Were you deaf and 'gifted' ?

TXgolfer said:
97 I think. Wife and daughter got in too and my daughter was only 7. We just got off the little tram and walked straight in.......nobody said a word. Even bought a sweatshirt and a shot glass. We had coffee too.
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Hahaha. Of course, I can see that's other way to get in.
 
What happened to the thread starter? From what I've gathered he hasn't even logged in since the original post?
 
sheila022 said:
Lol, been mainstreamed for my whole life except in a classroom with other deaf students when I was in kindergarten to first grade.

Wasn't in any gifted or talented program....heck, I wasn't that smart back then compared to hearing ppl (even though I was the smartest deaf student in that school).

But in middle school, I've had teachers who doubted my ability to take honors level classes or anything more challenging.....then I went to high school. I faced same doubt from my guidance counselors and teachers, but I convinced them to let me to skip 2 levels of math classes and load up on all APs and honors. Hence, I was the only junior student in my class taking AP Calculus a year younger than everybody else.

After my grade in those classes came in, they finally shut up and let me do whatever I want. In short, high school was too easy for me...I was SO BORED with high school, so I just went to look to do other things...

Now, fast forward to the winter of my senior year of high school, when I found out that I've been accepted into MIT Early Action (just one of the 500 people accepted out of 5000 applicants)....December 15, 2009 at 9 PM....I"ll never forget that day. :) I was the only student to be accepted into school like that for the first time in the school history in the last 10 years, and the first deaf student as well!

So, the point is, you don't need to be in any gifted and talented program or high IQ or anything like that as long you believe in yourself and stick up for you know what you can do. :)
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Wow, I am impressed. I wish more Deaf people show their abilities and prove themselves to naysayers at high school. :)
 
sheila022 said:
Lol, been mainstreamed for my whole life except in a classroom with other deaf students when I was in kindergarten to first grade.

Wasn't in any gifted or talented program....heck, I wasn't that smart back then compared to hearing ppl (even though I was the smartest deaf student in that school).

But in middle school, I've had teachers who doubted my ability to take honors level classes or anything more challenging.....then I went to high school. I faced same doubt from my guidance counselors and teachers, but I convinced them to let me to skip 2 levels of math classes and load up on all APs and honors. Hence, I was the only junior student in my class taking AP Calculus a year younger than everybody else.

After my grade in those classes came in, they finally shut up and let me do whatever I want. In short, high school was too easy for me...I was SO BORED with high school, so I just went to look to do other things...

Now, fast forward to the winter of my senior year of high school, when I found out that I've been accepted into MIT Early Action (just one of the 500 people accepted out of 5000 applicants)....December 15, 2009 at 9 PM....I"ll never forget that day. :) I was the only student to be accepted into school like that for the first time in the school history in the last 10 years, and the first deaf student as well!

So, the point is, you don't need to be in any gifted and talented program or high IQ or anything like that as long you believe in yourself and stick up for you know what you can do. :)
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Great advice...where were you 10 years ago?? lol

Congrats on your efforts
 
sheila022 said:
Haha, 10 years ago is when I was a 10 year old girl still in elementary school. xD But thanks anyway :)
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I didn't think you were a 40 year MIT student ;).

Not many people supported or pushed me to take advanced classes. I also went to a HS with intense competition and bell curves. Sounds like an excuse right? I didn't really do the homework so I ended up with "average" grades with high scores on tests.

That persistence to do more for yourself is definitely admirable and will carry you far. And ahem, if you can speak/write an Asian language:jaw:. << Not to put pressure on you or anything, but not many people have the skills you would have coming out of MIT.
 
craigm26 said:
I didn't think you were a 40 year MIT student ;).

Not many people supported or pushed me to take advanced classes. I also went to a HS with intense competition and bell curves. Sounds like an excuse right? I didn't really do the homework so I ended up with "average" grades with high scores on tests.

That persistence to do more for yourself is definitely admirable and will carry you far. And ahem, if you can speak/write an Asian language:jaw:. << Not to put pressure on you or anything, but not many people have the skills you would have coming out of MIT.
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I was thinking how there could be better expectations and mentoring of deaf students when they are younger, and push/encourage them to do better. I wouldn't have got to this far if it wasn't for my parents and the way I grew up. I strongly believe that deaf students can perform well as hearing students, if not at least, outperform them. I was thinking that while I'm in Boston, I could go to one of the Boston deaf middle/high schools and make myself a mentor and tutor to those deaf students as part of giving back to the deaf community and encourage more of them to consider going into higher education.

Haha, I'm planning to take Chinese classes (and make Chinese my humanities concentration to fulfill the requirements that all MIT students have to concentrate into a particular humanities field) and I aim to master Chinese even it's *so* much more difficult than Spanish. >.< But yeah, I can speak and read some Chinese.
 
