Does anyone who was a kid in the late 70's early 80's recall having strange tests performed on them at school?

No Mrs Spencer, I do not.

I thought the school nurse holding my nuts and telling me to cough was odd....

It's a rabbit hole, and it's not a fun one.

Start at the beginning.

Thread: Were You Part Of The "Mentally Gifted Minds" Program In California Scools back in the 70's?

yeah, they called it "GT" gifted and talented.

I call it imprisoned and tortured.

Thank you I will explore this information. I knew this would be the place to check for information. I have a very clear memory of it.

every once in a while, once a month or so, they'd take the "GT" kids out of class and put us in a classroom/or usually an office back in the depths of the campus and do a few tests, i remember the one with the headphones that would emit a certain tone, and then you'd have to identify which tone it was that was the "control" tone..

some written tests that involved simple patterns and mechanical type questions..

then you went back to regular school and didnt hear anything else about it until next time they did it.

there was usually 3-5 kids per grade school year that were the GT kids..

That thread is going to spark a LOT more memories. Some good, some not. Pace yourself, seriously.

they did that to us all the time. it wasn't just the 70's

i started kindergarten in '68 and I remember vaccines every other year and scholastic aptitude tests with the little oval bubbles you'd check off in the answers EVERY SINGLE G.DAMNED YEAR!

that wasn't the GT program. that was just regular school. STAR test or TAKS i think it was back then...

GT was smaller, involved only a few kids, some simple written tests, some weird tests involving sound tones through headphones... they contacted the parents and got them onboard, the ASVAB test at one point....

really nothing sinister went on, just a program for the kids that were thought to be in the high IQ range, or highly talented range.

Yes... I was in the “gifted, talented and creative program” during grades like 3-6 as I remember. We went to a special room once or twice a week while the other kids did gym or something. It’s all very foggy but I remember it was myself and one other kid named crystal. The strange thing is that I really don’t remember too much of what we did, but I specifically remember one instance where the instructor read us a letter from pres bush about denuclearization. This was 90 or 91 so right at the end of the Cold War. I remember this specifically because in the letter it said that some weapons had been “terminated” and crystal made a comment like “aww that is sad” in reaction to the word and the instructor seemed annoyed by this.

I’ve poked around and tried to find out more about this in recent years but haven’t found much info. There has been a few posts on glp about it though.

There was one other instance when I was younger, probably like grade 1 or 2 where I distinctly remember being taken to a computer lab type thing where myself and a bunch of other kids played games and did tests on the old Mac computers. I asked my mom about it and she doesn’t remember that one but of course remembers that I was in the gtc program, as do my 2 childhood friends from the time that I still talk to.

I would love to know more about this program and what happened here, what was the purpose, etc. so if there is any info here in glp please share.

Seriously, read through the thread I linked to. Many of us went through the same thing, almost note for note. We could rehash a lot here but the big thread itself will trigger a lot of lost memories for you guys. It's intense though. You will remember stuff that may freak you out a little.

Thread: Were You Part Of The "Mentally Gifted Minds" Program In California Scools back in the 70's?

Seems like it honestly.

I seem to remember the strange bus tests. I remember getting the vaccination in the upper arm (can't remember the name). That was really weird back then. There was lots of weirdness in school in the early 70s. I remember Earth Day and the all the eco indoctrination that is eerily reminiscent to today's climate change. Back then society was fighting smog from industries but today we fight global warming from cows farts.

That's real progress.

yep this is the real GT program, i remember the computer learning thing we did too, it was on very old mac software that ran on 5.25" floppies, and i also remember a "mock election" we did the year that the crazy eccentric billionare Ross Perot ranf or office, i think that was probably 92

Not a bus but yes, local police station. Age four or five, blocks, interviews, aptitude test.

in a line with many others in the boys gym. never really thought of it til now.

Jesus what were they doing?

wuzzle = mix
scuzzle = junk
yonker = young man
baloo = bear
pivey = chiopmonk

Speed Reader II

Yes I was one and have been monitored my entire life. Nurses office. IQ teat. Gifted program placement as expected. Taught remote viewing early on. Felt and feel like a used asshole.

