What set you apart from your peers when you first started school?

[rbnyc]

In kindergarten I had a hard time with gender roles. Many activities were divided between boys and girls and I usually found the boys activities to be more interesting and couldn't understand why I couldn't participate. (EDIT: Also, I got in trouble for singing harmonies instead of melodies, and for scat-singing or riffing during sing-alongs. I thought the point was to make music.)

In first grade it was discovered that my family didn't go to church. I was asked if I believed in God and I said that God was a metaphor. They took that as a "no" and formed the "I Hate Rene Club."

In 5th or 6th grade we had a hygiene specialist give a lecture to the class. She told the girls that when we sit our knees should always be touching and that soon the girls would have to shave their legs and armpits because the hair traps bacteria and is bad for your health. I raised my hand and asked if boys were expected to shave as well. I was told no. So I asked, "Is it because their hair is somehow different and doesn;t trap bacteria, or is it because we don't care about their health?" She called me a smart mouth and asked me to sit in the hall.

Ok, your turn.

[Starbucks Anarchist]

1. I never talked, and I was the only brown one.

[Zavulon]

2. Only kid in class who didn't know French.

That was NOT fun.

[rbnyc]

3. Where were you? (nt)

[Zavulon]

14. Laval, Quebec, Canada. (NT)

Second-largest city in the province, I believe.

[Critters2]

4. Tallest kid in the class, by far

Now I'm 5'7", which isn't special, but I was way taller than anyone then. Adults commented on it most, but I got tired of hearing "she's een taller than all the boys".

[rbnyc]

5. I wonder if that's going to happen to my son.

He's almost 3 now, but is as tall as a 4 or 5 year old. My husband and I are both short. So I wonder if he's going to tower over everyone and then just stop growing.

[Critters2]

7. I think it's fairly common. Kids get their growth at different rates.

FWIW, the docs said my early growth had something to do with my developing scoliosis. I never understood whether it was a causal relationship or just a common correlation. But, apparently, scoliosis is common in girls who get their height early. But it's uncommon in boys in general, so probably not an issue for you.

[Rob H.]

23. Semi-OT: This is an "old wives tale," but it was true for me

Supposedly if you measure your child when he or she is two years old and double it, that's the adult height you can expect. Like I said, it was true in my case but it's holding true for one of my 16.5-year-old cousins, too. He's supposed to top out at 6'7" and he's already 6'5". I have to laugh because I'm 6 feet tall and he surpassed my height when he was 13--I'm just glad he's on my side! :)


Edit: He's always been the tallest person in his class, too. At his high school only two people are taller than he is and one of them is a teacher.

[rbnyc]

28. According to that...

...my son will be 6'3".

Cool.

[jmm]

62. My doctors guestimated I'd be atleast 5'10"

I'm 5'7". I'm taller than both my parents so that's all that matters to me ;). From what I hear that usually works but in my family we tend to hit our growth spurts early. Most of the guys in my family were about 6' and could grow full beards by the time they entered high school.

[ElizabethDC]

46. Me too

I was a whole head taller than everybody else until about fourth or fifth grade, when the boys began to catch up. I stopped growing in about the 7th grade, and I'm 5'7" now - which, as you said, isn't special, but I just shot up faster than everybody else.

[femmocrat]

59. I really hated it when the teacher would ask me to reach something for her, because I was tall.

I wanted to crawl under my desk and die from embarassment.

[kwassa]

6. I was the biggest kid in my kindergarten class

I was the Strongman in the Kindergarten circus.

That changed.

[eyesroll]

8. I was one of the few Jewish kids (highlight: telling my music teacher I wasn't going to sing

the song she wrote praising Jesus -- this was a public school -- getting sent to the principal, my parents getting called, my parents coming to school and chewing the school out).

I was also very, very verbal. I could read before my third birthday and I had an absurd vocabulary (and was a bit of a show-off) -- which meant I got teased mercilessly for being the nerd that I was/am.

[ChoralScholar]

67. Me too, girl. See my post.

I too, read before age three. My son is showing some of the same signs.

