Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums General Discussion Were you a "smart kid?"

I was "smart" but also blissfully ignorant of a lot of things!! LOL And either I was really really lucky or my parents did a lot more manipulating behind the scenes than they've ever owned up to... but basically I didn't suffer. I know my sister got beat up once (whether that was for being smart or something else I have no idea... blissful ignorance strikes again -- I don't even remember the incident!) but mostly kids were nice, I always had friends.

I do have some strong opinions about how "smart kids" should be treated, but not because I was a victim of anything -- more because there were situations that were kind of set up to be uncomfortable... like tutoring other kids in my class. I really didn't get why they didn't understand things as easily as I did, and while I don't remember doing anything particularly obnoxious, I'm sure I really wasn't a sympathetic or helpful teacher for them. And I know that while my parents and most of my teachers were very supportive and enthusiastic about taking risks and letting me fall on my face without criticism, other kids weren't. So I think some of my perfectionism (the little tiny bit that isn't just native "me" LOL) could be credited to still remembering the classmates who thought I wasn't "all that".

And I do think I coasted too much (although at the time it didn't strike me as a negative... LOL) -- I don't remember ever actually finishing an assigned book between about 4th grade and sometime in college, although I always did fine on the reports and papers (having figured out how to write what they wanted with partial information...), and by the end of high school I was willing to put forth only just enough effort to squeak by. Which is part of why I ended up getting my college degree in an area that isn't really my strong suit. I was fine at it, but if I had been willing to work I could have done so much more in another field!

So... pros and cons, but nothing tragic. I don't know if I was ever tested... sometimes I'm curious, but I think if I knew the number I'd doubt it, no matter what it was!