Were you in the "Gifted Program" ?

When I was in high school which was a long time ago, I was put into some gifted student classes. It was the same group whom I believe had higher grades and we were all in the Honor Society too I believe.

The only thing I remember learning about the gifted social studies program was to never give up your freedoms to politicians claiming they can fix things or improve things for you. The teacher had a scenario where the US lost a major war and we owed a tremendous sum to other countries. Our debt was like $15 trillion dollars. In todays dollars, it might be like $120 trillion dollars. Anyway we had several candidates running for president to choose from. We voted. The teacher told us we elected Hitler and the scenario was the one Germany had. Then she told us never give up your freedoms to politicians making promises. We were surprised and didn't know the candidates had actual names that corresponded to historical people.

I also remember some of us guys joked about one girl in the class and they wondered how in the world she got in the class. One of the guys liked to joke about her being in the fog a lot of the time. Being in the fog was a joke about her mind not being clear enough to think of answers to questions.

I don't remember taking any IQ tests but my memory isn't that great from that long ago. I do remember another non gifted class where a lot of the students didn't like me in it. Some of the same students from the gifted class were in it though. The teacher announced to the class after our first test that she didn't like to give out a perfect score of 100 to anyone on the tests she gave. It was either Physics or Chemistry. In High School it wasn't that bad except the answers were supposed to be in essay form. The tests were 2 to 3 pages long I believe. She checked my entire test for spelling mistakes and found one or two so she could take off a point or two. To be fair she told the class she had to take off for spelling mistakes on everybody's test as well. I was so popular after this announcement. In elementary school, I was naturally good at spelling so much so that I was runner up in a spelling bee contest for the school and I never studied or prepared for it. I wasn't even sure I wanted to be in it. I was actually relieved I didn't win it but I didn't lose on purpose. No one knew the teacher was going to take off for spelling mistakes too.

Of course you go to college and there are people there who can make you feel dumb. Studying subjects that I had absolutely no interest in and trying to get decent grades at the same time really sucked. My test results and grade in an economics class were so good that I was asked to join some kind of special honors Economics class group the following semester. After talking about it and not majoring in economics, I decided not to. I thought the only reason I did so well was because I spent extra time on the subject because I was helping a girl in the class.

An Astronomy class was very interesting to me. I was the only one in the class taking it for fun. It was a lot more challenging than I expected. I remember learning about the fusion process inside stars where Hydrogen combines and on and on into heavier and heavier elements until the energy is spent and the stars either go dead or go supernova. The supernova explosions form the even heavier elements past iron. I was thinking this is basic science. They should teach this kind of stuff to everyone in High School. Although my teacher in college I heard was the most difficult but knew his material. I believe he could have left out the triple alpha fusion process. I don't even remember what that was about.

A question in the text book about how fast are you going if a red light appears green I thought was amusing. My answer was too fast to be caught by the police. I didn't have to answer it on a test.

I was in a program called "IB". International Baccalaureate. It's a program supposedly desigend for the kids of Ambassadors. We had to write papers and take tests which were sent to Geneva Switzerland and England( I'm in the US) to be evaluated in order to say if we recieved our "diploma" from the powers that be.

Haha!... Were you in my class because the fog girl sounds like me. This is why I stopped doing my work at school. My mind was somewhere else. I had other stuff to think about. Sometimes it's like I'm not even in the room.

Actually, I can force myself to concentrate but I only do it if it's important. I can hyperfocus but nobody wants to do that crap all the time... especially to impress teachers. Why do people spend so much time trying to impress others? That's just how society is shaped but it's very rigid and that can be stifling.

Aspiring minds want to "go places"

Well, MY mind wants to "go places"... literally... like somewhere other than where my body is.

Actually I can concentrate well now that I'm older and have become so well acquainted with coffee but naturally my mind likes to drift. That's what it naturally does and I don't think that's bad because something outside of the immediate environment might be trying to get your attention to make you realize something that you need to know or be thinking about. In some cultures that is upheld, not condemned.

My three girls you see in my avatar are all in a special gifted program. Kids have to test in the top 1% to qualify and they all just sneaked in by a hair. Their school is dedicated to this program and the buses have to travel to wherever they are in the county to bring them to and from, no matter which district a kid lives in. But the program they are in even goes a step further, for not only is it advanced gifted, it is also immersion -- 50% of the day is taught 100% in Spanish. Math and science in Spanish, etc. It runs kindergarten through grade 5. My oldest exited the program last year, moving to middle school in an advanced program where she will add Chinese.

