> Well, it seemed to work for some. There are
> people who thrive in a competitive environment,
> so it probably didn't seem like a sham to
> them. I am not like that, so I lost out. I
> don't think I was smarter (or dumber), just
> different. I consider the program a sham
> because it refused to recognize the different
> needs within the group. For the teachers to
> have viewed my introversion and s-s-speech
> impedi-pedi-ments as signs of low intelligence
> was a gross error.
>
> --Jez"they should have based that judgement on
> my choice of high school crushes :0D"zika

Heh. Y'know, I was just thinking about it, and I only liked the gifted program *after* I got out of elementary school, for much the same reasons you've described (just in the reverse order, of course).

My elementary school gifted teacher had been much the type you were referring to when you described your high school gifted teacher. And the class seemed a bit competitive as well; it seemed like the program was developed under the mistaken impression that if you're gifted in one field, then you must be gifted at everything. I came to loathe those many art projects they gave us, being the not-very-artistic klutz that I am; however, I loved the writing exercises, brain teasers, and quiz bowls. I guess they wanted to please everyone, but they ended up making everyone feel awful about half the time. :-p

And let's not even get on the subject of the teacher's attitude toward me. My memory of the classes is a bit fuzzy, I admit, but I distinctly remember wanting to use the classroom computer during my free time and the teacher not letting me. Heh. OK, so now that I look back, I can understand the view that "everyone else would want to use the computer if you use it" and such, but still, it upset me when I was still an elementary schooler. And the teacher was even *less* pleased with my reaction; I never was exactly tactful as a child, but then again, I'm still not the most tactful person even now. :)

At least the *other* students were generally friendly toward a freak like me, even if the teacher wasn't... but it still got so bad that I dropped out of the gifted program my last year of elementary school and then quickly rejoined the following year.

And *that's* when I began to actually like the gifted program once again.

-- codeman"i'm not weird, i'm...uh, okay, so i'm weird too"38