[deathpunk dan]

Man I wish I could have gone to one of these schools. I was considered 'gifted' haha and read at a post high school level before I was 9 yrs old.

In first grade, we had these numbered primer-type books (ie book 1-20something) that were a major part of our curriculum. Everyone else was on 'book 1'...they gave me 'book 15'. To put it in perspective, the 2nd graders were on ~book 4 or 5. I was still bored, so they started having sit in the second grade classrooms for half the day. However, I was small for my age and mouthy already, so I'd catch a beating OFTEN from the older kids. It eventually wore me out and I was sick of feeling so alone so I lied and said I could not do the work just to get back in the first grade classroom.

It really screwed me up. And, at the end of the year, the teachers came to my folks and said they felt I had not adjusted properly so they wanted to hold me back but create a custom curriculum for me. My folks were bull**** and said absolutely not.

Stupid small town public schools. I remember taking all those John Hopkins tests and courses in the summer.

I don't think my parents were even aware of schools like Montessori in the early 80s....