any "gifted" folks here - need stories @ curriculum

[nashvillebrook]

I've been working on a piece of fiction for a while and I'm looking for stories about "gifted" curriculum that seem odd, now that we're older. I'll give a couple of examples from my own experience.

When I was in the first grade I was selected as "gifted" after many hours of being pulled out of class and having one-on-one tests taken with people (counselors, I suppose) who I'd never seen at my school prior to the test or after. They were all dudes who, looking back, seemed a little military -- not your usual school counselor who always seemed to be a middle-aged woman with arty jewelry.

The school chose me for the program which alarmed my mother. She wanted to know what "gifted" meant. What end of the "stick" was I on, was her precise question to the school administrator who called. S/he said that I was above-average intelligence and that they were instituting a program called PEP (pupil enrichment program). There were a total of seven student from my school chosen for this -- all from my grade, no other grades were in the program.

What's interesting to me, looking back, is that the curriculum was pretty far out for 1972. We learned how to memorize strings of numbers using a Tachistoscope which flashed strings of numbers on a screen at a fraction of a second. We also were started in Spanish language classes, and spent a lot of time doing odd exercises where we listened to jazz music with the lights turned off and were told to put crayons to paper to represent in line/gestures what we heard on the music. Except for the language part, it was all very non-academic.

I'm trying to remember more. The program changed through the years, and at one point I attended elementary school on a military base in Florida where the program seemed to take a turn into some weirdness where they used the ESP cards on us to see how well we could pre-cognate which cards would come up. More testing by military-seeming dudes at this point, btw. These "intelligence tests" took hours of one-on-one assessment, going over things like narrative cohesion (put four images in the order in which they likely happened) and memory testing where we played a Concentration-like game, like Husker Du.

I've found that my memories are fairly limited on these early days in the program, but having studied "gifted education" in college I didn't find much to support the kind of the curriculum I did in the 70s. Although, by the 80s there were learning modules designed expressly for "intuitive" assessment, which fascinated me. One exercise was called Lady Bug, and the idea was to have a child create a "talisman" out of clay, have another student hide it, and ask the creator to go thru a series of yes/no questions that totally resembled remote viewing frames: is it high/low, hot/cold, light/dark, and so on. I tried this a LOT with my psychonaut friends in college and found that I was really good at the description, but horrible at placing that description in real life. I could describe what the thing was surrounded by, but couldn't match it up in the real world...so, if it was cold and dark and in an enclosed space, I wouldn't for the life of me open the freezer and look in there (which was the outcome of one of the runs with it).

Wondering, since we've clearly got an above-average intelligence crew here, if anyone else experienced this in their childhood. I'm hoping to collect some of these stories in a piece of fiction...but honestly, it might turn into something else. I've been working with the fiction frame b/c the experiences are so off-beat that I thought they'd lend themselves to narrative storytelling better than a straight-up essay.

So, anyone else get run thru tasks to memorize long series of numbers, or given ESP-style tests as a kid?

[freemason9]

Was this a public or private school? Just wondering, because the activities sound more like tests than educational opportunities.

[justdrew]

well, I'm not going to spend a lot of time at the moment, but if more comes to mind I'll let you know.

One thing: we had an 'activity' where you would get noting but a photograph (black and white) usually of some building or city scene, IIRC, there would be nothing too obvious identifying the location, and you would have to figure out where it was (from "clues" in the picture). Good fun I guess

[Nordic]

I was singled out in first grade, and put in a special class of some kind with 2 other kids one of whom was my best friend. But nothing like you describe. We had regular teachers from the existing school as far as I remember.

What struck me as odd, and it wasn't that odd I guess, was that as I moved from place to place and school to school, there always seemed to be advanced warning as to my "gifted" status. When I moved to one school to finish 3rd grade they excused me from the regular class work and just had me draw pictures which she would then display to the rest of the class, in front of me. Then they just bumped me up to fourth grade.

When I moved to a small town in Wisconsin for the 8th grade they already knew about me but seemed to resent me. Maybe because my dad was a career Army officer and Virtnam was still going on? I don't know. It was strange because everybody hated me there, all the kids and, it seemed, the adults I met. But I remember this one asshole principal taking me to the offices and telling me he already knew about my high IQ. I never did know why he was talking to me about this. I asked what my IQ was but no one would ever tell me. My parents wouldn't either. I still don't know.

Then in high school, when I moved back to a big military town (which was something of a relief) I was assigned to a college bowl - type competition in my school before I'd even taken any tests or possibly established a reputation among the teachers (like the other kids had). I never knew who assigned me to that. I was the only junior; all others were seniors.

