"I was initially shut out of all the non-remedial math classes after that, and over the next couple of years I fought to get into the regular or accelerated classes."
This is one thing that "gifted programs" in public schools are actually good for. At least while I was in public school, being declared to be "gifted" allowed you to take any accelerated course that you wanted, even if you did not even come close to meeting the academic requirements.
This allowed me to, among other things, without any opposition transfer out of regular classes that had teachers that I did not get along with (10th grade (standard) english teacher and I had problems, so a third of the way through the year and after one failed quarter I had myself bumped into the honors english class so that I could have another teacher.)
The system is wildly unfair to those who cannot take advantage of it, but I am fortunate that I could. It also bred in me a general disrespect for education, rules, and authority in general. If I could flaunt the system just because some doc once said I was clever, why would I respect that system?
This is one thing that "gifted programs" in public schools are actually good for. At least while I was in public school, being declared to be "gifted" allowed you to take any accelerated course that you wanted, even if you did not even come close to meeting the academic requirements.
This allowed me to, among other things, without any opposition transfer out of regular classes that had teachers that I did not get along with (10th grade (standard) english teacher and I had problems, so a third of the way through the year and after one failed quarter I had myself bumped into the honors english class so that I could have another teacher.)
The system is wildly unfair to those who cannot take advantage of it, but I am fortunate that I could. It also bred in me a general disrespect for education, rules, and authority in general. If I could flaunt the system just because some doc once said I was clever, why would I respect that system?