Hello, I'm new to this site. However, I am a member of the SENG community, The Gifted Developement Center, and currently pursuing the injustice in the state of Illinois. It is already too late to help myself in this matter, so I intend to help future students avoid the life that I was forced to endure.
My story is a little different than most. I was discovered as gifted in the first grade(1985) with an IQ of 168 out of 175. I was doing integers, multiplication, division, reading J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis and Shakespear in the first grade. My teacher told my parents that my scores were high school level and I should be moved to the 5Th grade. My parents rejected the idea of grade skipping. They also would not let me enter any gifted programs for some reason. In 6th grade, I was in the chess club and mated an Airforce Pilot and his commanding officer in less than 9 moves combined. Again, my parents jerked me out of that too. My math teacher that same year sat me in a corner and handed me a test. I scored a 9 out of a possible 9. My parents and teachers thought I cheated and made me retake the test under their supervision. Again I scored a 9. My teacher told my parents that a 9 is an automatic acceptance to University High School for the gifted. Before she was able to finish, my father said NO! My AP Physics class in 10th grade was my only experience with academic acceleration, and that was an accident. I ended up dropping out of high school with a sincere hatred for the world, but more towards my parents. I remember my 9th grade english teacher; I had done half the semesters work in 3 weeks and had 152% grade because of extra credit. I also remember the puzzlement on her face when I told her I was dropping out a year later. I was supposed to be the class of 1999, but I went through a self-paced GED program and became the class of 1998. My father made too much money and wouldn't pay for college. There's financial aid out the window. Here it is 8 years later, and I'm in the middle of my 2nd semester of college. My whole life feels like someone is choking me and only letting me take in 10% of the air I NEED. My outlook towards this countries education system and society in a general sense is a very complicated emotion.
The point is that I was discovered at a very young age, but that is only one step. I was not only held back, I was hung out to dry. I've called my father twice in 4.5 years. My stepmother once in the same time period. I see a psychiatrist twice a week, to cope with social rejection and the loss of my family(they are still alive). The emotional damage was so traumatic that I still have repressed memories and repressed knowledge. I was doing college level Physics 9 years ago, now I struggle with elementary algebra. I 've labeled myself as a "genius-burnout". But even as a burnout, I'm too smart to fit in. Within the last 14 months, I've become more in touch with my intellect because of my therapy, and I've decided I could care less how I'm treated. Some people would give anything to have my problems, I would insult them if I tried to ignore it. I've seen these same results from others that are gifted and put through similar situations. Gifted people tend to detatch from those whom they think is holding them back. I just drafted up a way to build an infrared telescoped optics in a day and a half. I finished the drawing 4 and a half hours ago, and it will be built by Sunday. Where do I work? I'm 26 years old as of 09/26 and I work in a call center. But MAN it was fun drafting up an infrared telescope!!! Why did I draft it? Because I can,....