But nothing like you're describing. My dad was already on top secret military work so maybe that was a factor. My best friends dad was some kind of a real whiz, super smart scientist, not sure what he was actually involved in, but one night somebody took a shot at him from the darkness behind their house, the bullet going through the bedroom window and into the wall. I remember seeing the damage. Thrilling for a boy. Nobody seemed THAT concerned about it but maybe they were just playing that for us kids so we wouldn't freak out.

[jingofever]

They pulled me out of class and had me listen to words through some headphones and repeat them (probably) and play Candy Land with a couple other kids. It was actually more of a speech therapy class than a gifted class but I think a speech therapy class will make for a more interesting story.

[82_28]

I went through the same. They were really "scared of me" because I was reading at a "12th grade level" in the 1st but I refused tests and from what my mom and dad say teachers would approach them because they felt I was "smarter than them". So they singled me out and started calling me out of class. I really hated this attention because as we all know the pressure of peers at that age. I didn't feel "special" getting drawn out of class, I felt embarrassed. So all throughout my youth I crafted better and better ways to call MYSELF out of class. Ditching and acting up -- I even got expelled and flunked 8th grade! Numerous times a week counselors that I guess dealt with "gifted" kiddos would call me in and beg me to join the "group" again. My parents begged me. I was missing opportunities. I refused all authority.

Fuck no, I said. I wanted to skate and do what I wanted. Probably like all of us I am almost completely self taught. Doesn't mean anything, but class was fucking bullshit. Wound up graduating on time with, I kid you not, a SUB 0.8 GPA. My transcript was basically nothing but Fs and Ds.

However I was eager to go to college and did. 3.9 GPA without even trying -- but enjoying. Off the bat. I think this had to be before meticulous databases of students, because I would just enroll in 400 level classes and see if I could get in and I would and round up getting A's or B+s with no prerequisites. Who fucking knows. Within three years I was accepted to Hampshire, Amherst and UMASS. I never went and I am sorta glad, but who knows, again? Life and death called and I freaked out.

For the record, I feel like I am "bragging" about something, but I am not. But half of my life dealt with this as it is the truth.

You asked for experiences (and I could go on) so there's that from me!

[82_28]

Yeah, Nordic. I would ask about my IQ as well and nobody ever told me. The answer was always "highly gifted".

I demanded as a kid to be re-tested and it came out the same El Giftedito. I can say that when it came to math and pattern shit in standardized tests I would just say fuck this shit, fill it out not giving a fuck what I answered and go out for a smoke for the next round of testing. I am still young yet old enough to remember smoking sections on campus! Now my old high school has a fucking huge memorial on its front lawn for some shooting.

Our challenge course got torn down. Like a bunch of logs with like ziplines and shit.

[Nordic]

The junior high school building in the small bigoted town where everyone inexplicably hated me has been razed to the ground. Vanished. I'm quite glad it's gone. I actually still wish hurt on many of the people, which I know is wrong but I can't help it.

[Sounder]

So, anyone else get run thru tasks to memorize long series of numbers, or given ESP-style tests as a kid?

Nothing like that for me, but I do have a friend who was profiled at a young age because he is a 'charismatic' type if individual. He could get other kids to do things that were 'not in their best interests'.

He tries his best to be a decent person, but this quality can still provide advantages for my friend and troubles for others.

I was never profiled overtly but do consider that we all are profiled pretty much continually.

I did get sent for a summer school 'math institute', designed it was said for 'underachievers'.

Mostly we played poker with the dorm monitor guy always in the game. I was pretty sure that he was a profiler.

But what I wanna know is why, when I get stopped for speeding, the cop comes up to the car smiling, and never gives me a ticket?

Does it mean I am a 'bad' person? If my (same) friend gets stopped, he has to wait in the car until two other squad cars get there before the first cop even gets out of his car.

He asked the cop; so is it going to be like this even when I'm 85? The cop showed him the 'marking' on his record and said, yes.


I did go to a major uni on a full ride without taking the PSAT's or ACT.

I, like most other people do have good stories, but alas mine are obscure and seem to mostly only provide personal entertainment.

[semper occultus]

...there's a discussion about this in Sinister Forces 3 : Manson Secret by Levenda...he was on such a programme & ties in similar experiences of Whitley Strieber & Jack Sarfatti in their school days....

...he surmises the weirdness aspect started in the early 50's as some joint effort by military/academe to somehow bolster the nation's intellectual defences ...

[Luther Blissett]

I was tested for the gifted program and placed early in First Grade. There were four classes per grade with about 20 students per class, but there were only four of us chosen as "gifted" and three of us were from the same class. The fourth was another student none of us knew. What odd is that, like Nashvillebrook, the program was only done in my grade.

