That's heartbreaking and dare I say immoral.
I'm actually a little embarassed that I shared all this now. It was a little cathartic though.
Actually, I got into a lot of trouble at school for talking too much, skipping classes, etc. Fortunately,
I was socially adept, popular, good at sports etc. so fit in for the most part. This all changed in high school. I started skipping school and dropped out and was probably seen as a little strange. I wrote, acted, painted, and had poetry published, became depressed, was plagued by the ills of the world, was overly sensitive, and no longer fit in at all. I did love to read and read and read and write and write and write and was driven from within in those areas even if I couldn't stand sitting through most classes.
It is amazing that decent schools would take me after all that, but my scores were so high, my writing strong, and teachers said things like "she has the most ability I have encountered in 30 years" (not bragging. I am actually mystified by that statement and imagine they are talking about someone else)so they let me in and it was easy even though I had basically skipped high school completely.
Is this a success story--yes or no? My entire educational life was a wasteland before college and my IQ was "only" hovering around 145 (If the testing was accurate. Other times testing had been done and I was never told the score). What about children MUCH brighter who were less extroverted on the surface and who had a harder time navigating the social waters at school?I do feel for those kids and parents.
College was a better experience both for undergrad and grad and I loved talking with my professors, but should I have had to wait that long to have a truly great discussion in an academic setting?
My goal on here is to find ways for my daughter(s) to have a better experience in school. Maybe they will be fine, but they are both blessed / cursed with plenty of spirit, high intelligence, and strong wills.
So, the more we discuss how things turned out "just fine" for me the more I realize that they were fairly dismal for a long, long time, and I still do not feel I used my gifts in a successful way, and I am hoping my children have a better experience.