[swag]

9. I knew how to read.

[NewWaveChick1981]

24. Excellent!

:hi:

[SteppingRazor]

10. Sheer genius.

:rofl:

[unpossibles]

11. two things come to mind

both in grade school:

I have been a mythology nerd for as long as I can remember, and I loved going to the library to learn about different ones. When we were learning Greek Mythology in grade school (I forget which grade...3rd?), I remember getting in trouble for asking what the difference was between Greek Mythology and Christian Mythology. I was told - patiently at first - that Christian mythology wasn't mythology, but a religion. When I pointed out that Zeus and Apollo were considered to be part of a religion at the time, I got in trouble for being a smart ass.

The other one was in 4th grade (I think) biology. The teacher asked what the most adaptable animal was. I answered "man" but he didn't hear me I think, and since no one else answered, he told us to go home and think about it and answer tomorrow. The next day, the kid that was "the Brainiac" of the class raised his hand and said, "man" and the teacher praised him. After thinking about it, however, I argued that man was not the right answer, that we were the least adaptable, which is why we had to adapt our environment to us by building houses and wearing clothes, etc. I got in trouble again for being a smart ass.

It sucked. I got no credit for what I considered (and still do) valid observations/questions, and in fact usually got in trouble. Looking back, it's no wonder that I usually didn't care about school starting around this time.

I also got in trouble once for cussing out a girl in a note. lesson learned: do not write it down! lol.

[rbnyc]

29. It's a wonder...

...any creative thinkers make it through grade school!

[NewWaveChick1981]

12. I knew how to read, write, and count to 1000 when I started first grade.

:P My mother believed in sending us to kindergarten starting at age 3, and it paid off for me and my siblings. Mom taught me a lot about reading, writing, and basic math very early on, and the wonderful kindergarten teachers helped with the rest. I found out just a couple of years ago that my first-grade teacher told my mother that I was at a fourth-grade reading level when I entered first grade. :) I even taught a couple of the other kids how to read.

[swag]

20. That's more that most adults can say for themselves.

[NewWaveChick1981]

22. I know.

:) :hi: Thanks!

[ghostsofgiants]

13. My height, my intelligence, my artistic abilities and my love for Super Mario Bros 3.

[ChoralScholar]

68. You knew the location of all three warp whistles at an early age, I'll bet! EOM

[ghostsofgiants]

74. I was 5 when I got the game, and I found them not long after getting it.

:thumbsup:

[Oeditpus Rex]

15. I could read (n/t)

[Roon]

16. I wore hearing aids

Not the kind that each ear had, but a body aid. Terrible!

[Writer]

17. I knew how to read before Kindergarten.

And in First Grade I read "Mister" books to my First Grade class. Mr. Happy. Mr. Grumpy, etc.

[Deja Q]

18. I was aloof, quiet, shy, a good reactionary to others' "practical jokes"

I also thought it odd my 1st grade PE teacher referred to herself in the 3rd person. (Like how Bob Dole called Bob Dole 'Bob Dole'.)

She also corrected the class' belief that Edith Bunker had died; that it was only the character; the actress moved on to do other things. :D

[skygazer]

19. You are a kindred spirit

I started a rebellion on my first day in kindergarten when I was told that "girls sit in the pink chairs and boys sit in the blue chairs."

I don't like pink.

So I sat in a blue chair - scared shitless because I didn't know a soul in the class but determined - and the teacher came over and told me to move.

And I refused.

She kept insisting and I kept refusing and she finally grabbed me and tried to forcibly remove me (1966 - no one worried about being sued for roughing up the kids) and I grabbed the chair with both hands and held on.

She finally called my mother, who was probably just sitting down for a martini after getting the last of six kids out of the house. Mom came in, heard the problem and simply said, "Well why CAN'T she sit in a blue chair?"

And after that, no one cared what color chair anyone sat in. :P

[rbnyc]

32. Awesome!

It's always blown me away how quickly (birth) we start pushing kids into gender roles. I know there are differences between the genders, but gender is also much more than chromosomes and genitals. Kids have to be aloud to determine their own preferences. Imagine if we lived in THAT kind of society.

[NewJeffCT]

21. I was painfully shy through my school years

I was in the same school system from K-12. I was voted "Shyest" in both 8th grade and high school.

