What I'm getting at here is average kids--kids who aren't highly competitive about getting into top colleges--need a lot of prodding and enthusiasm and energy to wake up to the fact that there's a world that's actually connected--and directly connected--to the story lines they devote themselves to on television and in movies, and directly connected to the lyrics they consume in their kind of music. It's all connected.
WW, how I love you! Bless you, and all teachers. I have to say that my kids kind of stand out, too, bonzai. My daughter is a senior in high school, and has a long history of can't-get-any-higher academic achievement. She is having a very lucky high school experience: she's in the Advanced Program, and ever since she was a freshman, her teachers have raved about what a great group of kids this AP class is. Her counselor sent out a letter saying they are quite likely to be "the best class ever to have come out of" her school. On conference day last week, her Spanish teacher told me they encourage each other, challenge each other, and help each other. She does know the names of world figures, and thanks to her course in D.C. last summer has developed a real interest in U.S. government.
My son is one year behind her. He chose a different high school, because of its "magnet program"--kind of like an early college major. He does not do as well academically, but his intelligence and different interests make him stand out. He started reading a Shakespeare play in 4th grade (about age 10); he didn't finish it, but that's typical of a child with ADD. He voluntarily read Beowulf as a freshman. (Both of these are thanks to the influence of his father.) This is the first year he has seemed to begin to take school somewhat seriously, and he is beginning to earn the respect of his classmates for what he knows. Yet still, I hear from his teachers that often he is the only one in the class to "get" something humorous. (He gets that from me, I think!) He has been invited to be a Presidential Scholar, and will study U.S. law enforcement (his chosen "major") in D.C. next June.
So, bonzai, perhaps you too will find yourself "fitting in" better as you get older, as my son has; or, more than likely, it will be that your classmates finally catch up to you.
