In my experience, the difference between government R&D versus private R&D is that companies do research that might actually achieve something - a more effective lightbulb or a cure for a disease. Government researches the breeding habits of the Southern Maryland pond worm for "just because", for no apparent reason.
That "just because" provides the foundation on which to develop actual products. The light bulb started out as an interesting experiment long before Edison developed one that was commercially viable.
People put research and development in the same category, when they are not. Research is the "just because," development is the "actually making something." If you look at Bell Labs, which has been one of the most fruitful corporate R&D endeavors, only 10% of its workforce was focused on research. Xerox PARC was a failure (for Xerox) because it did a lot of research, but the company was not able to effectively develop what it created into products. Research has a high rate of "misses," in that a particular project cannot be effectively capitalized, so it is dominated by government or industry consortiums. Often corporate research is done by sponsoring university projects, because it does not require a dedicated workforce, labs, or other capital. There are also tax breaks, so the capital risk vs reward is more appealing.
No, it's fucking retarded at its face. So we find the children that need the LEAST amount of help, and give them the most help.
No we determine the learning potential for the student and resource and tailor experiences so that students have the best opportunity to reach their learning ceiling. It's something done in sports all the time. You don't give professional training to the slowest kid in the class because all you get is mediocrity. You also don't completely ignore the slow kid and just focus on the future professional, because you alienate the child and the sport dies. In sports (essentially physical education) there is a system of tiers that help children of different skill levels perform as best they can. This also has the side-effect of keeping a greater proportion motivated and involved. There's only a few hundred pro athletes for any sport, but there are literally thousands who participate in beer league athletics.
The current education system doesn't just do a poor job of teaching children, it has the effect of discourage continual learning.
We should try to get the best overall education from our investment through strategic targeting and not implement a one size fits all system.
In economic terms marginal return = marginal cost
So you think that money is the root of all evil. Have you ever asked what is the root of money? -- Ayn Rand
