Were you in the "Gifted Program" ?

Originally posted by unityemissions
The most common type to test in the gifted range are INTP ENTP INFJ INFP and INTJ.

Interesting - I was in the gifted program, and I'm an INFJ. I wonder what else we have in common....

reply to post by Roundtree


I dont know about gifted, Though they did try to put me in the retard class:
, I hated school . except science, wood shop and history. "F in everything else"
skipped all I could, till the courts ruled I had to go to school till I was age 16..
They did not mention anything about participating. Only ruled I "Must Attend" Soooo.
Dropped out on my 16th birthday, left home and lived in a $300 1972 ford Pinto !

However., I have worked Hard all my life .
We have built 2 house single handed'ly , And own everything . "0 debt"
Have 2 grown boys, been married to same gal for 28 years.
Own and a pretty good company that we built from the ground. 22 years ago.

And I might mention "NOTHING was given to us" l

ENTP
IQ 157
hungry...

I was "tested" to be put into the gifted program in grade 2, when I was 8.

I didn't make the cut but I came quite close- I was within the margin of error but apparently that wasn't enough. I attribute my pretty good success to the fact I learned to read at a young age and liked learning about things.

That exact same thirst for knowledge is what brought me here too.

Education system including gifted programmes around the world, not just USA or UK, need to reform.

What the system actually does is to create and reward ROBOTS, not humans whom will take us to the next level.

Currently, only those whom aced their subjects, or rich enough, will get to further their studies or enjoy well paid careers, and claim to be the 'intelligentsia' of the human race.

Nothing can be further from the truth of such hubris.

Aceing subjects does not make a student a genius. It only enables a human gifted with better memory data banks than others, to become robots for societal economic needs. There is no focus on particular subjects. They are merely jack of all trades and masters of none, similar to those whom had not obtain degrees but instead use their hands and sweat to contribute to society.

PHD programmes attempts to solve this issue, but then PHD scholars are good and focus at only their particular subjects, and NOT all subjects. Thus, in truth, there are NO geniuses on Earth, not even those from current gifted programmes, as they are structured to create robots and not individuals due to their lack of focus and more critically, unsustainable funding and time for that very few.

Mankind must now wake up and ask - does it want to simply create more robotic humans, or allow our young to focus on subjects that spark their interest, streamlining it with a few other helpful subjects, help sustain that burning ember into a roaring flame that will each contribute to society as a whole to take us all TOGETHER as one to higher heights.

reply to post by Roundtree


I grew up in Australia and they had several programs for gifted children.

My primary schooling was normal, but I went to a "selective" high school (where students had to reach a particular academic level, have a high IQ or have a close relative already attending/or attended).

There, I was a totally unremarkable (invisible) student (except in Science, where I came second in the state of NSW).

My youngest brother went through the gifted child programs all through his schooling as there were more available when he was attending.

Interestingly, I didn't finish the last year of my high school, but got a job. It wasn't 'till years later that I went back to University & did my astrophysics. I also earned a pin from an Honour Society because I was apparently in the top 7% of Astrophysics students worldwide.

Seemed that all the mature age guys excelled over the younger, sharper and brighter students, who would start good and then, usually, drop-out (what a waste of natural talent).

Originally posted by lacrimosa
lol well so much for the 'gifted' program. seems like everyone was invited. and yes i as a child was told i was gifted and taken aside to do tests. guess what, i'm as dumb as a box of frogs.
people will tell you your special, you might think youre special. but youre not.

Not true!

reply to post by DeadSeraph


I to went through the IQ testing program during the late 70's in Canada, Calgary to be exact, my score was off the charts and they asked my parents if they would be interested in sending me to a different school, they asked me and I said no, I was more interested in my friends being only 10 or 11 at the time.

Kind of ironic, I went through my entire education being a 70% student, school for me was boring and never challenging, kinda like my job.

reply to post by NihilistSanta


I tested as an ISTJ

ISTJs are often called inspectors. They have a keen sense of right and wrong, especially in their area of interest and/or responsibility. They are noted for devotion to duty. Punctuality is a watchword of the ISTJ. The secretary, clerk, or business(wo)man by whom others set their clocks is likely to be an ISTJ.

As do other Introverted Thinkers, ISTJs often give the initial impression of being aloof and perhaps somewhat cold. Effusive expression of emotional warmth is not something that ISTJs do without considerable energy loss.

ISTJs are most at home with "just the facts, Ma'am." They seem to perform at highest efficiency when employing a step-by-step approach. Once a new procedure has proven itself (i.e., has been shown "to work,") the ISTJ can be depended upon to carry it through, even at the expense of their own health.

ISTJs are easily frustrated by the inconsistencies of others, especially when the second parties don't keep their commitments. But they usually keep their feelings to themselves unless they are asked. And when asked, they don't mince words. Truth wins out over tact. The grim determination of the ISTJ vindicates itself in officiation of sports events, judiciary functions, or an other situation which requires making tough calls and sticking to them.

His SJ orientation draws the ISTJ into the service of established institutions. Home, social clubs, government, schools, the military, churches -- these are the bastions of the SJ. "We've always done it this way" is often reason enough for many ISTJs. Threats to time-honored traditions or established organizations (e.g., a "run" on the bank) are the undoing of SJs, and are to be fought at all costs.