Thanks for the info... funny how a lot of us who went through this are now here on GLP, years later.

This site has something strange about it and I'm not sure how I was drawn here but, alas, here I am, for the last 10 years, lurking.

I've gone down a lot of rabbit holes in in my life, too far down a few times so I have to be careful.

Not sure what those words posted above are all about but they did trigger some type of memory in me. Especially "baloo=bear" and "pivey=chipmunk". Geez... have to be careful here. Usually not good for my family/adult life when I start diving into this stuff.

Not saying I'm anything special but, man, there have been some strange things throughout my years and some answers would be nice.

You're not alone. A lot of us here actually.

Are you talking about the "guided meditation"? Heads down, ethereal music, lights off, teacher guiding the class through astral experiences?

No, but I remember the gym teacher showing all the 5-6 year old girls his balls over and over. One time he locked me in the closet for being bad. I think he is still alive, but maybe not.

I contacted my school to see what records they have and was only provided a single piece of paper. They said there were no other records. I asked about contacting the teacher - pretty typical for retired faculty to retain a school email - and was told that she did not have one because she was not a district employee.

Yeah, from my recollection, the leader of the GTC program was not a teacher, they were a school phycologist or councillor.

This rabbit hole gets pretty deep, and it all seems pretty meaningless now. That's why I finally walked away from it. It's worth going through that big thread for a little closure but it WILL trigger all sorts of stuff that might be better left in the past. There's also surprisingly few answers about the bigger picture. Most likely, the G&T programs of the 70's-early 90's were influenced equally by the human potential movement, eugenics, and intelligence agency funding. There may have been a more sinister motive but there's no "smoking gun" document out there than explains it. One thing's for sure - the "burnout" rate of people who went through those programs is exceptionally high.

Yes! I took the scholastic aptitude test. I also had my hair inspected for lice. These events were super weird.

I was tested as a possible entrant in the first gifted high school program in 1984 in Ontario. I was rejected initially, but there were so few who qualified, I was later accepted.

I remember the day my parents told me I made the second cut. I thought it was an insult more than anything. I declined to participate just out of spite, but the school enrolled me anyway. I demanded to be withdrawn from it on the first day of school and they did comply.

The next year I was enrolled again in gifted English, just that one class. I let it slide and finished the year. Then that was it. The next year I got accused of plagiarism for a book report I wrote that was too good. Funny thing, the book didn't even exist. I hadn't read one, so I turned it into a creative writing exercise and made one up, and wrote a review of it. I didn't even protest the zero I got. I was flattered that the teacher thought so highly of my writing skill, but by that point I was on a downward slide into total underachievement. I didn't give a shit.

Yes, I was tested and got a weird shot in my arm. I had no idea what was going on. It seemed like every couple weeks, I had to fill out these tests. I remember the big headphones and them asking me if I hear this or that. I found out during these tests I was gifted. I had a very high IQ, as well as perfect pitch.

Also, my blood is weird, like I have been given the rubella vaccine 5 times. It doesn;t take. But I have antibodies of TB and I have never had TB...chicken pox..never had it either. It;s weird.

"One thing's for sure - the "burnout" rate of people who went through those programs is exceptionally high."

This rings especially true for me... I've never been able to translate my intelligence into real world financial gain or success. I have a PhD, which came easy but I hated completing, but have always had trouble dealing with finances/jobs/relationships. I can dazzle others with my intelligence/knowledge when I want to but then usually end up completely withdrawing and shutting down.

I think it's because I have issues rationalizing what is in my mind and what I've experienced with conventional "reality" and society. So many things seem futile and meaningless and I can't bear to deal with it and have trouble relating to people who are comfortable with this facade. I feel I have to constantly dumb myself down or participate in a lie in order to fit in.

This led to pretty severe alcoholism during my mid 20s- early 30s, but I completely ended that a few years ago when my son was born.

Anyhow, thanks for the support and advice.