School

My (sort-of) Self-Studying Plan: AP Psych

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

If you are taking one or more AP classes this year, you would hopefully know that the registration for the AP exams this year is much earlier than in previous years. My school required that we sign up before October 15th, but there’s obviously still late registration. This is an attempt at a cash-grab from the College Board, albeit one that will probably work well for them. Registering for exams is also a two-step process now, where you join an online classroom for the APs you’re taking and sign up for the exam, and then you do the normal payment/registration. This makes it more complicated for people self-studying and/or taking AP classes online.

If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you would know that I took AP Psychology over the summer since I didn’t have room in my schedule for it, and I was planning on kind of self-studying for the test- it’s not full self-studying since I took the class, but you get what I mean. I had to go to my counselor and explain the situation, and she helped me sign up for the online classroom with my school’s AP Psych teacher so I could pay/register for my test as normal.

Now that I’m locked into taking the test and I’ve been forced to think a little bit about how I’m going to study for it, I figured I would discuss my plans. If any of you are in a similar situation or have done this previously, feel free to share your plans!

  • Prep books – I was going to order one during the summer when I was actually taking the course, but I realized the 2020 Psych test is going to be a new and updated version, so there wouldn’t be a point in buying old books. I’m planning on buying the Princeton Review one (2020) edition (which isn’t out yet…) since I used that brand of book for my AP Human Geo test, but I might ask the Psych teacher at my school for recommendations first.
  • Memorization (flash cards!) – I bought the Barrons flash cards for Psych during the summer and I found them super helpful- there’s so many and I know I probably won’t end up memorizing them all, but I know Psych is a memorization heavy, definition heavy course, so I feel like it’s a really good thing to have. I got them on Amazon, and they weren’t very expensive.
  • Going over the tests/assignments from my course – I took AP Psych through BYU Independent Study, and I still have access to all the tests I took and assignments I turned in as well as the actual lessons until next year (access to all that expires a year after you take the course). If I need extra practice or to reteach myself a concept, I can always go through this stuff.
  • PRACTICE TESTS – I think this is what really helped me succeed on the Human Geography test last spring. Just drilling the info and getting practice for actual test day helps you gauge where you’re at. This is the main reason why I liked the Princeton Review book for human geo/want the one for Psych- the practice tests were great!
  • Possibly in-school help – My school does offer AP Psychology, I just didn’t and wouldn’t have ever had room in my schedule to take it at school. However, the benefit of them offering it is that there’s still a teacher I can go to for help prepping for the exam or if I need explanations on certain things. As I mentioned before, I think I’m going to ask him what prep book he recommends before actually buying the Princeton Review one.
  • Online materials/YouTube videos – Another thing that helped me with Human Geo, there’s lots of videos that can give you quick reviews of the material and/or extra tips for the exam. I’ve already watched a few Psych videos on YouTube to supplement the course and jog my memory throughout the past couple months, and it’s super helpful to hear other people explain it- it’s like being with an actual teacher.

I feel like self-studying or taking an AP course in some untraditional method seems so much more daunting with these new regulations on having to sign up so early, but we’re all in this together. In fact, the AP Psych test is getting an update this year, so that’s another thing I have to figure out how to prepare for accordingly. If you feel like reading more about my AP Psych online experience, go check out some of my posts from summer!

-Brooke

The Reward of Being a Tutor

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

Before this school year, I had never been an official tutor before. I had always tried to be helpful with my classmates and friends if I understood a topic that they were struggling with; I would be happy to answer their questions and explain the concept until they had a better understanding of it. However, I hadn’t had the actual job/position of helping someone in a certain subject specifically- I had always wanted to though. That’s why I volunteered to be a tutor during at least one lunch period a week in my school’s History Center. I haven’t been doing it for very long, but it’s already been very rewarding.

In middle school, history was sometimes my favorite subject, and sometimes boring (it depended on the teacher). Freshman year, I took AP human geography, and although it’s not a traditional history class, it’s still under the umbrella of history- I found it fascinating. My human geo teacher runs the History Center, so when he started looking for tutors, I knew I wanted to sign up; he’s also the funniest person ever and I really miss him as a teacher, so that’s a bonus.

When I had my first tutoring session, I was pretty nervous; it was someone in my grade, which I didn’t expect. I thought I would mainly be helping freshmen. However, it actually went really well and I was able to help the person. It felt so good to know someone actually learned something from me, and it helped that I actually love to explain history-related stuff. I find most of the things we cover so interesting, and the history department at my school has really intelligent and funny teachers.