Sounds like me...even down to the Military. I still consider my time in the Army to be the best time of my life, and I miss it every day.

Ah, the gifted program. It was years ago, when I was in fourth grade when I was invited to one. For some reason I refused, most likely because I was a kid and didn't know how much of a special opportunity that was.

Thoughts of that opportunity come back to me occasionally, and I always think the same thing: That one decision I made as a kid is the only regret I have in life.

For all of you smart butts out there who claim to be smart, choke on this....lol

‘According to a
national study, 91
percent of people lie
on a regular basis,
and, in reality, the
other nine percent
were probably lying.’
— Steven Gaffney

Yup, I was in the gifted and talented academic and art divisions.

I like the little conspiracy insinuation the OP throws out there...
Paraphrased: "Were 'they' just trying to track the accelerated learners and monitor their development?" Kind of "out there," but plausible, wouldn't be surprised. If true, I'd be eerily flattered.

and the little "forming robotic frames in the subconscious for thought processing" tidbit that was thrown out there as well is interesting to ponder on.

Originally posted by Shadow Herder
For all of you smart butts out there who claim to be smart, choke on this....lol

‘According to a
national study, 91
percent of people lie
on a regular basis,
and, in reality, the
other nine percent
were probably lying.’
— Steven Gaffney

Yet at the same time, there are lies, there are damn lies and there are statistics

Originally posted by DelayedChristmas
Yup, I was in the gifted and talented academic and art divisions.

I like the little conspiracy insinuation the OP throws out there...
Paraphrased: "Were 'they' just trying to track the accelerated learners and monitor their development?" Kind of "out there," but plausible, wouldn't be surprised. If true, I'd be eerily flattered.

and the little "forming robotic frames in the subconscious for thought processing" tidbit that was thrown out there as well is interesting to ponder on.

Nah, they're not tracking anything... I know first hand. Sorry

I suffer from severe dyscalcula, I was so handicapped with math, estimating, even simple concepts, that my other skills were more sharp. I considered school a waste because of this problem, I was judged completely on math so it held me back. Things I wanted to do, certain electives were not open to me because of it. Today, I'm self employed that is the only way to beat a system that labels you an idiot. 34 years ago my dyslexic father became a draftsman straight out of HS, turned engineer at Northrup Grumman. Things have changed so much over the years, we had no GT and if we did, I would have been completely looked over. It seems math symbolizes intelligence across the board, and if you are incapable, your in for a world of adversity. Now we had no shortage of kids who were extremely intelligent and should have been in these classes, so far I know a few of them have become very sucessful and they definately deserved it.

I got to know this girl in while in our younger days. She said she wanted to be a doctor. No different from many others, whom had made such dreams in various vocations while as kids. I remembered I asked her why. She said it is something that cannot be described, and was what she wanted, even though none of her family was even remotely related to the medical industry.

As years went by, she breezed through college and truly became a doctor. Some say she got it easy, but then she was just like anyone else, while breezing through medical proficency exams, she had to work hard on her electives and college fees. She was no valedictorian.

Some say she had no ambition as she breezed through her education in medical science without even seeming to study for it, but then what truly is ambition?

I had seen some whom were only gifted with better memory banks and not the subject that interested them, struggling through to get that degree and doctorate, kiss and smooch their way with administrators to the top, earning a high salary and directing others, to the way he thinks is right, unacknowledging he too is only human and not perfect. Is this the epitome and reason of ambition?

If that was the yardstick upon which one is judged, then my doctor friend is most certainly not ambitious. She works hard in a government hospital, and while on vacation, she would go to 3rd world nations to help the poor and the aged with medical assistance which was lacking in those countries. She never sought for accolades, but only to heal fellow humans.

Point is - what had we done with our 'gift', using our free will, to serve what purpose?

Originally posted by KamiKazeKenji
Ah, the gifted program. It was years ago, when I was in fourth grade when I was invited to one. For some reason I refused, most likely because I was a kid and didn't know how much of a special opportunity that was.

Thoughts of that opportunity come back to me occasionally, and I always think the same thing: That one decision I made as a kid is the only regret I have in life.

I've read through this thread, and to many people lilke you, please do not regret such episodes in your life. As long as you had used your primary gift - the gift of love, without hurting or harming anyone else - towards your family, relatives and friends, which makes up societies, you would have made full use of your most important gift in life.

As for your secondary gift - intelligence, brains or brawns - it is society that should be the one regretting it, and is our loss. It had been our fault that you could not have been nurtured better so that you, a precious human life, could realize your full potential, for we have not the funds, know -how, and are enslaved today by selfishness and greed to offer anything better.

We humans are flawed anyway. May we realized those mistakes, correct them and progress. Every child is precious, brains or brawns, are our future, and when combined with their individual secondary gifts, will contribute towards our progress and evolution.

Cheers.:-)

reply to post by NihilistSanta


INTJ, the mastermind lol

Were you in the gifted boarding school (separated from parents)?
Maybe to open another thread for such cases...

I was placed in the gifted program in my school district while in kindergarten. At the age of 5 I could read and comprehend on the same level as a college sophomore. Ultimately my mother pulled me out of the program because she felt it was more important for me to be around children my own age.

I have always felt different from others, not necessarily better, just different, as if I didn't belong. This place doesn't feel like "home" to me.

The longer I am on ATS the more I realize that the members here are some of the brightest minds I have ever encountered.