At least I was well known enough to be voted "Shyest" I always say... but, my high school class only had about 100 in it, so everybody knew everybody.

[Rob H.]

25. Sounds a lot like me

A friend of mine actually got voted "Quietest" in our high school graduating class but I heard through the grapevine that one reason he got more votes than I did was because no one knew who I was! People should have voted for me based on that alone, dammit! :P

I'm still quiet at first when I meet people but once I get to know them that dissipates pretty quickly.

[NewJeffCT]

26. The same with me

I'm fairly quiet until I get to know a person. But, it still takes me a while to really loosen up with somebody new.

Probably why my ex-wife was just the opposite - she could tell her life story to a stranger in 5 minutes... and then keep going and going (I used to joke that I didn't speak with her for several weeks once because I didn't want to interrupt her when she was talking)

and, my wife now is pretty outgoing, too.

[trof]

27. My name.

Family name, very 'uncommon'.
I was teased.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. in third grade my second language teacher told me that i dont appreciate my mother tongue enough

i told her that if she really wanted to show her appreciation for bengali, she shouldnt teach in a school where english was the first language

[dysfunctional press]

31. tallest, smartest, and a deformed right hand(birth defect).

nt

[undeterred]

33. I got in trouble in 1st grade for beating up a boy

and it was EXTRA BAD. My teacher and parents were horrified, like I was on my way to becoming a serial killer.

We were walking home together at lunch, holding hands. His brother, a second grader, came along with some friends and made fun of him for holding hands with me. So he dropped my hand and fell back with them. So I smacked him around a little, and he knew he deserved it.

Went home for lunch and didn't mention it to mom.

That afternoon all hell broke loose. Parents, teachers, everywhere. There was a little scratch on Calvin's face. He didn't complain about it, and he wasn't mad at me. But the thing of it was, Calvin and I were the smartest boy and smartest girl in the class. So this was really a bad example.

I remember my defense: "Carl gets in trouble every single day on the lunch hour and nobody makes a big deal about it. Why can't I get in trouble just once?" "Because you're the smartest girl in the class"

And also- females aren't supposed to get angry or show it in any physical way. Funny story, but heavy female socialization going on that day. Calvin and I remained friends and were in the same classes together through college and we never spoke of it again.

[SmokingJacket]

34. I was not Mormon.

Also, was a tomboy.

[Gormy Cuss]

35. I was the youngest and could read and count.

I've been told that my boredom caused me to be a little disruptive --- my older sister was in the class across the hall and told my mother every time she heard my teacher yell "Gormy! Sit down!" "Gormy! Stop talking." The odd thing is that my only memory is that the teacher was nice and liked me.

[The2ndWheel]

36. For elementary school graduation

I actually got an award for working well with others during the 5 years of grade school. So even after setting myself apart, I was still just part of the group.

Pretty much downhill since then. It wasn't about the money in 1st to 5th grade, it was about the love. Then you grow up, and everyone is ready to screw you over for just a penny more.

[ganeshji]

37. My sheer contempt for the entire process.

After the halcyon days of kindergarten finger painting it went downhill rapidly. I remember telling my third grade teacher that she should get a parrot if she wanted someone to repeat after her because I certainly wasn't doing it. She used to say crap like "repetition is the only true form of learning." I always replied, "Yeah, for monkeys."

[bleedingheart]

38. I loved school, I wore glasses and I enjoyed participating

was labeled "four eyes" immediately and was called a "nerd"

[LaraMN]

39. Reading/writing abilities, incessant need to kiss boys in class,

obsession with wearing "pretty dresses" every day. (Kindergarten)

Elementary- penchant for writing and circulating petitions on various subjects, which I submitted to teachers and the school principal.

Jr. High- wore dress shoes to gym on a regular basis and actually argued with my gym teacher, prompting him to (unnecessarily) apologize for asking me not to do so. He was a serious wuss.

[Crabby Appleton]

40. I got put in the corner the first day, pretty much set the tone

for my entire academic career.

[Flaxbee]

41. I could read and write

- cursive and printing - and my kindergarten teachers had me help the other kids spell out words/read.

