Were you in the "Gifted Program" ?

Originally posted by IamStarKing
I too was also in the gifted program. I was taken out class one day in elementary in 5th grade and put in this new prgram which they said was for Gifted children. Again as was mentioned before I was taken on feild trips to different locations around LA County, I was taken too the L.A. zoo, Gene Autry muesum, some place off the coast where they rehabilited sea life, like penguins and sea lions; we got to clean them and see how all that worked. We were encouraged to ask quesitons. Then in middle school. I got accepted to MATH&SCIENCE Magent in which again is a course for gifted children, we learened how to disect frogs and were learning Algebra in the 6th grade. Geometry by the end of 7th grade. We were trained in the schools computer lab how to be profecient with computers and networking, also my science teachers which were 2 sisters who thought they were klingons from Star Trek and always wore their Star Trek clothing

hahaha. We learned many things in that class like the periodic table and had science experiements with rockets and different fuels to power does rockets. We were taken to a digging site where we dug and searched for fossils of dinasours millions of years old. We were taken to Lockheed, SKUNKWORKS where all the military planes and jets are built, by a Commander in the military by shear coincedence when me and a friend of mine struck up a conversation with him and he offered to take us there on a field trip with only a selected group of students from my school. We were shown around, how they train their pilots, what they train them in. We got to take part in differenet excercies they had planned for us, We got to stay there for 2 or 3 days can't be sure as this was 10 years ago. We got to see a lot of aircraft and the building process that went with it. There was a simulator there which pilots and use to train for the flights which we got to go inside and check out. Very cool stuff. Very bright people in that building. I think Nasa had a department in that Lot. Then my best friend since 1st grade and the Commander that took us there and I were having a converstaion with a high ranking offcial of the Air Force in his blues mind you this is 10 years ago telling us that their technology was 20 years ahead of time maybe more then what was known to the public. I think my friend also asked him about aliens and he just acknowledged with a shake of his head that there was. They even had a model airplane right were we standing and talking of a UFO shaped flying saucer type craft there. We got to talk to pilots and learned all kinds of things while there. When I graduated middle school with Math & Science Honors I got accepted to Van Nuys High School in there Medical Magnet progam for gifted and accelearted students, there we learned many things about bacteria, microscpes, virusus, biology. They also took us to hospitals to learn about virusus and bacteria, how the hospitals work met with Staff and Dr.s there. We also got to work with mentally handicapped children at a school specifaclly for these type of children, there were children there with all sorts of conditions. Oh and I also didn't like the way the system was setup in school so I always challenged them. I started ditching school and doing other things with my time. Eventually I missed so many hours and got caught by the polic for ditching and they kicked me out. So much for L.A.U.S.D as I didn't even like the system and was already way smarter than most everyone around me.

So I just got my G.E.D later on in life.

edit on 2-6-2012 by IamStarKing because: added and edited with more info.

edit on 2-6-2012 by IamStarKing because: added and edited with more info.

You were part of the 'gifted"?

It's a shame they didn't teach you how to use paragraphs.

Sure you have some interesting things to say in your post.....but not many will take the time to find out.

Originally posted by yourmaker
when I was a kid, man...I was insanely rebellious. I would pretend to be stupid so I didn't have to do anything.
I would sneak away during vaccines, or come up with stories for whatever I needed...

School was not my forte at all except to learn how to manipulate people or situations I didn't like.

I was in my own gifted program.

Fabulous! I like your style!

I got a gift once.

It was a bicycle.

I named it Larry.

Grade 3 I took a 'placement' exam, on a scantron, so none of our language skills really factored in i guess. It was an in-school program, didn't have a name and there were about 5 - 7 of us in the program. It was very interesting for me as a kid, I did my best to excel in said program, since I felt a little special being chosen. We started every lesson with a 'whodunit' type problem, like a game of clue in a paragraph or two. We had to figure out who had committed the crime or whatnot. The subject matter was also VERY open. I image this was no later than '93, but there were twins in my class whose one project, as we were able to choose the material, was to program a video game. I remember likening it to something like commander keen.

These were twins in grade 3, in a time when the internet wasn't more than 28.8k dial up. And myself, I found it a great outlet for my more interesting ideas. I did a report on stone henge, easter island, and extra terrestrials, all complete with paper mache. I'm not sure there is a conspiracy in here per se. But I can tell you that, in hind site, I don't think i was more intelligent than others. I may have been a bit more inquisitive, and receptive to the information, but I was not 'special'. So the only conspiracy for me here, is that this isn't the standard, by which all education is administered. Perhaps in the future, our current form of education will be reserved soley for those with learning disabilities, and the system begins to truely challenge us, to be what we CAN be.

