had this to say about the welfare state “The lessons of history, confirmed by evidence immediately before me, show conclusively that continued dependence on relief induces a spiritual and moral disintegration fundamentally destructive to the national fiber. To dole out relief in this way is to administer a narcotic, a subtle destroyer of the human spirit. It is inimical to the dictates of sound policy. It is a violation of the traditions of America.” The New Deal was intended to be temporary, but many parts of that historic expansion of the state continue on today.I’m not saying that everyone in this country has the capacity to survive in a market economy and that there shouldn't be some help or a support system for them. There are certain people such as the physically disabled who need help to survive. There are institutions such as charities, religious organizations, foundations, and even informal groups of people in the community who give money, time, help, support, and experience to assist and provide comfort to those in need. This is an example of praiseworthy behavior because it is voluntary and done of one’s own accord.Advocating policies that give government the authority to rob the neighbor you envy in order to ostensibly help the poor is not praiseworthy behavior. Honestly, it’s disgusting and arguably immoral. If you don't like the conditions of the poor or disabled in your community, you can get out there and do something about it without a coercive force can't you?I have no solutions for inequalities of society that are a natural part of being human. I believe in community and helping your neighbor, but that behavior must be voluntary and not based on government coercion.Many liberals don't understand or don't care to understand the deeper facts and statistics behind what they read and watch in the left leaning media, entertainment industry, and university environments. For example, many people who are poor tend to be poor temporarily as they start off their careers with lower levels of skill, credibility, education, professional networks, etc. The vast majority of people rise from the lowest income decile and move upwards. There was a study done in the 1970s that tracked a couple dozen people from all different walks of life from the beginning of their careers until they reached mid-career. More than 90% of them moved into higher income deciles. This is not a one-off event. There are relatively few people who are permanently poor.There is an obsession about the so-called “origins of poverty” and assumption that perfect equality would lead to equal results. It won't. Some people are better and luckier than others and those who are will succeed in any system. If you are talented and lucky, you will be a top bureaucrat in a communist country, an advisor to a King in a monarchy, and any number of things in a modern democracy or republic. Some people are objectively dumb, self-defeating, lazy, incompetent, and ineffective. Others are unlucky and things don't ever seem to work out for them. You cannot solve this with government and it’s not clear that you can solve it at all. Instead of focusing on why some countries, cultures, and peoples are successful, they focus on this imagination of exploitative evil. In fact, some liberals are the ones with no faith in humanity. They find it hard to believe that some can become financially successfully by simply producing a product in the market at a price that customers value. There is no moral dimension to this. Why is this wrong or evil?The best way to help people rise up is to live in a free nation with a governmental structure that restricts itself only to the protection of individual liberty and letting people live as they live. Some will succeed, some will not, but it will be dependent on them. Those who suffer will be helped by their friends, family, neighbors, and community. Some will be neglected, but that’s true today and in every single country in the history of the world. The bonds of community in this country are eroding because government interferes in every aspect of life and it continues to reach in. Despite the encroachment of the state, the U.S. is still the most charitable nation on earth.There is no solution to the human condition. Just let people be free and act of their own accord.Sources and further reading:Federal Safety NetLifeline Program for Low-Income ConsumersChild Nutrition Programs: Spending and Policy OptionsUnderstanding the Hidden $1.1 Trillion Welfare System and How to Reform ItWhy Welfare Needs ReformMilton Friedman: What's Wrong with Welfare?Part 1: FDR warned in 1935 that Social Welfare Programs could become narcotic-likeData Show That Poverty in the U.S. Was Plummeting—Until Lyndon Johnson Declared War On It | Daniel J. MitchellThe Non-Relationship Between Welfare Spending and Poverty Reduction in the Western WorldLearning Valuable Lessons from History on How to Reduce PovertyAmazon.com: Basic Economics eBook: Thomas Sowell: Kindle StoreAmazon.com: Capitalism and Freedom: Fortieth Anniversary Edition (8580001055558): Milton Friedman: BooksA Monetary History of the United States, 1867-1960: Milton Friedman, Anna Jacobson Schwartz: 9780691003542: Amazon.com: BooksAmazon.com: Free to Choose: A Personal Statement (9780156334600): Milton Friedman, Rose Friedman: BooksWhy Government Is the Problem (Essays in Public Policy): Milton Friedman: 9780817954420: Amazon.com: BooksThe Wealth of Nations: Adam Smith: 9781505577129: Amazon.com: Books

