I originally posted the following information and commentary onto my Facebook wall…
Piano Phenom, Avery Gagliano
In D.C., a 13-Year-Old Piano Prodigy is Treated as a Truant Instead of a Star Student:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/local/in-dc-a-12-year-old-piano-prodigy-is-treated-as-a-truant-instead-of-a-star-student/2014/09/08/58962746-3727-11e4-bdfb-de4104544a37_story.html
(Petula Dvorak, Washington Post) Avery Gagliano is a commanding young pianist who attacks Chopin with the focused diligence of a master craftsman and the grace of a ballet dancer.
The prodigy, who just turned 13, was one of 12 musicians selected from across the globe to play at a prestigious event in Munich last year and has won competitions and headlined with orchestras nationwide.
But to the D.C. public school system, the eighth-grader from Mount Pleasant is also a truant. Yes, you read that right. Avery’s amazing talent and straight-A grades at Alice Deal Middle School earned her no slack from school officials, despite her parents’ begging and pleading for an exception.
My Commentary: As always, State schools have “zero tolerance” for genuine, organic achievements! Children must be taught to comply, to conform, to regiment, and to be held the standard of the “average,” or else, risk butting heads with gate-keeping, authoritarian government mercenaries!