Regardless, I’ve been inspired by these weekly tutoring sessions to do some more tutoring. I’ll now be tutoring in Spanish at the Language Center occasionally, and my English teacher recommended that I tutor in the Writing Center next year- only juniors and seniors are allowed, but she knows I love to write. I would also love to tutor some little kids outside of school, especially since the work is even easier to explain. I encourage you guys to go sign up and volunteer as a tutor for your favorite subject; I promise it will be worth it. I feel like it’s a learning experience on both ends.

As you guys know, I love to volunteer, so it’s nice to find another way to help others- especially my own peers. I’m not the best at explaining things off the bat, but I feel this is also an activity that will really improve my communication skills with people. I hope you guys take advantage of the tutoring resources you have if you’re in need of help with school, and that if you feel comfortable, you sign up to be a tutor yourself!

-Brooke

How to Prepare for High School Homecoming

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

It’s October and football season is winding down, so what does that mean? It’s time for one of the best school events of the year: homecoming! This week was homecoming spirit week at my high school, and the day that you’ll be reading this is the night of the dance. I’ve mentioned in many of my posts that I am on the JV cheer team at my school, so our homecoming game was on Thursday, but the varsity game was Friday. For any of you freshmen out there, this is a little guide to having the best homecoming ever.

  • Go to the dance in a group with all your friends – If you have a date, that’s awesome! However, I would still recommend going in a large group with all your friends so you can take pictures before and enhance the experience. I know lots of people at my school pitch in and get party buses with their friend groups if there’s a large amount of people- I’ve done it and it’s really fun.
  • Dress up for the spirit week – It makes the events way more fun if you actually get into it and show your school spirit. I usually have to wear my cheer uniform since I’m a cheerleader, but I encourage all my friends to dress up. There’s usually fun themes and you can coordinate with your friends.
  • Attend all the events!! – Obviously you don’t have to, but I would really recommend going to the rally, game, and dance, especially if you’re a freshman. You won’t know if it’s your thing until you try it! I’m usually not the most spirited person and I still think homecoming is super fun.
  • Wear comfy shoes – If heels are comfortable for you, then go for it; I feel like for most people they’re not, so I would recommend wearing heels for pictures and then changing into flats or sneakers. I personally wore Vans to the dance and it was a lifesaver- it’s so crowded and you’ll be moving around and dancing, so it’s just easier that way.
  • Organize somewhere to go afterwards – It will definitely be a late night out, but I think it’s so much more fun if you continue the fun afterwards. My friends and I went to IHOP last year, and this year we’re going to Denny’s afterwards, and it’s just fun because you’re probably going to be starving (there’s not really any food at our dance) and so you can stuff your face before you go home and crash.
  • Get ready with friends – This makes any event more fun, but I think it’s especially good for a dance because you can all do each other’s hair/makeup, etc.
  • Don’t stress about your appearance too much – In the end, everyone’s going to get sweaty and look disheveled after a few hours of dancing in a crowded gym/wherever you hold the dance. Obviously take pride in your apperance, but don’t worry about looking perfect.

Overall, the most important thing is to make the most of your homecoming experience and have fun. My homecoming week was the highlight of my freshman year, which is why I was so excited for it this year. I have faith that you all will have the best experiences ever!

-Brooke

I Got An Internship!

BrookeLeave a comment

Welcome back everyone!

As you can tell from this post’s title, I have a wonderful announcement to make. I am so excited to say that I have been accepted as a fall intern for RaiseMe through their ambassador program! This post is not necessarily a promotion for their platform (I did not list my blog in my application, therefore they are not aware it exists), but I would like to say it’s a great website that you can sign up for to start earning micro-scholarships for college. Every season, RaiseMe sends out emails to lucky students with active accounts on the website inviting them to apply to become an intern for a few months.

I’ve listed RaiseMe as a great website for college resources multiple times on my blog; in case you’ve never heard of it, it’s a website that allows you to input grades, extracurricular achievements, standardized test scores, etc. and earn potential scholarship money from it. There are about 100 colleges that you can earn these mini-scholarships through and follow on the site. Even if the colleges you’re interested in aren’t scholarship partners, it’s still a good idea to sign up because new partners are adding often, and there’s a useful college search tool on the site that includes most colleges (not just partners). I first heard about the site last winter from my school’s counseling office newsletter and signed up just to see what it was about, and I’m glad I did.

