That "smart kids are bored in class" thing is bs unless your kid has savant intelligence (Terence Tao level).

If your kid is very bright, it's better for him/her to be among general peers and experience what it's like to be top of the class. In my opinion the confidence that this instills is more important than "not being bored". All the serious learning happens in high school anyway.

Some parents who rabidly pursue gifted programs deep down know that their kid is not special, but are hoping that the giftedness of other kids in class will rub off on their kid, or that the higher level of education will push their kid from average to above-average. That's also where the "smart kids are bored in class (and hence not doing great)" comes from.

it's more like "they are teaching my kid reading/maths/etc that they have already done a couple of years ahead on their own, just out of interest. more prevalent in the first 3-4 years of school than later on, but those are often just the years where teachers are not willing to give the kids any option but to participate in the class anyway.

>That "smart kids are bored in class" thing is bs unless your kid has savant intelligence (Terence Tao level).

Nah, pretty much everyone of slightly above average intelligence spends most of school bored.