The awful, humiliating downside is that I was so terrified of the toilets at the school (the toilets made huge whooshing noises and sprayed water) that I refused to go the to bathroom, resulting in me having to bring an extra pair of underwear and pants to school every day for when I inevitably couldn't hold it anymore. Got to the point where I wouldn't eat or drink anything at school, and that seemed to help a bit.

I had no trouble in first grade, but man, I was scared of those kindergarten toilets! Terrified! Ridiculous!

[Evoman]

42. I am latin american.

I could read by kindergarten (my sister, two years older than me, basically taught me). However, I primarily could only read in my head...I found it difficult to read out loud. Because I wasn't English, I had an accent and my mouth couldn't keep up with my eyes, so I would slur a lot, and sometimes skip words.

And kindergarten through to grade 3, I was always put in the "slow kids" reading group..with kids who couldn't even read the easy words (almost completely illiterate). I also apparently didn't do so well in an IQ test (EXCUSE ME, I'M AN IMMIGRANT!!!), so my teachers didn't treat me very well.

And now I have my master's thesis defense in a couple of days.

[no name no slogan]

43. My humongous

intellect. Or was it ego?

[ComerPerro]

44. I was young. I was four when I started kindergarten (turned five on 9/11)

And while I don't remember much, I remember very vividly being in preschool a few days before school was to start, and another kid telling me that I was too young and that if the teacher found out I was four she would send me to the principal and I would get kicked out.

Its not a emotionally scarring issue or anything like that. Just something that I remember very vividly, which is odd because I don't remember much at all before age 6. Just random flashes of things, and this is one of them.

[EstimatedProphet]

47. You're 11?

[ComerPerro]

50. oh, right, 9.11. No, not that 9.11. My mistake. I was born in 1981, on September 11.

I am so used to abbreviating it as my birthday, and even when I see 9/11 written I think of it as a generic month and day because I am so used to writing it on every form I fill out..

[EstimatedProphet]

51. Ah.

[EstimatedProphet]

49. Dupe - sever burp

[Skittles]

45. my nationality

I was an American in a school of Brits

[Rabrrrrrr]

48. My hangover

[BulletproofLandshark]

52. I started reading when I was three.

I don't remember, but my mom tells me when I learned to read, I would read anything I could get my hands on. Encyclopedias, dictionaries, TV Guide, ANYTHING. When I was in 2nd grade, I was tested and it was found I could read at an 11th-grade level.

When I was 5 my dad taught me the multiplication tables up to the twelves. Even though that was back in 1981, I'll never forget the day as long as I live. Not having any notebook paper handy, took a brown paper grocery bag and started making a 12x12 grid. Dad sat down with me, and we just we through them over and over again until I could fill the whole thing out from memory.

Still though, all I wanted to do in school was just play dodgeball.

[1gobluedem]

53. I wore saddle shoes

And none of the other girls did; traumatic to me because the in-thing in kindergarten was to trade shoes and nobody would trade with me. Until the day my mother let me wear my red patent leather Mary Janes that had a little pearl button instead of a buckle. For one brief shining moment, I was popular...

Also, I could read and nobody else could.

On edit: in high school I was set apart by being a teacher's kid and the football coach's daughter. I found out at my 10 year class reunion that there were a few guys who wanted to ask me out but didn't because my father was their coach (he coached boys' tennis too). A little too late for my self-esteem, unfortunately.

[Sequoia]

54. That is way funny about the hair.

A gal I worked with went to a roman catholic school and she asked the teacher if there was such a thing as reincarnation. The nun got really angry and asked her where she had heard that and how it wasn't true, etc. So the girl asked what did The Church of Reincarnation mean. And yes, there are RC churches by that name and one is right across the street.

[Alexander]

55. My ability and desire to make the other kids laugh.

I was the class clown all throughout high school, too. I blame boredom.

[Godhumor]

56. One minute of "Godhumor" time every day in pre-K

I'm a talker...not a distractor, but someone who really enjoys chatting. Apparently, I talked so much in pre-K that the teacher finally got fed up and told me that I had to be completely quiet each day in exchange for 1 to 5 minutes time where I could talk as much as I wanted.

