#stuffs.

M O O D B O A R D  → [[ O U T S I D E ]]

I've been thinking about this post. And I guess I just have a lot of thoughts.

Because I was a "gifted kid" for whatever that was worth. But I'm also a teacher's daughter, and that means that I've seen (and heard about) a lot of things.

And I get both sides of the argument.

Being "gifted" is really just a fancy label (and really, they determine it when you're in kindergarten so how much does it really mean?)  that people read too much into. It comes with perks, but it also comes with expectations. And let me tell you something, we were all competing to be the best and people get nasty. And then people who were "regular" look at you with disdain. And it is shitty. I could talk for days about the shit people say, but that's not the point. The point is that you can't blame "gifted" kids for being "gifted" or for taking advantage of opportunities presented to them. Speaking from personal experience I wasn't in a class that wasn't "gifted" (outside of electives) starting from the 3rd grade and going until 11th and I really didn't realize how different the atmosphere was. And I can't say that one was better than the other, just more comfortable to me because it was what I knew.

So here is what I have learned about kids who are "regular", I hope you are ready for this...MOST OF THEM DON'T GIVE A DAMN BECAUSE TOO MANY PEOPLE HAVE TOLD THEM THAT THEY ARE STUPID. The idea of anyone telling a child that they aren't smart enough makes me angry, because it is so baseless and degrading. But kids hear it so much that they start to believe it, and is it really surprising then that they don't put as much into their work (or even resent other kids who are told that they are smart)? And this definitely doesn't apply to all "regular" kids, because plenty of them re highly motivated and do exceptionally well, but a large portion don't even try.

The system is flawed, and it doesn't actually start at school, it starts at home. But then you add in a school system so set on, not just dividing students up, but on establishing an academic hierarchy, and no one benefits from it.