I got an email about a month ago inviting me to apply for their Fall 2019 internship, and I immediately filled out the form. It was a fairly simple online application; I believe there were only a couple short answer questions. The only question I really spent time on was the one inquiring about what extracurriculars I had; I pretty much listed everything I do (since I don’t do too much) outside of school. I received an email on October 2nd that I was in! It obviously is an online-based internship meaning most of my tasks will be related to social media or further promoting RaiseMe in my community/at my school; I will not be reporting to an office or having strict hours. It’s supposed to be a pretty flexible commitment where you can put in as much time as you want/have, which was also huge for me.

The internship kickoff call is in a couple days, so I will be receiving a lot more information about what my exact duties will be and how I can get involved with the organization soon. Once I find out more and get started with the internship, I will make another post with more details and possibly a guide on how others can apply for next season. I encourage any of you high schoolers out there to make a RaiseMe account; that way, you might have the opportunity to get this internship in the future!

-Brooke

My Dilemma: Why I Don’t Want to Do School Cheer Next Year

BrookeLeave a comment

Good morning everyone!

Today I’m going to be discussing a more personal issue that’s been swirling around my brain lately. I’ve made multiple posts about my experience being a high school cheerleader (go check them out if you haven’t already!) and I am currently on the JV team. It’s the middle of football season and almost homecoming so things are kind of crazy right now, and with my already busy schedule I’ve had to think a lot about how I want to be spending my time. School sports are huge time commitments and they take up a lot of your energy and focus, so I’m leaning towards not doing it next year. In case you’re in a similar situation with your sports, I figured I would give you some things to consider and just to give an idea of where I’m at.

  • I don’t need to continue- At my school you need two years of PE credit to graduate; by the end of this year, I will have fulfilled those credits from being on cheer both fall semesters of my high school career so far and doing PE both spring semesters. Lots of people at my school end up quitting their sport after these two years.
  • Junior year is going to be crazy on its own – This is another reason why a lot of people at my school end up quitting their sport after sophomore year. Junior year is just so much work with all the AP classes and standardized testing and starting to think about college, and I’m not sure it would be realistic for me to continue cheer on top of all of that. I don’t want to overwork myself if I don’t need to.
  • I’m not the best at it – I know you don’t have to be a superstar to do a high school sport and it’s more about enjoying it, but this has been a personal struggle for me. I’m not very athletic and the program has intensified its expectations as far as stunting, and I don’t want to disappoint my teammates/hold anyone back by not being up to a certain level. Also, there’s no guarantee I would make it next year- juniors and seniors have to be on varsity (our school separates the cheer teams by grade), and there’s so many other good people.
  • It’s just so much time – I’ve mentioned this so many times, and it will continue to be one of the main things that deters me from wanting to keep cheering. I feel like for the amount of time I put into it, I’m not getting enough fulfillment out of it. I’m probably more physically in-shape, but that’s about it. I’m always tired after school since we have practice or games everyday, there’s so many extra events on the weekends/over school breaks, and it’s just a huge commitment.
  • I might get a part-time job or internship instead/there’s a lot of other things I could put the time towards – I have a lot of other interests I would like to pursue, but I currently just don’t have the time and don’t want to stretch myself too thin; a lot of the reasoning for this is cheer. When I think of how much money I could make if I worked for the same amount of hours that I cheer, it makes me question my priorities. There’s a lot of other things I could put that time towards.
  • The people aspect: coaches, team dynamic – I’m not the biggest fan of my coaches, point blank. They definitely know what they’re doing as far as cheer, but they play favorites and I am not one of them, and there’s a lot of other stuff going on behind the scenes. It’s kind of a mental struggle… I’ll go more into depth on this once I’ve exited the program.
  • The reputation – People don’t really like cheerleaders; teachers assume you won’t work hard, peers assume you just want to be popular, and it’s overall not the best way to make a good impression on people. I’ve tried to not let this affect me and prove to people that I’m more than a stereotype, but it’s still there- we have to wear our uniforms to school every game day, and there’s just that certain image.
  • I’m not in love with it anymore – This has been the hardest thing for me to come to terms with. Cheer has been such a huge part of my life for the past couple years; I fell in love with it in middle school, I was ecstatic to make the high school team, and it’s been a major component of my high school experience thus far. I’ve had a lot of amazing and crazy experiences that I wouldn’t have had if I hadn’t decided to give this sport a try, and that’s why I wish that I could be naturally talented at it and/or still in love with it.

