Have you ever gotten above a hundred percent on a test? 

Have your teachers ever addressed the class with skepticism and worry about their students not being able to understand the material, but added an afterthought that they weren’t talking about all of their students. And you know they aren’t talking to you, not because of their smirk directly at you and a few others, but because you already know the material. This is what I miss about high school.

That feeling can serve as fuel. Education leads to independence. Children have the most fun because they are learning new things at an exponential rate.

What does it mean to be gifted? Not just a lot of chess playing. And not gifted for the sake of the label. Perhaps it has something to do with this feeling of confidence in academic ability. The rush of learning new material, of taking a test and not only knowing the answers but having an idea why those questions were asked and in that particular manner because it is the best form to demonstrate the concepts. Or maybe it has something to do with being able to talk to teachers about demonstrations of learning, along with course material itself.

One of the best classroom experiences I’ve ever had was an AP history course. I had no interest in the actual content of the course. However the context and classroom environment as a whole, forced students to actually learn the material. Evidence of learning was shown through the only component of the course besides tests: round table discussions. There was no lecture. Each student had to read new course material every night, the textbook provided all information. The teacher’s role was simply to clarify and provide an idea of which facts and figures were the most important. That course perhaps more important than american history, taught me how to take notes and study for tests.

Being that the course was “AP” I assumed college classes would follow-suit. Except the college classes, which I’ve experienced so far, best resemble freshmen non-honor classes. Courses which I could still get a decent grade in, without actually having to put in anything resembling work.

Big colleges usually have a lot of core requirements and a lot of official “real world” things which must be completed before graduation. For example a study aboard requirement, an internship, or submitting papers to academic conferences. They can be accredited while still having classes with a few hundred students because of their rigorous curriculum. Whereas small colleges might make their curriculum more lax because they assume students are getting a better education because of class sizes being so small that it would be noticeable if they were not learning. However, there can be a problem with assuming small colleges are synonyms with students adequately comprehending material. I feel as though I could not read most of the material covered on an exam and still pass with a decent grade.

So I go on doing the bare minimum of school work required to maintain an average gpa, in order to get a degree, in order to get a job.

There’s something missing though. It’s not my lack of friends that bothers me the most about my small college. Or even the nonexistent social scene. But actual learning. Classes everywhere are what you make of them. Of course I could study more and learn the material on my own. But I realize that when given the option I will not do so.

However, I have the ability to consciously chose to put myself in a situation resembling an AP class. There are colleges out there who believe in round table discussions and everything that goes along with the stereotype. I miss the rush which only comes from having the confidence in fully understanding the material, while at the same time being forced by the class structure to comprehend the content or fail.

I believe there is a certain way of behaving which comes from taking part in a class structure such as this. It may be slightly elitest, but mostly it’s respectful. Respect for the course material, the teacher’s effort in test making, the teacher’s facilitation skills, your classmates whom have obviously also provided time, effort, and wits.

(Moremoremore to come on this topic after a mental break/sleep!)