We love going to places where the folks speak Spanish. When the staff finds out our lily white gringo kids are fluent or near it, they go nuts an love it. Me, I don't speak it.

The program is so exceptional that in her gifted middle school 6th grade math, we have a problem because she is 1.5 years ahead of them. Only now does she realize how special that program was now that she in classes with "regular" gifted kids and she sees how far ahead she is.

Amazing thing is, many of her friends were much smarter than she was, the kind of kids that were reading chapter books at age 4. Even more amazing is how darned polite, respectful, kind and well-balanced they all are too.

Watching those kids for so many years is one of the few things that give me hope for our country -- there should be plenty of truly brilliant AND capable AND caring people to run the show when they take charge.

I failed to note the most important thing about the program; it does not teach WHAT to think, it teaches them HOW to think, how to observe, find and process information to form rational judgment and opinions. You can't put a price on that. it is 180 degrees opposite from what the weirdos in TX state board of education wants to do with kids in TX -- their intentions are to raise zombies who literally follow doctrine and dogma.

reply to post by NotAnAspie

This was in a small town in NC. Probably not the same girl. I understand the mind wondering. My memory isn't great but I was wondering if she was a cheerleader too. I can't remember. My grades were probably higher because of the dress code the school had except for cheerleaders who could wear their outfits in class.

In one college chemistry class, there was a day or two where I couldn't focus at all on what the teacher was saying. There was stadium seating and the girls just below me looked really good in their short shorts. If anyone had asked me anything, they would have thought my mind was in a fog. I could not focus at all on the class. For guys, just imagine a bunch of girls who look like Megan Fox or Isabel Lucas wearing short shorts and sitting strategically everywhere you look.

Why would anyone want to know who was in special programs or not? Next you will be asking who had psych tests, are you a mind reader, can you see in the future, can u move things with your brain, or dissapear and reappear somewhere else, can you bend time, can you talk to animals, Do u see strange creatures others do not, and so on and so on. UH, whats the purpose?

reply to post by cloaked4u


to see if the program is uniform or differs based on region/demographic? If you understand the syllabus you can understand the goal/desired outcome/projected outcome. I mean, why bother with this stuff in the first place?

reply to post by pajoly


Does that last comment about how the State of Texas teaches "normal" kids and how diametrically opposed to what your girls are doing, make you wonder? That only 1% of the future adults, or maybe the current adults are able to think for themselves, and the rest are simply doing what they are told or taught? That imbalance implies a real potential problem on our horizon doesn't it? Well, at least for the other 99%.

Something about that kind of educational imbalance just feels wrong.

Originally posted by SymbolicLogic
reply to post by cloaked4u

 

to see if the program is uniform or differs based on region/demographic? If you understand the syllabus you can understand the goal/desired outcome/projected outcome. I mean, why bother with this stuff in the first place?

Then what one do with the outcome?

Alright, I'll fess... and not just to being in M.G.M., only because I'm bored.

Ours was a two part class, back in the 70's, Monrovia, Ca.

On Friday mornings we got bussed to either Cal. State, or the U.C.L.A. extension. (first confession, I'd have to actually think to remember which.)

There I took a chemistry class and we did things like make nylon, and watch colored dye creep up the viens of a celery stick. Right brained, common sense, observation type indoctrination.

The weekday, after lunch class seemed to be more centered on creativity and didn't start off as I imagine they had hoped. We got to vote on the projects we did, and the first day we were dead locked 5-5 for, probably, the beginning third of the class.

Creating a crossword puzzle ended up the winner, and I still think there was some Chicago style politics involved in that.

We made cartoon movies out of cardboard, wasted lots of time and taxpayer money inventing crap to do so the teachers wouldn't have to. It was fun and stupid at the same time.

I.Q.? Um... apparently not high enough to remember what it actually was. 142 sound high? 124?

Hell, if they had some plan, they better get on it quick, I'm getting... I did say it was in the 70's right?

Like some others, the next year for me was high school, and I don't recall how it ended, which doesn't, at all, mean they didn't tell me... maybe I flunked.

Drawn to ATS with some un-feedable apetite? I always liked Reader's Digest, it suited my short attention span. I find it a fun escape.

There wasn't any gifted programs in my school, not that I knew of anyway. In my senior year the same four or five people usually went from class to class together. The advanced classes only had around five or six people in them. I was one of the nerds of the time. School was easy and interesting, I rarely had to study. When I discovered there was a lot to learn in the world college got so boring and seemed too slow for learning.

