I Remember...

by Wendy

I remember ... being in third grade and wondering, if they put me in fourth grade for reading and math why shouldn't I just BE in fourth grade?

I remember ... thinking I was really missing something in school ... I couldn't figure out what "studying" meant ... when the teacher said "Study your Social Studies for a test tomorrow," what did she mean? All you had to do was remember what she said in class to make a 100% on the test ... I couldn't figure out what I was supposed to do.

I remember ... when the teacher caught the boy sitting next to me, copying my answers on a test in 2nd grade ... I remember ... not understanding why someone would want to copy off someone else's paper ... it was so much easier to circle the right answer than squint hard enough to see the paper of the kid across the aisle. In third grade I got glasses.

I remember ... listening to the kids talk on the school bus on the way home from school ... and really being interested in what the 3rd graders were doing (I was in Kindergarten) ... they were learning to multiply! One boy said, "all times is is adding one number a certain number of times" ... then I went home and figured out all the multiplication tables ... I wondered what the fourth graders were doing ... and couldn't understand why Kindergartners couldn't do fractions too.

I remember ... thinking there was something really wrong with me ... I must have been really stupid ... there was so much I didn't understand about the way things were!

Yes, I was identified as "gifted" in high school. This is why it is SO important for me to get my daughter to understand her own giftedness, and to get her the best education possible.