[HPFGU-OTChatter] Re: Intelligence (was feeling sad)

[Shaun Hately]

> Wow,
> 
> This is a really interesting topic - there's much more that goes into 
> the testing, the educational decisions and the experiences of the 
> kids involved than I ever really thought.  
> 
> As someone who was placed in the gifted (or whatever they called it) 
> program as a kid, I personally don't think it did me any favors.  Of 
> course, that's probably more about the program I was in and the way 
> it was handled than it is about gifted programs in general or testing 
> or intelligence.  

That's always a problem - some programs aren't much good - and even a good 
program may be totally wrong for a particular kid.

> In my case it was a bad idea to set me apart at a very young age 
> without giving me some sort of understanding as to how/why the 
> decision was made.  I was left trying to figure out why I should get 
> particular attention, or to do fun things the other kids didn't.  I 
> don't remember it ever being explained to me beyond being told that I 
> was "bright" or "smart".  The result of this, for me, was disbelief 
> about half the time, and enormous fear of failure the other half.  
> Any minor failure that I had left me fearing that I was a fraud, that 
> they'd gotten it wrong, and that any moment someone was going to 
> figure it out.  Like I said, it was probably all about the way it was 
> handled in my school system (and about my sad, twisted psyche), but 
> I've never felt that warm and fuzzy about gifted programs as a 
> result.  Except for the fact that I got to hang out with the 
> other "gifted" kids and goof off a lot instead of doing spelling 
> tests, which was good.

Not all gifted kids benefit from gifted programs. If the programs are well designed, 
most will benefit - but even then you won't get 100% success. To me, from the very 
limited information I have about your experiences, I would guess that you're spot on 
about one of the problems - what giftedness meant was not explained to you. And if 
your program was more fun than what the other kids had to do in regular class, then 
there was likely a real problem with what they were being offered.

But the thing is - the 'hanging out' with other gifted kids you mention is often one of 
the advantages of such a program. I don't know how it was for you - but a lot of 
gifted kids have a hard time making friends with their general classmates, especially 
when they are younger, and haven't got very developed social skills yet. Gifted 
programs for some of these kids, make it easier for them to make friends - and from 
there to develop the social skills they need to function.

Yours Without Wax, Dreadnought
Shaun Hately |webpage: http://www.alphalink.com.au/~drednort/thelab.html
(ISTJ)       |email: drednort at alphalink.com.au | ICQ: 6898200
"You know the very powerful and the very stupid have one thing in
common. They don't alter their views to fit the facts. They alter
the facts to fit the views. Which can be uncomfortable if you happen
to be one of the facts that need altering." The Doctor - Doctor Who:
The Face of Evil | Where am I: Frankston, Victoria, Australia