Dear Future President:

The role you play is one of great responsibility. Every act of change, including that of your very election, can bring about new dreams, fears, inspirations, uncertainties, spirit, and hope. There is hope that with you we may come closer together as a nation and overcome the challenges we face. I pray that no matter what obstacles you come up against, you will have both courage and heart in trying to choose the right path for our country. This nation is like a meadow with many flowers of many different colors and origins. No matter who we are or where we come from, we all deserve the promise for a better tomorrow.

The promise that I am speaking of reaches out to everyone, especially the children. Typical school settings do not allow gifted children to learn at the ability level they’re capable of (vanderbilt.edu). America focuses so strongly on children who struggle in school or have special needs so they may have a brighter future (learnnc.org). While I agree this is very important, I also feel our country does not focus nearly enough on the children who are gifted in school. Imagine how beautiful and wonderful our country could be if we would only give them a little push. Imagine how much further they could go.

Whenever I turn on the radio or television, what I hear is always the negative. We hear about the wars, the struggles, and the poverty. I could not honestly tell you the number of heartbreaking stories I hear each day on the news. Our government does the same thing. It focuses on the children with special needs and learning disabilities, but neglects to even take into consideration those with outstanding academic performances (calgaryherald.com). Why is it that we can’t focus a little harder on those who truly deserve the recognition? What I am asking is that we, as a nation, put forth just as much effort into those children who are gifted as we do for those who need the help.

Many parents feel defensive over the idea of schools providing advanced classes when they know their child will never be in them. They feel it’s not fair for certain children to get what they think of as special attention from teachers. However, the idea of having more advanced classes for these children is not so they can get special attention, but so they can learn at a higher level and rate. While it may seem unjust to the children who are not as advanced, we must still consider the other side. Would it be more fair for the children who are faster learners to be stuck at a lower level than what they were made to do? Is that honorable of our country? People are born different, yet our society tries so hard to diminish these differences. I think it is about time we started honoring those differences instead.

I personally feel this is important because of the experiences I have had. Even as a young child, I could do more than what my classmates could and I was quicker at grasping and understanding the material. What bothers me most is I was only allowed in a few advanced classes throughout those entire five years. Opportunities were very limited, and the classes only lasted a week. I really wish I had gotten more of a chance to prove to myself and to my school what I was capable of.

This is a beautiful country, and it is filled with many young, talented students who have yet to reach their full potential. Please do not let them be ignored. I know there are a great many things our country needs to improve, and I’m sure you’re already busy as it is. If you would just give a little time into helping these students be recognized, they may one day return the favor and solve some of our most extreme problems. When this happens, I’ll know we made a commendable decision in electing you president.