Well, I studied some Hebrew and French but that's about it. Enough to speak French and navigate my way around up in Quebec during one of my vacations up there. Exactly right, be a mentor or role model for deaf/hh students or people is a good way to go.
 
sheila022 said:
I was thinking how there could be better expectations and mentoring of deaf students when they are younger, and push/encourage them to do better. I wouldn't have got to this far if it wasn't for my parents and the way I grew up. I strongly believe that deaf students can perform well as hearing students, if not at least, outperform them. I was thinking that while I'm in Boston, I could go to one of the Boston deaf middle/high schools and make myself a mentor and tutor to those deaf students as part of giving back to the deaf community and encourage more of them to consider going into higher education.

Haha, I'm planning to take Chinese classes (and make Chinese my humanities concentration to fulfill the requirements that all MIT students have to concentrate into a particular humanities field) and I aim to master Chinese even it's *so* much more difficult than Spanish. >.< But yeah, I can speak and read some Chinese.
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I also believe, that when given motivation and tools, deaf/HoH children could outperform their peers. I know I did (hearing people cheated off me in HS, tutored in college). I don't know how much exposure or bias towards deaf/HoH children exists compared to hearing children for reaching college. But I do know I had to adapt to my hearing and speech abilities to "succeed" on my own terms. I think most deaf/HoH education programs are more vocational or career-skilled based as opposed to a more "classic" approach to attend a 4-year. Let me know if you find like a broad mentor program for deaf/HoH children, because I'd be interested in doing something like that.

heh, yeah. I totally believe that.
 
I was in honors/gifted classes in elementary/middle school, and I took like 10 AP's in high school (including an accelerated physics class that combined Mechanics AP and Electricity & Magnetism AP Physics into 1 year). I wasn't at the top of the class though, there were a couple of people who took Calculus BC as freshmen/sophomores and went on to take a special Differential Equations class being taught by a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team :D

Thankfully there wasn't really any resistance from teachers as to what classes I can take, except for a music teacher who didn't want me in the middle school band (but he came around eventually). I'm at MIT now and I probably wouldn't have gotten in if it wasn't for others' support.
 
rraja said:
I was in honors/gifted classes in elementary/middle school, and I took like 10 AP's in high school (including an accelerated physics class that combined Mechanics AP and Electricity & Magnetism AP Physics into 1 year). I wasn't at the top of the class though, there were a couple of people who took Calculus BC as freshmen/sophomores and went on to take a special Differential Equations class being taught by a former member of the MIT Blackjack Team :D

Thankfully there wasn't really any resistance from teachers as to what classes I can take, except for a music teacher who didn't want me in the middle school band (but he came around eventually). I'm at MIT now and I probably wouldn't have gotten in if it wasn't for others' support.
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Haha, really? Former member? Well, I bet that teacher knows the founder of the MIT blackjack team who currently teaches at the high school in another place in Maryland. I heard lots of cool stuff about him from another MIT friend of mine. I think she said he may come up to CPW sometimes.

I bet you don't know who is the actual founder of the tradition of the MIT hacking....he turned out be my interviewer for MIT. ^_^

Remember the 8.01/8.02 and the 18.03 classes we took? PURE EVIL!!! PURE EVIL!!! PURE EVIL! I am so glad we are not taking those anymore!! xD
 
sheila022 said:
Haha, really? Former member? Well, I bet that teacher knows the founder of the MIT blackjack team who currently teaches at the high school in another place in Maryland. I heard lots of cool stuff about him from another MIT friend of mine. I think she said he may come up to CPW sometimes.

I bet you don't know who is the actual founder of the tradition of the MIT hacking....he turned out be my interviewer for MIT. ^_^

Remember the 8.01/8.02 and the 18.03 classes we took? PURE EVIL!!! PURE EVIL!!! PURE EVIL! I am so glad we are not taking those anymore!! xD
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Actually my math teacher said he was a founder, so you might be referring to the same guy, haha. I want to meet him :D

Well, I didn't have that much trouble with the physics thanks to my awesome high school physics teacher, but it would have been nice if I took that guy's differential equations class to have an easier time with 18.03? haha
 
rraja said:
Actually my math teacher said he was a founder, so you might be referring to the same guy, haha. I want to meet him :D

Well, I didn't have that much trouble with the physics thanks to my awesome high school physics teacher, but it would have been nice if I took that guy's differential equations class to have an easier time with 18.03? haha
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Or like you said, co-founder? The other teaches at Blair Mont. HS :P I know, I want to meet him as well! Dude, that's just so awesome...hacking the casinos and making millions of dollars by that way. Another is...trading. xD
 
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