I hope this gave you some insight on where I’m at with cheer/high school sports right now. This is just my personal experience of course- I figured it may help some of you out there in similar situations though. It’s okay to want to quit something if you don’t enjoy it anymore, even if you’ve done it for a long time. You just have to make sure it’s the right decision for you and that you can leave with no regrets (and hopefully on good terms)!

-Brooke

How to Succeed In Writing-Heavy Classes

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

This year I am taking AP European History as my history course, and there is a LOT of writing involved. Our main activities during class are listening to my teacher’s lectures and taking furious notes, practicing writing DBQs, and writing out long lists of terms for our study guides. Writing and AP classes are both time consuming on their own, so together… let’s just say I’ve spent many hours each week on writing assignments for this class. If you’re taking a similar course, this is the post for you!

  • Break it up – This is crucial. I know we all love to procrastinate, but you CANNOT leave every paper/essay/huge assignment until the last minute in these classes, because there’s just too many assignments like that. I highly recommend working on these things every day for at least 20-30 minutes (more if you can!!), specifically covering the parts of the material that you discuss in class each day.
  • Record lectures to give your hand a break sometimes – Hopefully your teacher allows this (mine does), but in these types of classes, especially history, a lot of information is covered; it can be very useful to record lectures so you don’t miss any minute details. You can also use these to take revised notes later.
  • DO EXTRA CREDIT – I say this in every school advice post no matter what class it is, but in these types of classes it’s especially important. Writing is so subjective that you may not always be sure of how you’re doing in the class/what grades you’ll get on assignments- this is why extra credit may save you. It’s always nice to have the extra padding regardless.
  • Mainly study formatting; otherwise, PRACTICE is your best bet for studying – If a lot of your grade is based on in-class essays and writing assignments, there’s not always a way to “study” for those. I recommend always looking over the format the night before and even right before you go to class so it’s fresh in your mind. Other than that, I would suggest you do as many practice writes as you have time for; I know that’s not always realistic timewise though.
  • Use highlighters and make keys – This can really help you figure out what you’re actually writing and what you’re missing. My teacher makes us do this, and it helps so much. Use a bunch of different colored highlighters and make a key; break it up by thesis, evidence, important people/events, etc. Your strengths and weaknesses in your writing will come across much clearer this way, and you can easily see if you forget something.

The best thing you can do is to keep writing; the more you practice, the more you improve. These types of classes have a lot of time-consuming assignments, but as you get used to the pace it will be a lot easier to keep up (that’s what I keep telling myself!). Try to stay on top of the work and do your best, because that’s all you can do. If all else fails, write as much as you know and ask your teacher for help- they want you to succeed too!

-Brooke

How to Deal When School/Life Speeds Up

BrookeLeave a comment

Happy October everyone!

Time is flying by, which means we’re getting into the thick of fall semester. I don’t know about you guys, but my workload definitely continued to increase as the month of September went on. It’s also still football season which means cheer has been crazy, and I’m about to have my first yearbook deadline. Combine that with clubs starting up again, volunteering, and attempting to have a social life- yeah, it’s a lot. I’m sure a ton of you are in similar situations, so I wanted to talk about how we can all get through this!

  • Block out a day on your calendar (preferably a weekend day) – The reason I say preferably a weekend day is because you’ll have more of the day free; this is key to getting things done but also having time to relax. This day can be your one day of relaxation, it can be your full day of social time with friends, it can be getting ahead on work so the next few days of school are more laid-back, it can be whatever you want. Just block it off as your time to decide for yourself what you want to do.
  • Keep up with self-care – This is super important for your mental health!! Maintain good hygiene, take the time to eat proper meals, shower, etc. Use meditation apps or listen to music to relax before bed, and try to make your environment as relaxing as possible (i.e. light candles).
  • Drop things you’re not enjoying – It goes without saying, but your schedule doesn’t have to be so jam-packed. If you realize there’s a commitment or two you have that you’re really not into anymore and are taking up tons of your time, see if you can drop/quit them. Obviously do this within reason (if you have one bad sports practice, don’t quit your sport for good), but this can be such a huge relief.
  • Get a good sleep – Do not sacrifice sleep for studying and schoolwork. Budget your time so that you can get at least seven hours of sleep (I find nine is preferable for me) – you’ll perform so much better in school during the day, and you’ll feel so much better. I also read somewhere that the most successful students get a lot of sleep, so there’s that.