I'm 17 years old, and live in Australia. I was a part of TAGS, Talented and Gifted Students all through primary (elementary) school. I participated in the high school equivalent but they only went to year 10, I'm in my final year, year 12 on a university enrollment as well

I believe that they ran these programs to encourage the growth and development of intelligence and above-average intellect, especially in a small country town that we are from. From my memory the primary schooling programs had us involved in advanced writing, problem solving, several aptitude tests and mathematics. What I gained from it was the thought of knowing that I am capable of higher intellect and it has paid off now. I'm self employed at 17 with my own business, as a computer technician - who is contracted to build and maintain some Education Department blogs and websites, consult and design for a new beauty company and also the technician for a global aviation corporation.

Some may be a conspiracy - some may legitimately running an advancement for gifted kiddies.

reply to post by Stormdancer777


Interesting, I have been a drinker since my 20s, mostly smoked pot before that. Things could have been different though, I as a teen of course had my fair share of experimenting. Never really had a problem though, just mostly kept moderation as a credo.

Originally posted by Roundtree
I'm sure many of you have heard of the gifted program, if not, it is a program set up basically to first identify "gifted" children, and then bring them all to different schools to learn different things, once a week. They took IQ tests, constantly gave us projects which were high complexity for 7-8 year olds, as well as other mentally challenging tests. The wierd thing was out of say 7-8 schools in the area, there were only 20 of us in the gifted program, called Odyssey in my region.

I've heard of such programs in my youth, but never participated in one, although I was quite gifted and managed after 2 living in Germany to complete the German elementary school and then progress to Gymnasium (high school) which I finished after 9 years. One thing about IQ tests: the more you take, the more you get better at it. I am 52 now and I occasionally take some IQ test on-line and I'm still around 126. It's a shame I never took one when I was in German high school.

Was this an attempt to get the intelligent children on the books? find out who they are and watch them as they mature?

From my theoretical experience it is done to speed up education and is usually done by advancing you to the next class or by sending you to a special school or to a separate class for the gifted.

Also, how many of us ended up here? the gifted program taught us to reason, to ask why and how things happen, which is what this and other conspiracy sites are all about. Id advise you all to research star children, and compare the characteristics to the gifted program. I'm sure that we are in a record somewhere, identified as possible star children or something, what are your guys' thoughts?

As I said not me, but I already had accomplished so much by transferring from Greek 4th elementary class to 4th German and then progressing to high school where I was within the upper 10% of my class and would have probably to have straight As in all lessons to be considered for such programs. I was a quite smart, but not smart enough it seems or I was quite lazy which is also true, mainly because I had an exceptional memory and did not have to study much for oral exams and did some of my written homework assignments on the bus to school. Once I even managed to "read" such an assignment, although I never had written it. I just started talking and the teacher never realized I was staring at a blank page.

As of this past week, I'm now a former teacher. I taught public school for twelve years- comprehensive, advanced program, ESL, and LD. I come from a family of teachers. I'm just going to let you know now, gifted classes are not some conspiracy to single out children for some agenda (at least on the part of teachers).

I was tested and identified as 'gifted and talented' in kindergarden (which was only half a day back in the early 80s). In the first grade, I was placed in a classroom with second graders (though they didn't let me skip a grade). I was pulled from the class every day with a group of three other children to go see a resource teacher. While there, we would be instructed in higher level math and critical thinking. We were heavily encouraged in creativity and problem solving. In the second grade, I spent most of my time being pulled out of class to attend the third grade class across the hall. After completing all of my assignments there, I'd be sent back to my own class, where I was expected to complete all of those assignments. I'd get done early, be bored out of my skull, and have time to get in trouble and get others in trouble with me. I was bussed the next year to a school that had advanced program classes for the third grade, as my home school didn't have them. By my junior year of high school (a magnet school), I was taking university classes across the street. When I graduated, I already had the equivalent of my freshman year completed with a 4.0. Consequently, I graduated college a year early.

Gifted classes are a way to keep kids engaged without them skipping a grade and suffering too much from boredom or missing out on socialization with their peers. It still didn't work too well in my case, but what are ya gonna do? I hated being different and really would have given anything to have naturally fit in with my peers better. My classmates in the AP classes even once remarked that everyone thought I was brilliant, and I laughed because I didn't see it. I'm no better off than anyone else, if so.

Anyway, I'm absolutely beyond ecstatic to be free of teaching. I'm going back to school in the fall to do something else, and I'm excited about it.