Did schools really have gifted programs some places?

It's racist, the whole IQ thing is racist, they pick out children with blue eyes and blonde hair etc...I heard a nurse talk about it once. That star children have beautiful light coloured eyes.

From an educational perspective, you need to treat extremely smart (high IQ) people much the same as this were a handicap.

Extremely bright people often get bored with regular classes. Why pay attention to the math teacher when you get it as soon as it's explained the first time.

So, in a sense, the point of grouping high IQ kids into a gifted class is to keep them challenged. Keep the material coming to them as fast as they can process it. The schools are hoping that these types of programs will help them reach their potential.

I don't see it as a means to keep their eye on them.

reply to post by babybowrain


Racism has little to do with it. People who learn what the present intellectual organizations in charge want them to learn will score higher on the tests. People who take risks do better on the tests. The person who wants to be thorough and correct looses out.

Take typing skills as an example. 40 wpm with no errors was worse than 60 wpm with four errors when I was in typing in school. Seems to me that taking a little more time and getting something that needs no correcting is better than to spend extra time correcting things after. Building an auto with no flaws lowers prices in the longrun, but that doesn't matter I guess because the customer pays in his price and it supports the dealerships mechanics.

The IQ tests accentuate scores of those who are told how to believe, they don't really test true intellect. We need to create different kinds of IQ recognition tests. A farmer has a different kind of IQ than a rocket scientist. In reality a farmer that grows good wholesome food is more necessary than a rocket scientist.

They wanted to put me in one of those programs. I denied it. They were shocked and asked "why?"

There were only 3 other kids in that program. Life would be very boring with only 3 other people. What kind of "program" is that? Would have been better off homeschooling myself.

Even at that young age it was easy to see the "Gifted Program" they had, offered no benefit.

Anybody ever notice that "Who's Who" program was cancelled? Same thing, another program that offered nothing really....nobody will miss it.

Just 1 'Gifted' story

I was placed in the 'gifted' program entering 6th grade. Of the few students that I still have contact with, one is with the border patrol and another is an attorney. I was always told that i could do whatever i wanted. Out of high-school, I wanted to follow my father into the military and suddenly I was choosing between Nuclear Biological and Chemical Warfare with the Marines or cryptography with the Navy, ASVAB and Defense Language Aptitude Battery scores, were in the top 99%. I was almost certain to sign up with the Navy and take my happy butt to Monterey, California to learn whatever language assigned.

3 days before leaving for MEPS, bored O bored me, made a dumb mistake that cost me the top-secret clearance that being a CT required. So, the recruiter gets me off my charge, I lose my top-secret clearance and end up taking a different position that just requires secret clearance. Funny how things work out though...September 11, 2001 happens while I'm in boot camp, 2nd or 3rd week. Had I still been qualified for TS-C for the cryptography, I would be speaking Arabic right now and be a completely different person.

Without going into the details, my Navy career was cut short. Upon exiting the Navy, I quickly finished my 'core' classes in college and was ready to actually start on my major. It went a little like, ummm, yea i guess i could see myself doing that. After the first 2 years, i spent 3 more bouncing from major to major. First one, was Management of Information Systems. Told a buddy that it was my major cause the job market was going to be hot locally when we graduated. He changed his major the next day, I changed mine away from this program weeks later. He does have a pretty sweet job but i'm not envious. I just couldn't see myself doing that.

Next major up, chemistry. In AP CHEM 1and 2, i got a 101 and a 103, the other gifted students hated me because I blew the curve. (pfft, gifted students asking for a curve?!? boggles my mind) But then it happened again and after a year of college chem, I was bored and looking for a challenge again.
I wanted to find something that challenged me mentally and logically. I remember always having technical arguments with my older sister, and we definitely both had the debate skill. I decided that I was going to follow her to law school thinking 'if she can do it, i can do it' probably better.

So I finally finished up college with my prelaw degree. Gonna take the LSAT and go right back to school right? Wrong! I graduated in early December and had started studying for the LSAT when christmas rolls around. My sister, an attorney, and her husband, an attorney with one of the biggest firms in the Southeast US, show up to our mothers house and damn when I say they looked like they never got sleep, they both might as well have had nutsacks replacing the bags under their eyes. and although they never mentioned the money, it had to be good, with trips to vegas, costa rica, chile, istanbul. The one thing for a fact that I do know about myself, is that i've never cared about $$$, and i actually do like my sleep. When those two issues are confronted in my mind, i simply cannot be an attorney and damn lol my bachelors is useless. So I stopped studying for the LSAT, decided i just wanted to live for a little bit, and then maybe go back to school down the road.

