@shijut20 I was labeled “gifted” as a child and they didn’t put me in the full “gifted” school because of behavioral problems (just struggling to sit still and stop talking, go figure why I might have a hard time with that but I was a ~girl~ so). Instead I got the pull out “gifted” classes (which I hated the first year because I had to miss library time).
Like another person here I was placed in all the same advanced classes in middle school as the kids from the “gifted” school. Our main difference was actually the elitism in attitude. The gifted school kids tended to be competitive (a lot of them cheated btw because they cared most about the bottom line) and didn’t see the value in alternative thinking styles or different forms of intelligence. They didn’t even really see the value in education, just that they needed to be “smarter” on paper to feel good about themselves.
The best lesson I ever learned was to value people beyond their labels, my elementary school also had a center where kids with severe learning disabilities were placed and integrated into the classroom so I also learned what it means to have a “bad” label placed on you as well and the way teachers treat the same behavior differently depending on the label the child has.
Further, I struggled in the “gifted” program in middle school because of the severity of the behavioral expectations. I was punished a lot. When placed with regular students I was a middle of the pack kid in terms of behavior, when punished for detention or ASD and among the “bad” kids I was at the top of the pack, completing my work early and being generally compliant and praised for it. I actually loved getting detention because I realized I wasn’t all that bad, I just didn’t match the expectations for gifted girl children and was absolutely completely shamed for it which destroyed my confidence and ultimately led to lower grades because it felt like nothing I did was ever good enough. So I aced the tests but never studied and didn’t do homework and still have horrible consequences from that shit now.
I realize this is a difficult choice, but I want to echo someone else here: the best indicator of future academic success is the support at home. And that the label of “gifted” probably harms our communities and children more than it helps them. What do we really mean when we say that? Truly, what is the point?
Like another person here I was placed in all the same advanced classes in middle school as the kids from the “gifted” school. Our main difference was actually the elitism in attitude. The gifted school kids tended to be competitive (a lot of them cheated btw because they cared most about the bottom line) and didn’t see the value in alternative thinking styles or different forms of intelligence. They didn’t even really see the value in education, just that they needed to be “smarter” on paper to feel good about themselves.
The best lesson I ever learned was to value people beyond their labels, my elementary school also had a center where kids with severe learning disabilities were placed and integrated into the classroom so I also learned what it means to have a “bad” label placed on you as well and the way teachers treat the same behavior differently depending on the label the child has.
Further, I struggled in the “gifted” program in middle school because of the severity of the behavioral expectations. I was punished a lot. When placed with regular students I was a middle of the pack kid in terms of behavior, when punished for detention or ASD and among the “bad” kids I was at the top of the pack, completing my work early and being generally compliant and praised for it. I actually loved getting detention because I realized I wasn’t all that bad, I just didn’t match the expectations for gifted girl children and was absolutely completely shamed for it which destroyed my confidence and ultimately led to lower grades because it felt like nothing I did was ever good enough. So I aced the tests but never studied and didn’t do homework and still have horrible consequences from that shit now.
I realize this is a difficult choice, but I want to echo someone else here: the best indicator of future academic success is the support at home. And that the label of “gifted” probably harms our communities and children more than it helps them. What do we really mean when we say that? Truly, what is the point?
