#special ed

A friend of mine made a gifted kid joke earlier, and I didn't say anything at the time but I have so many complicated thoughts about my status as 'gifted kid' so I'm writting it out. So, like, gifted kid isn't wrong, you know? I've been in several programs that were basically gifted kid programs. I went to three elementary schools, and one secondary, and I was gifted equivilant at the secondary school and my middle elementary. But like, I was also in special ed. I was special ed in all my elementaries, and I was SEND (special accomodations for disabled kids) in my secondary school. And like, of the two, I consider myself way more special ed than gifted? It was just a way more important part of my schooling. Like, I know that now, as an adult, I do present myself as someone you'd expect to be a former gifted kid, and I do tend to downplay having been special ed because people look down on you, but I spent six years being pulled out of my mainstream classes in order to dip in and out of special ed classes. I was enormously lucky in that I did spend most of my time in the mainstream classes and didn't get stuck in purely special ed, but damn, that shit defined my childhood. I feel like people just don't talk about the intersection between special ed and gifted kids. I don't know specifically, but sure it can't be that uncommon? It's such a specific experience that I've never seen anyone talk about. Explictly not talking about like, 'oh yeah, I was tested for needing special ed but got put in the gifted class instead', or 'well, all gifted kids are special ed' because no. Were you in the math class for 'stupid' kids or not.

That line about Tyson being celebrated instead of treated like a problem… that really resonated for me. Luke makes a compelling point, and I hope the heroes address it instead of just focusing on how the war would be bad and keeping to status quo is good. You want demigods to follow you, you need to reform the system. You need to make sure all the children of the gods are included.