Is Advanced Placement always good?

So it's been a while but everyone has been talking about blogs and such around this place so writing I am. Plus I am not doing anything on stage at this moment.

A thought that crosses my mind on a regular day basis is how much advanced placement has affected the course of my life, in positive and negative ways. I have been in "aquilla" or "signet" or "GT (gifted and talented)" or "honors" or "AP" classes my entire life that they have been available. From about 3rd or 4th grade I believe. This provided a lot of very strong opportunities for me throughout my young life. I can remember back in Aquilla when we were allowed to make our own studies as long as we provided a clear goal and purpose. I develped a third level to the Shakespeare study. And it was all based in independent study. We were allowed to chose what we wanted to be working on at any given time and given the time and space to do it on our own accord undirected aside from the listed goals. But what about the negative affects. I was never in classes with any of the children who were not considered "GT" so I never developed a tolerance or understanding for people whos minds didnt work exactly like mine. Not that one is better they are simply different but it was instilled in me through the use of words like "gifted and talented" that we were "better" in some way. I learned to work on my own and as I got older and group work was used more and more in schooling I loathed it and took on all the work myself. To this day I still prefere to work on my own by my own accord.

Do children that are put through GT systems miss out on a certain level of socialization?

I think so. And while the benefits are many I can't decide if they outweigh the damage. I suppose had I gone into engineering or medicine these effects wouldnt mean so much but I chose theater. A profession where working with others, some who may not work on your intelligent level, is a matter of everyday life and you are constantly taking direction from others.

It's strange how much desicions made by others for you when you were under the age of 12 affect you for the rest of your life, most of which probably dont seem to matter at the time they were made. For example a lot of kids I know were held back from Kindergarden or 1st grade because they were socially ready to move on. That doesn't seem like a big deal then but when you are in 10th grade a year or more older than the other kids in your class it starts to become a bigger deal. Anyone who knows me know my theory that the Rhode Island school system screwed me with my spelling.

I wonder what I will do to my kids that will affect them for the rest of their lives.