# Were you/are you in the Gifted and Talented program at school?



## Nephandus (May 16, 2017)

I was one of the trio of tall smart guys with masochistic, semi-flambo-gay cousin and mousy, semi-straight-gay otherguy. Not sure if I was most or second most paddled though. We taught the teachers fractional division, if you call THAT a program, but only I checked behind the English teacher's diagrams on a case by case basis. Oh, and I was the only one "volunteered" by the princiPAL for the spelling bee for PR purposes. Kinda think it was special that no one else got the joke of misspelling science. Lot of short-bus there, just no (permanent) buses. Mostly it was just the one indoctrination program.


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## atamagasuita (May 15, 2016)

im in the feeding program xDD


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## OHtheNovelty (Aug 14, 2016)

I was in 2nd grade, but after 11 years all I remember is doing extra menial work like putting up posters for this and that fundraiser, reading a book to kindergartners, getting mad when said kindergartners would complain about my quiet and monotonous voice, walking around school observing older kids in their classrooms, and of course, extra homework to stay in the G&T. I hated the homework part a lot, so I made sure to not go back to the program in 3rd grade.


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## Cherry (May 28, 2017)

Yup I was!!!

I was selected for "HIP" High intellectual potential, a program called "Habits of Mind"
with the highest achievers across schools, based on our results.

Then later, in year 12 I was selected for 'Principal's merit award' where only a select few of us got naturally chosen from our results to go and do these uni experience days, i can't remember XD


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

so far 14 gifted on here
yet they can't find anything better to do
lol special snow flake flu must be rampant :laughing:


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## Sybow (Feb 1, 2016)

My whole school period was covered by a black sky. Depression for 6 years long. The only education I was not depressed was my security education, but it had no such program.


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## Wild (Jul 14, 2014)

I think I remember hearing about the gifted/talented program in elementary school, but I'm not sure. I feel like it might've been named something else. I don't think I was in it, though. That, or it wasn't a big deal at my school and I just don't remember it.

My high school was notoriously hard, though, and I chose to do the hardest program that it offered. The lady who "sold" this program to me told me I'd get like 2 years off of university if I worked hard enough in it (I didn't, lol - got less off than most people who just took lots of AP tests). 

Toward the end I was also in some other program that, in essence, made it so I had about 14 classes to study for and had to learn how to give impromptu speeches at a competition (I pretty much got abducted into this program against my will because of my SAT score). I'd sleep about 3 hours a night every single weeknight. Also had multiple adults (namely my dad and the lady who abducted me into the first program, who I sometimes joke is the demon I sold my soul to, LOL) constantly emotionally whipping me like a fucking horse to do better/go harder when I was already running ragged. That part of my life was so intense that the lack of sleep has made me forget almost everything that happened to me outside of the major highlights/consistent parts. I probably aged like a president. 

As completely hellish as it all was, it was worth it. Graduated high school with a 4.5 GPA, got into my first pick for college with the major I wanted. I'm a great speech-giver/communicator/have a good work ethic. Now I'm a biochemistry major making straight A's, almost have my degree in my hand, and I feel like it's the easiest shit ever. Not that I'm super smart or anything, but my work ethic is just so high now that it feels like nothing. And while all of that shit was definitely the hardest part of my life mentally, it's made me a better person in almost every way I can think of.

So... yup. :tongue:


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## IDontThinkSo (Aug 24, 2011)

there was no such thing


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## Veggie (May 22, 2011)

I was in the gifted and talented program in elementary school but I don't really remember it, other than it being a small group of students who got together occasionally for special classes. I was in AP classes in middle school and most of high school, but I started purposefully enrolling in other classes because I got sick of being sorta sheltered with the same group of kids through the years, and I thought the "bad" kids were more fun. lol. I also fell way behind in math, and I had a hard time paying attention in class generally... which didn't impact me too badly since I was good at test taking and studying on my own - except for in that arena. I don't know why I kept getting placed in the math classes I did. By the time I was in college I was actually enrolling in remedial classes to catch up. 

I think I scored high enough in other portions of standardized tests that I got lumped into the general AP group despite pretty much sucking in math. I also had a dad who was extremely mathematical and helped me with homework, but I had a hard time retaining what he taught past immediate assignments and tests.

And edit - actually, remembering... in order to level down essentially in high school, I had to take classes with kids a year above me. I had friends and a boyfriend in that grade, so I think that impacted my decisions too. Obviously my priorities were in order  I took my SAT's hungover. I've always been fairly good at wasting potential xD

Double edit - I'm trying to remember how my parents let me get away with this in high school, as they were kinda strict. My mom said I used to lawyer her so maybe I came up with some case that made sense at the time. Or maybe she didn't fully know. I used to practice forging her signature until I had it down nearly perfectly and stuff. I wasn't the best daughter. lol. I know I got grounded for the SAT thing... I was almost constantly grounded in high school though (ok, exaggeration), until my sister and I (well probably mostly me) devised this plot to recondition what was deemed grounding worthy, even if we had to take a heavier hit at first. Most of my scheming at that time was non-academia related. lol.

It worked out though. I had to go to community college for a year, but I got straight A's and went away to school the next. And I got a good job right out of college. I eventually ended up leaving that field, but it was by choice.


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## Lakigigar (Jan 4, 2016)

I don't think there was such a thing, and if there was such a thing, i wouldn't have been placed there, since if i had something called talent, it wouldn't have been noticed. At a very young age, i even was recommended exceptional education due developmental / intellectual disabilities, but I wasn't placed there eventually since there was no place, and i performed well enough in primary education to stay there.

I did two IQ tests when I was 6 and i had a score slightly below 50 and slightly above 50



> 35-49 - Moderately retarded
> Can learn simple life skills and employment tasks with special education. May be employed in special settings, and achieve some independence. Often socially immature. Self-awareness - having an inner image of self, realizing that one is a person separate from the others around one - may exist from here on, but is not guaranteed to exist as it depends on more than intelligence alone. The most intelligent animals, such as some chimpanzees, bonobos, parrots, and dolphins, are in this range. Bonobo or chimpanzee I.Q. scores are sometimes even quoted as high as 80 or 90, but those are childhood age-peer scores that correspond to adult I.Q.'s of only just over 40.
> 50-69 - Mildly retarded
> Educable, can learn to care for oneself, employable in routinized jobs but require supervision. Might live alone but do best in supervised settings. Immature but with adequate social adjustment, usually no obvious physical anomalies.
> Moderate and mild retardation, contrary to the more severe forms, are typically not caused by brain damage but part of the normal variance of intelligence, and therefore largely genetic and inherited. This is important with regard to the question whether or not retarded persons should have children; for especially the moderate and mild forms of retardation, with which it is physically possible to have children, are the most likely to be inherited.


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## Cal (Sep 29, 2017)

Lakigigar said:


> I don't think there was such a thing, and if there was such a thing, i wouldn't have been placed there, since if i had something called talent, it wouldn't have been noticed. At a very young age, i even was recommended exceptional education due developmental / intellectual disabilities, but I wasn't placed there eventually since there was no place, and i performed well enough in primary education to stay there.
> 
> I did two IQ tests when I was 6 and i had a score slightly below 50 and slightly above 50


My IQ is [email protected]www.Chickenfileteddonteatthattwerkitworkit.com


* *




Yes, I did a product placement, or as I call it, an EMOJI MOVIE.


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## Catwalk (Aug 12, 2015)

I was in a few.

I thought [the ones] in elementary were* Special Ed*™ because only a certain amount of student(s) were 'allowed'and/or eligible into this 'elite' learning group, so I was not rather '_excited_' to go until I were corrected that it were for particularly more [advanced] student(s). (*LOL*).


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## Dissenter (Jul 31, 2017)

Snowflake Minuet said:


> I was homeschooled most of my life until university now, and the few years of private school I attended (kindergarten through third grade) did not have this kind of program.


Did you ever feel left out for not attending school?


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## Maxis (Oct 13, 2015)

Regardless of how intelligent PerC actually is, it's worth noting a possibly significant volunteer bias here. People who can say yes will say yes, people who can't will just ignore the poll.


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## Snowflake Minuet (Feb 20, 2016)

Dissenter said:


> Did you ever feel left out for not attending school?


Not really. I did have some small "classes" with other homeschoolers and teachers our families found on our own, which was nice. But I loved having more time for violin and horseback riding and introverting!!


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## ButIHaveNoFear (Sep 6, 2017)

vinniebob said:


> so far 14 gifted on here
> yet they can't find anything better to do
> lol special snow flake flu must be rampant :laughing:


*cough cough*

Well, you're not wrong!


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## CultOfPersonality (Sep 12, 2017)

well, i got 5 on my last Math test, i think it requires some kind of talent, no ? roud:


and as for the poll: nope, i wasn't.


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## VinnieBob (Mar 24, 2014)

up to 21 now
must be an epidemic 
time to get my shot


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## rye98 (Jun 3, 2017)

Yeah, only in middle school though. From grades 5-8 there was this group for the kids with the highest grades in the school called the Enrichment Group.. we'd basically just get to miss a bit of class every week and go on field trips. And then high school came along and I got lazy


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## ImminentThunder (May 15, 2011)

I was placed in GATE (Gifted and Talented Education, in California) when I was in elementary school. 

In 8th grade, we were all supposed to take a test to assess our reading level, and mine came out at a range from 8th-12th grade. This made it very difficult to do book reports, because we were supposed to do books that were at our reading level, and the only books at that level were really boring...just not the sort of thing that interested me.

Not doing as well as I'd like to in college, unfortunately. I'm getting kinda burned out, even though I love what I'm studying. There's simply not enough free time -- I'm usually not free until 9 PM on Friday nights for example, and most of my Saturdays are spent just studying. I'm also not the best at time management which doesn't help. 

But I do agree with the previous sentiments here. While there's definitely going to be some sampling bias, I think that PerCers are a pretty intelligent group overall.