The classes were administered by a younger woman, and conducted in any spare space available in the school - most notably in a broom closet. I have a memory like a steel trap, but what's strange is that I have little-to-no memory of what we studied in gifted class. None of the examples in this thread ring any bells, and if I concentrate on it really hard I can recall some kind of reading analysis. I don't recall any memorization and I feel like they regarded much more of the arts. This was the mid-80s though so if it was the same program it could have changed a lot.

By second grade I remained with the same three pupils but they changed the name of the program to "IEP". It was around this time that I remember hostility towards me from one other gifted friend in the group; she seemed to have a problem with all of my niche, junior-anorak-like trivial knowledge. Which makes me think that they must have been fostering some self-directed learning with which I could have been given free time to talk about the obsessions of my youth: birdwatching, camping on Cape Hatteras with my grandparents, hiking, the Talking Heads, Time Bandits, ufos, etc. She really hated it and I recall the teacher defending me.

By Fourth Grade our little group of four was added to a class - basically "Advanced Placement" for Fourth Graders - because this was the first year that we changed classes for Science, Math, Language Arts, and Social Studies. The other three classes would all mix up so that at any one time they would be with different classmates. Our class stayed together from 4th through the end of 8th grade when it was time to split up and go to real "AP" classes in high school.

I count the end of Third Grade as the end of my gifted career. The snob in me says that when 25% of the grade was added to our group, or when we were placed back in general population, the more challenging classwork sort of fell away. I attended a notoriously bad, low-performing urban school district too.

I really wish I could remember more details of the kinds of work we did. I will meditate on that tonight. By coincidence, my most recent facebook friend request came from the other boy in our original "gifted" group.

[Nordic]

Funny that, I remember being pulled and put into the "special" class with one or 2 other kids, including my best friend, yet have no memory of what they actually had us do in there. Which is weird because like you said I have a really good memory normally.

I remember how big and empty and silent the classroom seemed with just us in it. And then that's pretty much it. I remember somehow thinking it was kind of funny, and wondering why they would leave all the other kids out of it.

This was in the late 60s by the way.

[Wombaticus Rex]

Definitely. This was 4th grade; so ... 90-91? Bush I era? I gave them as much attention as I've given pretty much anyone else in my grumpy fucking life, so I was left to my own devices in the library for most of the time. Suited me fine. (I had a similar arrangement with my "regular" teachers in 1st and 2nd grade, so it wasn't that weird to me.)

In terms of structure, it was a lot of independent projects grounded in group discussions. We had constant quizzes in situational ethics, which was fun the first time but ended my gifted career once I had to do it again -- I recall the questions were different, but they're never really different, innit? Any shrink with an actual brain should be able to parse you out in broad strokes with a good 20 Questions...same goes for salesmen and preachers.

Careers: one interesting detail is that the class was not led by a teacher but a volunteer who is a high-powered lawyer around these parts to this day. We are on friendly but mutually baffled terms, I would imagine, she had some kids approximately my age who were dumb enough to be into psychedelics so we crossed paths again in my high school years. I was certainly more of an asshole then; hopefully less of an asshole now.

In terms of other people's memories, I do recall having to listen to kids being asked "What Was It Like" questions about historical locations, moments -- it was just irritating then, but in retrospect, a weird angle to be repeatedly coming back to.

The last weird detail that's readily available is one that just comes to me: we were constantly tested on math / physics / spatial reasoning stuff, which I really enjoy so I'd usually do those. However, at no point were those subjects actually discussed that whole year. We'd have them 2x a week, though.

Cheers!

Edit: a few points for clarity - situational ethics stuff was always group / verbal, the spatial / math testing was always written. She'd play classical music, which is hopefully taken as quite nice, rather than ominous or weird ... and also want to add, much like The Finders, I reckon most of the "weird" is explained by personal quirks and the usual bureaucratic SNAFUs.

Also, holy shit, grade school was pointless and traumatic. what a wash of details.

[Belligerent Savant]

.
Not me. I'm dumb as rocks. Must be the Elmer's glue I began sniffing in 2nd grade.

[Twyla LaSarc]

It happened to me too.

I could read at a high school level in first grade, so I was pulled out of classes a lot for testing (late 60's). The people administering the tests were not people I saw regularly at the school. I basically wound up taking first and second grade together and was bumped up to the third grade the next year.

I think at a certain point in third or fourth grade, some criteria flushed me out of the 'program' for the most part and they stopped testing me one on one (although I always remained in accelerated classes). As I age and discover the shape of my 'autism', I see the mental quirks and learning patterns that might have had something to do with that.

I don't remember the tests well, although they tended to be reading/language/memory related. Perhaps some spatial and geometric problems. I wish they would have tested me for ESP. I think I would have gotten a kick out of that. I think it is wild that so many here have had similar experiences, it can't be a common occurance and I don't think I have met many other people who have had that happen to them.