When I was 5 or so in my afterschool program the adult would ask us "deep" questions to try and make everybody sit, think, and interact. Apparently, one question was what we'd do if there was nuclear missiles coming from the north, south, east, and west. My answer was "I'd go up."

[femmocrat]

57. Different religion, mostly.

And we were a little more ''upscale'' (although we didn't know it then) than most of the families in the neighborhood. Plus, I was always the smartest girl... which had its downside in those days.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

58. Industrial-strength geekiness.

Combined with the fact that I was about 1-1/2 years younger than anyone else and already knew how to read. This made me an instant leper. Elementary school sucked deeply.

[TrogL]

60. I could read but not talk

They were threatening to flunk me because I had zero social skills and spent my time playing with a firetruck and drawing helicopters.

[philosophie_en_rose]

61. The only kid with rice for lunch.

My mom filled tupperware boxes with rice and soup or stew or meat and veggies. If mom tried an American lunch, it was dry bologna between bread and a baggie of cereal or maybe crackers.

My mom doesn't cook American food very well.

[wildhorses]

63. first day of first grade---my feet got hot so i took off my shoes

and went barefoot...got a spanking FIRST DAY...yeah, i think that set me apart:P

[gizmonic]

64. My thick, heavy Northern English accent

I was seven when I moved from England to Illinois. No one in my class, teachers included, could understand what I was saying.

Was teased a lot in the beginning and had a hard time adjusting the first couple of years I lived here. Eventually, the teasing stopped and the friendships started. Lots of great memories. Lived in Illinois for 5 years -- then moved to Ohio.

Had to go thru it again but this time w/middle school and eventually high school. Didn't make as many friends, self-esteem took a hit, hated every single year of middle and high school. Have no good memories at all of this time period.

I can be painfully shy and have little confidence in myself at times -- I wonder if I would have been different if I hadn't moved to Ohio. :shrug:


thanks for the outlet :)

[ChoralScholar]

65. I was a very early learner, and

was reading by age 3 - doing 6th grade math and 6th grade science in kindergarten. They considered moving me from Kindergarten to 3rd grade, but thought better of it later.

Anyway, I was branded as a dork at an early age. Maybe the other kids were intimidated - maybe I was socially bankrupt. Who knows? But it set a pattern that I could not break until I was a sophomore in high school.

[SPKrazy]

66. My creativity

i had a vivid imagination and as soon as i learned to write, i wrote things that used that imagination.

i also seemed to be quite competitive at a young age, that somehow has chilled a bit, although there is no doubt that i still am competitive, but hopefully not to a flaw.

[Nikia]

69. I knew addition, subtraction, and multiplication

When I started kindergarten.
I did not think boys had cooties.
It was also unusual that my parents were divorced.
I was taller than average, but a girl who would eventually grow to 6'4''was 6 inches taller.

[supernova]

70. Creativity, forthrightness, shyness

Odd combo that...

I was creative and regularly colored outside the lines when we had craft time... wanted more or different colors, wanted to do things differently.

I was forthright and regularly got into fights with bigger kids. Ugh.

Paradoxically, I was also very shy and had problems taking up in class.

I was also very quickly reading way above grade level. I had a teacher tell me to leave Hans Brinker or the Siver Skates at home "because the other kids might get jealous." :wtf:

[woo me with science]

71. LOL I love how EVERYBODY here perceives that they could read

but NOBODY else could. This is almost as good as the "gifted" threads. :rofl:

[NMDemDist2]

75. I *knew* they couldn't, I had to listen to them try and sound out the word

CAT for Gawdess' sakes

:banghead:

[Alexander]

76. A lot of Americans are functionally illiterate.

I've worked at jobs with adults who have difficulty reading anything out loud, never mind kids in school.

"True literacy is becoming an arcane art and the United States is steadily dumbing down."

-Isaac Asimov

[cobalt1999]

72. Never understood the rules.

Could not understand why I had to do an assignment. I totally bewildered me that the teacher would assign everyone a task and everyone would do it without asking why.

[NMDemDist2]

73. i could already read at 3rd grade level

the teachers didn't know what to do with me.

my 8th grade I was reading at 3rd year college level

they still didn't know what to do with me.

out of boredom, I stirred up a lot of chit hehehe :evilgrin: