new DU group - Stupid kids who grew up to be very accomplished?

[Quixote1818]

I don't really want a group like this, however others are free to start one. I just wanted to point out how many people I know who were in remedial classes, failed in elementary school, were labeled by the other kids as "stupid kids" who are Millionaires, Top Interior Designers and business owners, writers and photographers etc. etc. today. I find these kinds of people really interesting because the odds were against them. My sister got a 4 on her ACT test and now she is one of the Top Interior Designers in the country. She has been published on the cover of Better Homes & Gardens many times and even though she cant read she is an incredible business person. My boss never finished collage and started out as a truck drive. He now owns two businesses that do two million a year in sales. A photography business and he is a Rep. for Books Are Fun. He also owns his own vineyard and is incredible at investing in real estate. Yours truly was in remedial classes and failed 2nd grade. I am now a photographer published hundreds of times in National Scenic Calendars, postcards and Magazines. I will soon be a published children's book author as my book is in the process of being illustrated. See here: http://www.herbleonhard.com/books/Billy's-Mountain.pdf

I know a number of gifted kids from Los Alamos, New Mexico who I went to collage with, who ended up as drug addicts and never accomplished anything. My point is it's not how gifted you are, or were not as a child, it's what you did with your life regardless of being gifted or not being gifted. Everyone has talents and can become accomplished if they discover what their passion is and follow their dreams. In my eyes the most amazing people are those who work for very little and dedicate their lives to helping the poor, those from abusive families or any nobel cause. These are the people who should really be celebrated. Many were "gifted" many failed school but today they are amazing people who leave the world a better place than they left it.

[Joanne98]

1. I think this is part of the reason the gifted people wanted to have a

group. As you pointed out, the gifted people you knew ended up drug addicts. I would like to know why the gifted in our society end up with problems coping. I see that all the time and it bothers me.

[Quixote1818]

3. Not all the "gifted people" I new were drug addicts

some became very accomplished. I think a lot of "gifted kids" were under a lot of pressure to be very accomplished. Sometimes all that pressure got the best of them. Plus, I think some gifted people are so smart they teeter on the brink of insanity. It's tough to cope with.

[Joanne98]

7. I think it's just hard to be smart in America. (for obvious reasons)

[ret5hd]

4. i can give one hypothesis...

i'm not sure how it will stand up under scrutiny tho...

intelligent people (truly bright people, not just those rating high on an iq test) see the world as complex, defying solutions

dull people want another hamburger for dinner.

[Joanne98]

6. I've noticed that intelligent people are usually sarcastic!

[ret5hd]

8. LOL...yeah, i guess most are.

[Quixote1818]

9. I am not sarcastic at all!

:P:sarcasm:

[no_hypocrisy]

21. Sarcasm is sometimes mistaken for employment of irony and wit. n/t

[nosillies]

12. I'm pissing myself from laughing

[ret5hd]

2. i think what you are describing...

has more to do with the shortcomings of the present system re: quantifying intelligence.

our current system rates intelligence on a scale that has more to do with the ability of an individual to fit into a corporate wage earning role

than it does with measuring a persons inate intelligence, which in reality is probably impossible to measure because there are so many doifferent kinds...artistic, mathematical, etc etc etc

[Quixote1818]

5. Yes, intelligence is much too abstract to be rated on an IQ test.

How can you take all the complexities of a persons mind, test them and put a number on it?

[NoPasaran]

10. A fish

[undergroundpanther]

11. success at making money

or getting recognized by peers is no proof of giftedness than tests are sometimes .Bush is rich and successful yet he ethically a two year old and evil.Some successful people are successful because they are socialized sociopaths and like power games.
And this social/economic system is a power game so by default it is rigged in their favor,competition,predatory exploitation and backstabbing ..this is why gifted sensitives cannot "make it" like everyone assumes they could've,because sensitivity makes it impossible to endure the bullshit and ass kissing required to "rise up" in the corporate world.

I for one find it pathetic when people cling to success,because success has more to do with luck and who your daddy knows and what family you belong to than any giftedness. Bush is the obvious example.Bill Gates another He got rich by ripping off gifted people's creations and reselling it..

Ah, these good, efficient, healthy-minded people,
they always remind me of those optimistic tadpoles
who bask in a puddle in the sun, in the shallowest of waters,
crowding together and amiably wriggling their tails,
totally unaware that the next morning the puddle will have dried
up and left them stranded.
Carl Gustave Jung (1875-1961)

Insanity is a perfectly rational adjustment to the insane world.
R.D. Laing (1927-1989)

[bananas]

13. Here's a link to the mission statement for the gifted group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=364&topic_id=1647823&mesg_id=1647823

[no_hypocrisy]

14. Depends on the standards being used as criteria for the label, "stupid".

Albert Einstein was misappropriately labelled learning disabled and slow because (among other things) he did not speak until he was four years old. When he was asked about it in his adult years, he responded he did not talk because he had nothing to say (which is really sophisticated thinking for a child).