I was in that program where they set you in a corner with a pointy hat on. I am an H.S. D Merit us

30ish years ago we had SEARCH (Students Exploring Academic Reaching Creative Horizons) in my town in Oklahoma. We had just under 30 elementary schools. Search was for 4-6 grade and there were approximately
120 kids out of approximately 7000 kids. We met once a week at a local church building.. I used my first computer there, started learning a foreign language, but what I remember most was a chemistry class I took we put toothpaste in a pan on the stove and heated it... LOL it put off some toxic fumes stunk up the whole building everyone had to be evacuated and the fire department had to come and take care of the disposal.

dude...

in "high school" when i was 14/15 yrs.....13 of us had to meet up every wednesday afternoon...
a jewish guy from a local academy, met us each week.....

i cant remeber much...but i do remeber him telling us that our group had the best potential, he was telling us how and where to aid our grades....etc

i liked him....i went to his academy...
now
i was a little mug those days.....when i joined the academy at 16/17...i just wanted to F about.
he met my dad....they argued....

the dude and his staff..no lie....wrote my essays and course work for me......i got an A in biology, physics....
went to the exam, screwed it up and left with C`s

the dude gave me my results and said...."these are the best things that have happened to you....go out there and god bless" etc etc

i know now what an academy is.....government subsidised but they have no control of the syllabus etc

i didnt know what to make of our sessions...but hey at least we werent alone

peace

reply to post by HiHoAZaway


Thats a really scary disturbing discovery about toothpast. I --stopped-- using toothpaste years ago, I had a feeling it was really bad for you. Something which is good would not put out noxious fumes, upon entering combinations with other things. Like chemical warfare. It must be that flouride.

reply to post by Saucerwench

Yea you would think I would have been gifted and talented enough to stop using it after that, but it wasn't until about 6 years ago that i stopped using conventional toothpaste. I would think that something so toxic would not be allowed to be sold "to stick in your mouth" by the FDA...(cue conspiracy music) "unless they are trying to poison us on purpose. (end music)

No disrespect to some of the so called gifted in here but you don't come across as 'gifted' from a writing point of view.

Just being honest..

Its also painful to witness snobbery from so called 'gifted' folk, you were placed in these classes because you showed a larger want for learning and understanding, not because you are special people with special abilities. I make that point because its clear from the reading of some that they feel they are somewhat elite based upon being chosen to participate in a learning project when they were young.

That just stinks of arrogance to me....

As for me, no, I was never picked for any programs, I clearly wasn't bight enough but you know what I'm glad, I've known families who have been told their children are special (my daughter is one of them) but I watched the parents proceed to rip apart the child's youth in search of 'super intelligence', sadly the children all turned into neurotic flawed individuals who had their people skills partially destroyed.

My daughter has been given amazing accolades from her school but she will continue to progress at her rate and pace, I refuse as does my wife to push so hard she loses her childhood early, at 12 she has plenty of youth to enjoy before the serious big old world takes its claws to her.

These programs may have seemed to be prestigious but did they help you in the game of life, its no use being able to communicate in 6 languages with excellent diction and an extended vocabulary if no one can stand to be in the same room as you.

If they DID help you then I'm very happy for you, I just worry when people get separated in to special groups, its nice to be placed with like minded folk but is that what the actual point of this exercise was, or was it something deeper.

reply to post by lacrimosa


well in my opinion gifted programs are not really "GIFTED". I mean I had a friend who was in a gifted/accelerated program all through school. He graduated two years early in fact. NOW life in prison. I on the other hand didnt apply myself in school at all which I do regret however my point is I now have an IQ of 168 own my own business and family now. Thes programs dont really pick out the gifted they only pick out the best students to improve the rating of the school.

reply to post by Mclaneinc


hhaaaaaaahahaaaaaa

isnt this the "how arrogant are you" thread.....oh no...i think im in the wrong room....lol

reply to post by Mclaneinc

I for one don't claim to be gifted in writing or reading, I can obviously read and write, but my talents were in Math, Science and problem solving.
I ended up being bored in school, started drinking at an early age still graduated with honors, went to college with a bottle of booze in my backpack for four years, graduated, traveled the country setting up blueprint machines on networks about 20 years ago.. went off the deep end with my drinking.. quit my job.. got sober (15 years ago) and now I own a company building and remodeling houses.
I don't know that gifted and talented is a search for "smart kids" but a search for obedient kids. Even with all that I mentioned above when I quit drinking people had NO idea I drank like I did. I didn't want to get caught breaking the rules. I was a leader to my fellow students and athletes but I was a rule follower. (on the surface)

Originally posted by 33degree
reply to post by lacrimosa

 

well in my opinion gifted programs are not really "GIFTED". I mean I had a friend who was in a gifted/accelerated program all through school. He graduated two years early in fact. NOW life in prison. I on the other hand didnt apply myself in school at all which I do regret however my point is I now have an IQ of 168 own my own business and family now. Thes programs dont really pick out the gifted they only pick out the best students to improve the rating of the school.