In the ‘80s and ‘90’s, Dr. Sally Reis, U. Connecticut, conducted a long-term study of identified gifted students who were high achievers in elementary school but then failed to achieve well in high school or college.These students had been identified as ‘gifted’ by scoring at or above the 98th percentile on a full-scale psychologist-administered intelligence test like the Stanford-Binet or the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R). Although that is not the way I personally define intelligence, I’ll use the word ‘gifted’ as defined that way within this post.I taught gifted students in grades K-8 for a number of years, both in classes where everyone met that definition and in mixed classes where my students had a wide range of skills and abilities. I was also K-12 program administrator and consultant to K-12 gifted education teachers and programs in several dozen school districts for over two decades. I trained hundreds of teachers to differentiate instruction in order to address the needs of the wide range of skills, abilities, motivation, English language fluency, and background knowledge of their students.Frequently, gifted children seemed to learn effortlessly; in fact, they had often already mastered ‘new’ content even before the teacher introduced it. If not, they often mastered it either when it was foreshadowed or first introduced. Sometimes they learned it by reading widely in books well beyond the norm for their grade level. They learn from noticing older siblings’ homework assignments. They often watch science and history programs on television. They listen in on adult conversations and discussions. They explore the Internet. They think and reflect. They ask adults questions about topics that pique their curiosity.While other children might need 7 to 40 exposures to a new concept to master it, a gifted learner might require just one, or perhaps 2 or 3. (And imagine having to sit through class while what one already knows is retaught and reviewed 40 more times.) If you solve 20 math problems accurately, why do 20 more in class and as homework every day for weeks? If you get 100% on the practice spelling test, why have to take the final spelling test? Why review over and over again what you already understand well? Many gifted learners just zone out. When work isn’t interesting or challenging, how many of us are motivated to put forth our best effort and enthusiastic attitude on a continual basis?Many students still get A’s on tests without having studied and/or without having done daily homework assignments. Some are able to earn A’s on book reports by just sampling a book they haven’t read cover-to-cover. Many of them procrastinate on assignments, doing the display and report for their science project at the last minute or turning in their first draft of an essay as their final product, and still get A’s.Because they excel on tests, teachers will sometimes avoid calling on gifted learners in class in order to provide practice to students who need it more. Since a gifted learner so often raises his hand to respond, a teacher may not notice when his hand is down, although it might signify that he doesn’t understand and doesn’t want anyone to know, lest they realize he isn’t so smart after all. Typically articulate and glib, they are often able to cover well enough, when asked about something they don’t know, to appear that they do.They often come to believe that being gifted means they should know without trying… and many are able to do so throughout elementary school. Some are able to continue this delusion even longer, through middle school or high school.The problem is, that unlike their non-gifted classmates, they have never learned to deal with difficulty or failure and when they encounter it, in high school or college where there are many others as smart as or even smarter than they are, they have no idea how to struggle with challenging tasks or concepts. When they can’t easily get past initial frustration or failure, they give up. They haven’t learned how to put forth strenuous effort, how to study using distributed practice, how to comprehend too-difficult text, how to budget time to accomplish a large task in incremental steps, or how to complete several complex simultaneous homework assignments, or how to juggle multiple challenging tasks with overlapping deadlines.After 15 years of study, Dr. Reis concluded that the number one indicator for eventual academic failure of a formerly high-achieving gifted student was “excellence without effort” in elementary school.One of the most valuable aspects of homogeneous classes or groupings for gifted students is that they can be challenged with curriculum that is not just more difficult, but differentiated in content, process, and/or product to address their academic needs through higher-level questions, critical thinking, creative problem solving, inquiry learning, independent and group projects, collaboration with peers, etc.Even in a heterogeneous class, where students have diverse abilities and skills, the curriculum can be compacted. Gifted students typically already know (or can master on first exposure) 40–50% of the grade level curriculum. If the parts they already know (verified through pretesting or past performance) are eliminated or ‘compacted’, they can spend the time saved on interesting independent projects or delving into subtopics or ‘extensions’ that intrigue them and that are related to the class unit of study but for which there is no time within the basic curriculum that all grade-level students must learn. Since they are learning what interests them, students who do so are self-motivated. By sharing the most fascinating things they thus learn, not only these students but their classmates all benefit. A number of studies have demonstrated that gifted students whose curriculum has been compacted to eliminate 40–50% still score as well on unit tests and achievement tests as do their gifted peers who were exposed to 100% of the curriculum.Without such differentiated instruction, if you have a son or daughter who is able to excel without effort in their school, find an extracurricular activity that interests but truly challenges them. It might be for example, learning a musical instrument, a foreign language, or a university-level correspondence course. Whatever it is, it must interest the child but require significant sustained effort on his or her part. As the parent, you should also be modeling this. Take on learning something new that you find extremely challenging and share your frustrations, feelings, and successes as you learn.Lukasic, M., Gorski, V., Lea, M., & Culross, R. (1992). Underachievement among gifted/talented students: What we really know. Houston, TX: University of Houston-Clear Lake.Reis, S. M., Hebert, T., Diaz, E., Maxfield, L., & Ratley, M. (1995). Case studies of talented students who achieve and underachieve in an urban high school (95120). Storrs: University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.Shaw, M. C., & McCuen, J. T. (1960). The onset of academic underachievement in bright children. Journal of Educational Psychology, 51(3), 103-108.