[Quixote1818]

17. True, actually a very high % of the great thinkers were learning disabled

Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Leonardo de Vinci, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Winston Churchill, Walt Disney and so many others.

When someone has a learning disability their brain has to rewire it's self to fugure things out. This "rewiring" process develops parts of the brain that are rarely used. It goes to show that almost all people have the ability to be "gifted" they just need to learn to use different parts of their brain. It's about stimulating the brain as much as possible.

[girl gone mad]

15. GW can be your honorary member. n/t

[Quixote1818]

18. Actually I think Bush was an OK student. He went to YALE too. nt

[girl gone mad]

28. He got into Yale because his daddy and grandaddy went there.

His SAT scores, 566 verbal and 640 math were very poor by Yale standards. His high school grades were average, at best. There was absolutely nothing in his personal background which distinguished him from anybody else, despite being afforded more opportunities than most. He was denied admission to UT, btw.

He definitely fits the mold of the dumb guy who lucked into his wealth and position.

[Gregorian]

16. Everyone is gifted.

That is what I've learned. And it's the reason why we should all be humble. Because all of us have something that none of the others have. And it's those who have less and who still flourish, who are to be celebrated.

[Quixote1818]

19. Couldn't have been said more eloquently. Thanks! nt

[conflictgirl]

25. Gifted does NOT = lack of humility.

[karlrschneider]

20. I worked for a guy who was about as smart as a bag of hammers

but he became VERY wealthy...mostly because he was willing to screw most everyone he came in contact with (and concerning women, I mean it literally)...he was the father of one of my current Senators here in Okla.

The figurative screwing extended to his employees as well.
:grr:

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

22. "it's not how gifted you are..it's what you did with your life regardless"

Absolutely. But I didn't see anyone say that being gifted meant they'd be successful, and that not being gifted meant they wouldn't be. If someone was/is G & T why must they be chastised for saying it? They aren't saying they're better than those who aren't, they simply are saying they were G & T. It is always perplexing to me that as soon as someone admits to being G & T they get the claws at them and sentiments of "oh so you think you're better than everybody?" or "so, doesn't mean you're successful blah blah blah". Well who the fuck said otherwise?

I and others are allowed to say we were G & T and shouldn't have to deal with the guilt garbage in response, in my opinion. Cause as far as I see it, I didn't see ANYBODY say that non G & T were doomed to failure or that those that are were destined to succeed. So if that was the point of your thread, as you stated, then I consider it false in its logic and merit.

[Quixote1818]

23. Then what does being "gifted" mean? You just took any meaning away

from the label. The word "Gifted" refers to someone who is "special" because they excelled in school. In my opinion labeling some kids "gifted" while everyone else doesn't get this complementary label is just strange. It makes all the other kids feel like second class students. The term should be terminated and rephrased. Kids who do well in school should just be called "good students" period as they are no more potentially "gifted" than any other kids.

If someones self esteem lies with being labeled "gifted" with no other accomplishments to go with it then it's a pretty empty label.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

24. Gifted Had Nothing To Do With If They Did Good In School. I'm Proof.

I was G & T but was on dishonor roll every marking period. (All F's with up to one D)

And yes, some have gifted ability when it comes to IQ. But big deal. Some people are really good singers too. Others are really good baseball players or football players. Big deal. So yes, some are really good with intellectual capacity as well. If someone who says "I was a baseball all star in school" doesn't get chastised then why the hell should someone get chastised for saying they were in the gifted program?

I scored higher on the standardized tests than anybody in the history of my school. I had every damn right to be proud of that: Every bit as much right as if someone was proud for breaking the record for all time home runs at the school.

So again, yes, some of us are gifted with IQ. Yes, I guess that means in that area we were better than others. But you may sing better than me. Joe shmoe down the road might play basketball better than me. Neither of us are all around 'better' people than each other, we're just simply better in those areas.

[girl gone mad]

29. Excelling in school is an accomplishment.

Why shouldn't a student be honored for it?

You're statement doesn't make any sense to me. The label 'gifted' simply means a person was born with an innate ability that others have to work hard to obtain. I hear of 'gifted' athletes, 'gifted' musicians, gifted artists. Why should gifted learners be held to a different standard? Can we acknowledge that some people are born with unique talents, or would you prefer to pretend that we are all equally qualified for every task?

[pinto]

26. Locking.

Sorry. DU discourages copycat threads in the General Discussion forum. They tend to foster more copycat threads and clog the forum for other discussions.

Thanks for your consideration.

[pinto]

27. How to suggest a DU Group:

Skinner ADMIN (1000+ posts) Fri Nov-12-04 08:44 AM
Original message
How to Suggest a DU Group

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