I disagree a little. There is a misconception between "good student" and "intelligent." But that is just a starting point, and most teachers realize that. Some of the worst students may be the most intelligent, and school just doesn't challenge or interest them. They also tend to challenge authority, because they are often smarter than the authority figures, and they get frustrated often.

I could tell you a lot of stories like yours. I was in the Gifted Program, but I never did great in college. My brother was a C student, and now he has a Masters Degree in Theoretical Physics, and a Masters Degree in Economics. My ex-wife dropped out of high school, got her GED, ended up Suma Cum Laude at Florida State University, and now is a vice-president of a bank with a very high salary, and supervising some of the people that ran her out of her high school, LOL!

IQ is just one small piece of the puzzle, and it can be a help or a hindrance. It is not unusual for someone like your friend to end up in jail. Sometimes a high IQ can equal a Sociopathology. The rules no long apply to them, because they are too smart. I'm surprised I never spend more than a night in jail. I hate rules, LOL! The rules are for everyone else, they don't apply to me.

reply to post by Roundtree

I grew up in Austin, Texas and was part of the gifted and talented program there. I recall the IQ test I took in the 6th grade that was administered by a college girl working on learning how to administer such tests. One of the first things I was asked to do was to describe an orange. I understood that the point of the task was to show the extent of my vocabulary and also to see how many aspects of an orange I cold come up with. I remember describing the taste, color, appearance, and smell (I remember thinking about what words one would use to describe a smell). Then I thought that, in order to give a full description, I would have to describe where an orange comes from, which meant describing an orange tree. Then I realized I would have further to explain how trees grow in general, which meant describing soil, the earth, and the sun. What it came down to was that in order to describe the smallest part of existence, one would have to describe everything. I recall being upset when the girl administering the test told me I’d given enough information, because I knew that I had just barely scratched the surface.

I graduated from high school a year early and got a BA in 3 years, by which time I’d become completely disenchanted with academia. I didn’t understand why no one had any genuine interest in learning and why people were not capable of falling in love with one another. I left the US for Moscow, Russia where I encountered an atmosphere of freedom similar to that which must have reigned in the US in the late 60s and early 70s. I have lived in Eastern Europe since then. No regrets. I came back last year for 3 months and became bored and depressed within a matter of a few days, so I conducted the following social/psychological/existential experiment: signsonthequad.blogspot.com

I assume there are thick FBI and KGB files on me. I believe there is full surveillance of everyone up to and including the ability to track people’s thoughts at a distance. This does not bother me because I know there are good people everywhere, in every organization. Let them listen in on my conversations because this way I can turn them. Operatives cannot fail to see that a life of modest sincerity means true happiness. I sleep like a baby in part because I truly do not wish anyone ill and have no desire to have the authority to tell people what to do. I don’t need to be rich and I wouldn’t want to be famous.

When I was young, I want to say about 7 years old, I remember entering school and having loads of tests (IQ and such). Thing is, it was at school, but it also was at home. Not sure why. The details are a bit foggy now (as things tend to get in years).

I was pushed later on into high phase classes. Advanced maths, science, etc.
The problem wasn't the work..I simply found school boring, so although in class I was fine, I never did homework (why do homework..I just spent an hour in the class and you want me to spend another half hour tonight?!)

So, they tried to sort me out. By the time I was in high school, I started skipping class due to being bored out of my mind. They swapped me all over the place, from higher phase classes (Great, even more work) to retard slow class which made me even more bored and skipped classes all the time.

Anyhow, I am not sure. There is a difference in mentality between high school and university. I quite liked that. Perhaps it was a feeling that I was in control and worked at my pace (which usually was ignore until crunch, then all but download the entire semester into my head at the 11th hour).

I have a fairly decent IQ. I imagine in the last 15 years it has slowed significantly,
But one thing to consider. Having a highly functioning brain is akin to having a well maintained motor in a car...sure, you may go fast, but that doesn't mean you will get anywhere, nor the roads you travel down is worthwhile. Society should value the roads people drive down equal to the motor that pushes the car. I have given nothing much to humanity. My processing power should have gone to someone interested in science whom has ambitions to alter the world for the positive verses just talk about it in backwater channels on the internet meanwhile contribute just some graphics and 3d designs as a legacy.

I don't know what they do in schools today...I do hope they focus a bit more on motivation for the quick minded than just seeing how fast the processor is.