So i started bartending. Really just wanted to be around people. Not upper class but just a regular restaurant, you have one in your city. Once again, not in the business for the $$, but for the conversation. I want to try and change minds. not for my benefit or $$, but so that we can live better.

I grew up in Cali, Hawaii and Key West, before entering the Navy. While these are all beautiful places, they opened my mind, I never saw 'color'. I grew up around white, black, latino in Cali. In Hawaii, I grew up around white, black, Japanese, Hawaiian, mormons. In Key West, I grew up with white, Cubans, Puerto-Ricans, Haitians, Dominicans, Jamaicans, gays, and various European backgrounds. Navy, everyone was 1. when i got out, GA to MD, the racism is appalling. It comes from all sides, put your fingers down!

I won't ever cast blame at another race without making sure that mine are held accountable. Don't get mad when i say, STFU..your embarrassing our race. Its not personal and my standards are very high for my own race, as they should be for you and yours. Gifted' minds, regardless of color, must encourage, support and WILL the change of replacement. I lived 20 years without racism and the last 10 suffocating under its foul fumes.

Sorry, long post and introduction (my 1st on ATS)

I arrive this Friday 9-21-12
For about 3 months, Ill be here to inspire and help
Im a leader within the muse, I'll teach a few to wield the truth
that many will follow like Zeus, TPTB, soon to be, the forgotten few

Rab Iam

Okay.... I guess that no-one else has entered GaTe or the local equivalent, as posts to this thread are sporadic at best... and recent posts from demographics after a certain time have ceased... which is questionable at best. I won't go into all of the different conclusions one can draw from this; go ahead if you want to.

The program was probably based on population size; the more sensitive topics being researched were based in more isolated/underpopulated areas, and the more applicable studies being applied to heavily populated/connected areas. This could easily be checked by looking at the precincts/counties/districts in said locations based on population/members in the area && landmarks... cross-referenced by societal connections and funding trails of course. Has anyone tried doing this? (besides auditors of course... even so, there would be a 8 year delay in knowing if their judgement was mistaken on a case... blah blah blah.)

no overtly crazy responses please... half reasonable is better than 100% bull#.

*edit* and to RABiam... Anyone who would even stand to have that kind of clearance wouldn't make a 'dumb mistake'. Any 'mistakes' that such a person made would be dictated to them by God, Assange, or someone with a higher clearance. To claim what you're claiming, is unbelievable.

When I was in the 3rd grade, I had bad grades, and a terrible teacher, the teacher thought I was mentally disabled and ended up calling my parents and the school's councelor. So, they performed an IQ test and a general knowledge test, to their surprise, it turned out I was actually among most intelligent at the school at the time, was quickly removed from my class and placed in a 4th grade "gifted" class.

I found that I did very well in that class, and enjoyed the work, it was far more interesting that what was in my 3rd grade class (in which the teacher couldn't even do cursive correctly, and called everyone "writhing worms" and "horrible children")

After elementary school the "gifted" class was over, and I was back in regular classes and getting mediocre grades. I found that I generally already knew everything that was being taught, so I didn't feel compelled to do the work, and was utterly bored.

I'm not sure if the school kept a list of who was in the Gifted program, or what they would have done with that list, but I'm sure my name is floating around somewhere now.

But all I know now about myself now, is that I give myself far too many personal projects, and tend to look at the world from an outsiders perspective. Whether or not I have superior intellect, or ability to solve things, I do not know. I haven't taken such a test in a very very long time.

Do you remember any tests for General Intelligence? Or the General Intelligence Factor?

Dd you have reaction speed tests?

Did you ever have a neural map made?

Did you ever have a pellet/bump in your neck?

search.bwh.harvard.edu...

^ quick and easy example of what I'm generally talking about.

Originally posted by SymbolicLogic
Do you remember any tests for General Intelligence? Or the General Intelligence Factor?

Dd you have reaction speed tests?

Did you ever have a neural map made?

Did you ever have a pellet/bump in your neck?

search.bwh.harvard.edu...

^ quick and easy example of what I'm generally talking about.

the example test questions on that PDF are familiar. I had a similar kind of test. I don't remember if I had any of the other ones. I don't remember all the tests I had, since that was a very long time ago. I mostly just remember that my third grade teacher was a horrible person.