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## attic (May 20, 2012)

There wasn't that kind of program in my schools, and I answered that I would not be in it, which I am guessing, because I was not very good at school until I was about 14-15 years old, around then things changed. But at first I was a bit late with learning to read, terrible at spelling and was even in "help-class" for a while for spelling and grammar when I was around 12 years old. I wasn't very motivated to do quite a lot of schoolwork and was behind in the mathsbook etc. But eventually I did well, my guess is I have bookwormery to thank for that mainly.

It sounds strange to me with that kind of program, as I am unfamiliar with it, and I wonder how it works? do the ungifted feel bad about not making it there? what about those who have hidden potentials?


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## ButIHaveNoFear (Sep 6, 2017)

attic said:


> There wasn't that kind of program in my schools, and I answered that I would not be in it, which I am guessing, because I was not very good at school until I was about 14-15 years old, around then things changed. But at first I was a bit late with learning to read, terrible at spelling and was even in "help-class" for a while for spelling and grammar when I was around 12 years old. I wasn't very motivated to do quite a lot of schoolwork and was behind in the mathsbook etc. But eventually I did well, my guess is I have bookwormery to thank for that mainly.
> 
> It sounds strange to me with that kind of program, as I am unfamiliar with it, and I wonder how it works? do the ungifted feel bad about not making it there? what about those who have hidden potentials?


Thanks for sharing!

I'm interested in the answers to your questions too. It probably depends on the reputation of the program whether the "ungifted" feel bad. If the Gifted and Talented program was all about going on field trips, I'd feel really jealous if I didn't get to join, and I might have a harder time being friends with the "smart" kids who were able to go.

I know there are many students with hidden potential, especially those who speak a different first language than the one the test is given in! It puts students in minority groups at a disadvantage, and that's pretty dumb... At my school, I believe we took written tests that were sort of like IQ tests. There were visual-spatial reasoning questions included in the mix, but you still had to be able to read directions and understand what the wordier questions were asking.


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## Monadnock (May 27, 2017)

Yes, I was in Advanced Placement classes in high school, and when I attended college, I earned an Honors Scholarship simply on the basis of entrance exam scores. I didn't maintain the GPA to keep that scholarship but that doesn't phase me because as my time in college passed, the entire concept of mainstream higher education became something sour and unappealing to me.


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## ninjahitsawall (Feb 1, 2013)

Yes. I'll keep it brief.

It was traumatizing.

After I got out of the hospital for essentially having a nervous breakdown, not eating for 2-3 months and developing OCD, I left the "gifted program"... which at this point (6th grade) was at a diff. school and was called "The Academy" (sounds pretentious doesn't it? lol).


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## Antipode (Jul 8, 2012)

Nah, but I was placed in upper level courses in middle school and such, like algebra. 

However, keep in mind that there's been studies on these. There's a classic one where a man followed children with high IQs throughout their life, and he found that their achievement was like a bell-shape curve. Most of them, led normal, average lives. 

What stands out in someone's life who achieves a lot is their practical knowledge--the ability to know what to say, how to say it, and when to say it. Kind of like EQ.


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## Chatshire (Oct 12, 2017)

During primary school I was in the gifted and talented class and then I got into a high school for the gifted and talented (1st in state). Uhhhh I sound like I'm bragging but trust me sometimes I wish I didn't go to this school because of the overwhelming amount of pressure you're forced through. It's super competitive and everyone studies their butt off. Basically everyone is expected to become a doctor/lawyer/accountant etc. Exam periods are beyond stressful and it can really take a toll on your mental health, but at least it keeps you motivated to do well and continue improving. At the end of each term, we're given a rank out of the whole grade for each subject which can be really demoralising if you fall behind... 
My school also has this notorious stereotype of having "no life" which I can vouch for as a senior, but junior years are a lot more chill.


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## Zeta Neprok (Jul 27, 2010)

My schools never had such a thing and if they did I would never have made it into the program. I'm not "gifted" or "talented" in any way. I was an average student at best, but when I got lazy my grades fell below average.


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## Allersky (Nov 22, 2017)

Yes and no. After about a year I got kicked out 'cause I pissed around and thought it was a waste of time.

After another year they stopped doing the program because - surprise - it was a waste of time.


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## backdrop12 (Dec 11, 2012)

I was christian homeschooled from preschool - 3rd grade and was put into special ed 4th grade + so theres that.

Reason why I was not allowed in a normal class : Because the way my brain was made I could not comprehend a normal education ~ Director of guidance .... she literally said that....

We were basically the people who were the " least likely to succeed / we need to hide them ". We had our separate award ceremony , the lowest hierarchy ( yes there is such a thing ) ate separately/ was not allowed to be around other students, etc.

I sometimes get jealous of advanced placement people. Talking about it just makes me so upset / angry.

Edit: Hell , I may be the dumbest perc member here.


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## Cal (Sep 29, 2017)

backdrop12 said:


> I was christian homeschooled from preschool - 3rd grade and was put into special ed 4th grade + so theres that.
> 
> Reason why I was not allowed in a normal class : Because the way my brain was made I could not comprehend a normal education ~ Director of guidance .... she literally said that....
> 
> ...


There's dumber out there. You are no where near the dumbest perC member.


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