Remember during all those long nights of schoolwork and studying that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. Do what you enjoy in your free time, and it will make it so much easier to continue working during school hours. Above all, prioritize your mental health and keep in mind that everything will work out, and we will get through this school year!

-Brooke

When Weekends Become the “Catch-Up” Days of the Week…

BrookeLeave a comment

Good morning everyone!

Lately I’ve been noticing that when my work piles up during the week, I can only make a small dent in it each night. I have cheer pretty much everyday, and usually a couple days a week I have some other extracurricular/commitment after cheer. I get home anywhere from 5-9pm, and I’ve usually barely started on homework. Sleep is very important to me, so I don’t stay up into the wee hours of the night to get my work done- I simply do whatever I need to do (assignments with concrete due dates, studying for a test the next day) and kind of let the rest slide.

It’s not that I necessarily procrastinate, it’s just my weird way of prioritizing sleep/certain things; the one downside is it creates this frantic game of catch-up. Most of this extra work and studying in advance that I simply don’t have much time to do on weeknights gets pushed aside until the weekends, when I’m suddenly faced with an unrealistic amount of tasks. Friday nights I usually have cheer as well, or I use that night as my time to spend with friends, so I only have Saturday and Sunday to prepare myself for the following week, finish up work from the previous week, do volunteer work/other extracurriculars/fun stuff, and attempt to relax.

Needless to say, that usually doesn’t all get done. I usually make a long to-do list every weekend, and somehow it seems that less and less gets accomplished every week. I’m still getting done everything that I need to and I’m not exactly behind, but it feels like I’m spending every moment working on something and trying to catch up with the ideas of what I want to be doing.

As I write this, it’s a Saturday night. My bed is littered with English reading assignments, my AP Euro notes and study guide, my two-page to-do list, my weekly planner, and my math spiral notebook. I’ve done my homework for three out of six classes so far, but I still have to finish the rest, clean, organize my cheer bag with all my practice wear for the week, schedule a couple appointments, and do some extracurricular-related stuff. Plus, I wanted to work on a writing piece for my school’s Reflections competition, do some volunteering, and start researching summer programs. I haven’t had much time to write lately beyond updating this blog- another thing I do on the weekends.

Maybe I just need better time-management and blocking off chunks of time to really grind and get certain tasks done, or maybe I need to hold myself accountable for getting more work done during the week. I don’t know the answers- I’m still trying to figure things out. It’s a weird thing because certain days I’m super overwhelmed, and some days I’m not; I’m honestly more overwhelmed on the weekends than school days because the strict schedule and rhythm of school days keeps me in line. My free-form style of just setting goals and trying to get all of these things done on the weekends is daunting and always leaves me frazzled.

I know this isn’t the type of school post I would normally write, but I love to be honest and share my opinions. We all have our struggles, and time management can be a huge one. I’m really trying to determine what works best for me, and I’ll let you guys know when I do!

-Brooke

Resources to Aid You In All Things High School + Applying to College

BrookeLeave a comment

Hello everyone!

I know it can be tough to find helpful resources for school-related stuff; trust me, I have spent many hours Googling various things about everything from online AP classes to summer programs. Whether you’re a freshman, sophomore, junior, or senior, these websites will be able to benefit you!

  • CollegeVine – Lots of great articles, especially since you can sort by different factors of relevance such as your grade.
  • PrepScholar – Good articles, tend to give basic information but there’s some more helpful ones
  • IvyWise – Similar to PrepScholar and CollegeVine
  • College Confidential – Definitely approach this website with caution; the overachievers on this website are insane. However, it’s a good resource for compiled lists of summer programs, internships, etc. The people on here know their stuff… for the most part.
  • Quora – I find that people post some interesting personal stories on here. It’s good if you have a specific question and just want to throw it out there.
  • Reddit – Good if you’re looking for peer advice, not so much experts or facts, but you may find opinions on extracurriculars or study tips for AP classes that you wouldn’t in a standard article.
  • Niche – College search tool, pretty standard.
  • Raise.me – This is a great way to earn scholarships (you put in your grades, extracurriculars, etc. and colleges can give you micro-scholarships for each accomplishment), but I’m also including it here because it has a cool college search tool. It’s pretty similar to Naviance’s, but it also includes filtering with certain scholarships.
  • Naviance – I’ve mentioned Naviance before, and I’ll mention it again. You can search through colleges, take personality tests to reveal good majors/jobs for you, you can create a resumé, and much more. I love looking at the scatterplots of college acceptances/rejections since it’s using data from actual alumni of your high school.
  • Your school’s counseling/college and career center website – There will usually be some informational guides here, and possibly a list of work and volunteer opportunities. If your school keeps it updated, this is a very valuable resource since it’s the most local opportunities accessible to you.
  • YouTube – You can watch vlogs/videos from anything to touring colleges you’re interested in or study tips for a specific AP class. If you find the right college/school-oriented YouTuber for you, it’s a valuable resource.

