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Originally posted by OhSoVeryLadylike
After all this rambling, I guess my question is what do you think about those type of "private" public school programs? Do any other have any experiences like this?
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I was also in such a program. We also sent absolutely no time with the "regular classes". In fact, the entire program had its own separate wing.
As a result we had formed some sort of inferiority/superiority complex. We definitely knew we had them beat intellectually by miles, but they were so much bigger and taller and in some cases older than we were. We avoided them before and after school (the only time we saw them) and some people who lived closer to the school walked instead of riding the "dumb bus."
(Maybe I was one of those people but I won't admit to that...)
I think these programs were great for our mental development because all of us ended up attending the prestige "exam high schools", we had instruction in French and Spanish, and we were the ones who were dragged out anytime the superintendent, mayor, or governor came to visit.
They are harmful because they can create isolation, and can give you a "warped view" of your reality. Of course, high school exposed me to all types of people, but I feel that I had my head in the clouds for too long.
Also, the "non-gifted" missed out on great programs that were only available to us. I couldn't tell you what they did when we went to French class in first grade, but I doubt it helped prepare them for anything, and that, is unfair.