re: GATES in the 80s and 90s

quote:

---

Dude, you missed out. We basically fricked around half the time doing actual fun stuff at school.

---

I built a small but functional moonshine still in the 7th grade for my project. Got an A+ and teacher liked it, but the principal lost his shite when he saw it on display and confiscated it then threatened me with expulsion.

Met my wife in GT. She's blonde hair and blue eyed. Got a dome on her. Had a nuchal cord and some distress at birth. No drug use. No near death experiences I know of.

I was in the Gifted & Talented program in EBR until high school when I couldn't give up baseball, so I went honors. A lot of those things are true about me except for the corn cob thing and the skull bulge.

“Look at what they make you give.”, last words of The Professor, one of the original GATES’ program students.

Did we go to middle or high school together? BRHS c/o 88.

I moved around many times and was in em all. TAG, GT, and one may have been called Eagle? They were as good as who they had teaching. One was a dumb retired teacher that I hated and another was two young gals who actually challenged us. Either advanced learning by the book or more freewheeling like short stories discussion for example.

“Gifted” in my school meant you were special Ed

I was in gifted since like 2nd grade, never called it GATES but do remember hearing Gifted and Talented I guess

Edit: just read the bulletin points describing them and yeah those all fit

This was in early 80s and a few things i noticed.

Guys: typical terrible spellers

All ADHD or OCD

Terrible or perfect handwriting

Most but not all socially awkward probably a bunch on spectrum

Those that weren’t like that, me included were the opposite and popular and high achieving

All white middle class or better at my school


I know now a disproportionate number were gay

Most had no “common sense” but the popular ones did

Girls:

Most of the girls hid their intelligence in high school and you would never know

Girls overall were much better at English and much more socially adaptable. They were pretty much normal all the way around, much nicer and more mature. All were good spellers and had good handwriting and in my opinion were much better at creative thinking, being a team member etc. Almost all were fun to be around and liked to have fun.


Like the other poster, I was barely in the class but could easily hold my own with any of them, and was even the captain of the GAT problem solving team, because raw intelligence means little without other skills etc

Overall it was fun and a positive experience for me and I enjoyed it. There were always less than 8-10 people in my class and we did get to frick around a lot. I even remember me and one of girls leaving an IS early one day and stopped at the park to smoke a J. Like I said the girls were fun.