*A lot of the college advice websites are actually college consulting services, so make sure you look at their blogs/articles and not the counseling/test prep stuff (unless that’s what you’re looking for!)

I know there’s so much information out there that it can be daunting to start sweeping the Internet, but these are a few of the websites I’ve found useful. They’re not very original, but you can find most of the things you’ll need to know on here. Good luck in your research!

-Brooke

The Problem with “Gifted” Education

BrookeLeave a comment

Good morning everyone!

I recently watched a YouTube video (by Tiffany Ferg, I believe, in case anyone’s curious) that outlined the many issues with GATE programs and labeling young children as gifted. I was immediately hooked and knew I had to watch it. I was in the GATE program in elementary school from 1st-4th grade, but it wasn’t anything special; we weren’t separated from other kids and there weren’t any unique activities. I transferred schools/school districts for fifth grade, and my GATE standing didn’t transfer over- there was no way to get into GATE at my new school, but it didn’t really matter since again, there weren’t any special activities for GATE students.

Now that I gave a little background on my brief and unexciting experience with gifted education, here’s why I think it’s a significant issue to discuss. As a GATE kid myself, I know I definitely had huge dreams as a child. I was an early reader, so my teachers in elementary school were very impressed with me. This inflated my ego a lot– I thought I could do anything. I told people I wanted to be the first woman president, and in first grade I walked around with my Harry Potter books acting like I was some mini-scholar. All of this was because of that label, because of people telling me I was so smart for being an early reader, because of people telling me I would do such great things.

I know it might sound like it, but I’m not bashing these teachers for complimenting me and being supportive. It’s just the labeling of children as if they’re already adults and accomplishing big things that bothers me; it sets them up for disappointment. Some of these “gifted” kids actually are complete geniuses and will go on to accomplish these great things they were told they would, but that’s pretty rare. A lot more of them will grow up, realize they’re not that special, and experience feelings of failure or loss of identity.

That definitely happened to me, once I got to middle school. I realized I was not a genius; I was just lucky enough to have an aptitude for reading as a little kid. I wasn’t the smartest in all my classes anymore, and I had to try if I wanted to succeed. This happens to a lot of “gifted” kids once they move on from elementary school, and it’s pretty crushing. I still struggle with it a lot today, since those dreams of accomplishing something amazing and being known as a genius still exist somewhere within my brain.

That’s not to say that it would be impossible for me to make my dreams come true or accomplish something significant in life; I definitely still could, and I hope to. The issue is, it’s not a given that I’ll go on to do these things as the teachers and adults in my life implied when I was young. In the YouTube video I watched, Tiffany shared her own story of being a GATE kid. As she talked about having an inflated ego similar to mine when she was younger, she said “When people keep telling you something, you start to believe it”. This could not be more true.

Hearing people tell me how smart I was and how amazing I was set me up with such a toxic mindset/idea of success when I was very young. I believed I was amazing and stood out from the rest of the world, so it was really hard to accept that even though I was smart and could do well in school when I worked hard, I wasn’t special. I wasn’t… well, gifted. I think this labeling of young children can only impact them negatively; the ones that actually are amazingly gifted will go on to use their talents no matter what, so there’s no need to make these programs and treat these kids differently.

This is an issue that affects kids all across the country (possibly the world, but I don’t know if they have these types of labels/programs in other countries), and it needs to stop. If you’ve had an experience with so-called “gifted” education, feel free to share. I truly believe there’s not enough benefits of these programs; the drawbacks far outweigh them. We need to prioritize the mental well-being of these kids, and this isn’t doing that.

-Brooke

Click HERE to watch Tiffany’s video! “The Curse of Being a ‘Gifted’ Student”