Were You Part Of The "Mentally Gifted Minds" Program In California Scools back in the 70's?

To chime in on this, I simply don't think that they knew what they were doing with us. Here's an interesting article on giftedness: [link to positivedisintegration.com] It's rather enlightening when put into some context. If the theories proposed in it have a correct basis, then it would explain why we aren't super star achievers. We're too busy fighting inner battles in attempt to simply deal with the world. Some of it definitely rang bells within me.

That makes perfect sense, actually. Theta's the state where action becomes automatic... explains calm in crisis mode many of us have in common. Chosen for potential, were we? Maybe we're sleepers for just in case SHTF because I sense a huge "true" patriotic streak in the majority as well. Hmm...

Another possibility... They had funds and such, but no real plan on what the fuck to do with us. The take the money option.

Long time reader, 2nd time poster. (Made a post a year ago asking vaccine questions)

In 1987 at Stevenson Elementary in Mesa AZ I was taken out of class and given several tests. I remember looking at all the tests results with my mother. I was in the top 99 percent in social studies and science and average in everything else.

Soon after testing I remember being told I would have a new teacher and classroom. I still remember how uncomfortable I felt walking in. The desks in the classroom were arranged in a half circle around the teacher. I would say there was a dozen of us. We seemed to never do any type of typical K-12 work.

When I look back on it today, it seems strange the type of things we did. Lots of memory tests. Such as flashing squares filled with colors on the projector screen. Then we would have to repeat the order of the colors. We also played the 'whisper' game a lot. The teacher would whisper a word to one student at the end of the half circle and then that student would have to pass it on to the next. The last child would repeat the word out loud. We would do this over and over till the word was correctly passed between all students.

I always seemed to have social studies work and projects even though it was already my strongest subject. Using the geography of the United States I had to make my own country with laws, punishments, imports and exports. I was asked to make a flag. There were several projects where they would pick an event in history and I would have to re-write it in a way that I thought would make the world a better place. I am 100 percent sure that not all the students were given the same projects.

Someone mentioned a teacher with a puppet. We also had a teacher that would come in every Friday. Her name was Mrs. Self. She taught 2nd or 3rd grade normally but would make the visit to our classroom every week. I remember thinking she was the creepiest person in the world. She had dead eyes. And she made no attempt to be a ventriloquist. Her voice stayed the same and her mouth moved the same. I honestly don't recall what we talked about. Usually it was as a group, sometimes one-on-one. I just remember hating it and wanting to run away. There's a scene in one of the StarWars movies where Luke has crash landed in a jungle area. Where he ends up training with Yoda. I forget what he says exactly but it's something like “Yes you can, Yes you can” or “Yes you will, Yes you will”. It's a nothing scene, shouldn't be scary at all. But to me it's the most terrifying scene of any movie. I remember as a kid thinking that's how Mrs. Self made me feel. Like she was trying to force me to do things I did not want to do.

I stayed with this same group of kids for the next two years. It didn't happen often, but sometimes a child would join us, sometimes leave us. We were the only classroom that had the same students and teacher every year. One day it all just stopped. Our whole class was forced to enter Sousa Elementary, a few miles away from Stevenson. I remember I brought home a re-zoning letter to my mother that stated we had been re-zoned for Sousa. Funny thing is that every student in that class got the same letter. It was mid school year but we were all integrated into a typical classroom setting. For almost three years straight at Stevenson we never did any sort of typical school work. However, We were either on target, or above when we transferred to Sousa. I stayed close friends with one of the students but I did see almost everyone else go to Fremont Jr High and then at Red Mountain High with me.

Side note: I remember a meeting with parents from our class along with the Principal. His name was Mr. Wilcox. I believe it was about being forced into Sousa. It ended in a screaming contest and as we left the school my mother spit on the Principal's car. She then said he was “Mr Without-a-@#$%” “Rhymes with Cox”.
Anyways. Sorry about the long post. I've never been much of a poster but this is something I was excited to read about. Brings back some old memories. Thanks!


TLDR
Me 2 !

we own ourselves, and anything that happens to us as adults is of our own making.

the only thing stopping us growing is ourselves.

but things that happened to us as children certainly influence our present.

just go read William S. Burroughs, it's all there,
ive read a bunch off and on for years, it hard to get threw but, you come to understand , nothing is what it ever was, nothing is what they told you it was.

Creepy women with puppets are up there with clowns.That seems very familiar.Was the Star Wars quote the one were Luke says"Master Yoda I'm not afraid.And Yoda says"You will be...you will be.?

That can be said of anyone. Many of my "normal" friends are still working through their childhood stuff... I help them with it, but rarely reveal my own to any but the most trusted who get that crazy smart isn't always the best thing to be when the world just sees either or and not both together. Weird... sharing it with strangers here feels easier and more helpful. But then my friends seem to see me as something more awesome than I am and it makes me uncomfortable to add my two cents when it's obvious they don't get it. They didn't then, why would they now?

Does anybody have a dis-taste for the MENSA people ? Suppose to be gifted...But not really, only people who are really good at word games...Funny how all the students in my gifted class were the under achievers.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain...

I wonder too, why was I chosen to be in the program. I did teach myself how to read at 4, but that's not so remarkable. I just wanted to know really badly and I kept asking my grandmother what every word I saw was. I eventually figured out how to sound them out and read since I knew the alphabet and the phonetics. I feel like a complete dumbass these days, fast forward 20 years or so. I've done nothing so special or fantastic in my life. I've worked quite a few jobs, served some time in the military, and traveled here and there...nothing special. I know plenty of people who aren't like us, who think confined to the conventional and socially accepted "boxes", and they are generally the ones who are successful. If you want to measure success in terms of material stuff and money.

Were you ever removed, many times, from your regular class for "testing"?

Were you shown a series of high speed images on a television, not once, but many times?

Was the school psychologist selectively interested in you?

A storm is coming.

I think a solar one is here.