Idiot

Posted by doularama | Filed under Parenting

When I first met my husband, he considered me some type of savant.  Uhm, an idiot savant- how cute.  The term idiot savant refers to someone with a brain disorder who excels in a particular area.  That’s not me, though I have been known to be quite the fool and do have a special gift for memory, music and numbers. 

I remember watching A Beautiful Mind.  When John Nash started seeing codes and messages in the newspaper, I could totally relate.  I mean how could you look at a group of numbers or letters without mixing them up or arithmetically changing them?  Isn’t that normal? I turned to my friend sitting next to me in the movie theatre and said “I do that all the time.”  I was comparing myself to this genius, but I wasn’t familiar with his story and didn’t realize how the movie would unfold and his life would unravel.  I hope I don’t ruin it for you by telling you that no, it isn’t normal.  People don’t feel compelled to decode any random set of three or more letters or numbers like I often do. 

My husband is a very intelligent and well- read man.  We have coupled and produced a pair of genius children.  Now, I know that everyone’s child is exceptional, but mine actually are.  I won’t list their talents and skills because I don’t want to find out that your child is equally bright.  I’m writing the blog right now, OK?

Before my daughter was two, our pediatrician was telling us about all the top public schools in the city, urging us to make sure Mita got into one of them.  She was convinced of my daughter’s genius.  Such a good doctor.  Actually, I had started looking for schools before I was even pregnant.  I was prepared.  My children would be going to a great school.  I did everything I had to do. 

In NYC, a few of the top options required that my daughter score better than 97% of the other test-takers her age.  The test had ninety questions, divided in two parts.  On the first part, my daughter scored in the 99th percentile.  This didn’t surprise me.  Out of 100 students, only one did better than she.  That sounded right.  In the second part of the test, she scored in the 59th percentile.  Just above average.  My doctor asked if I had questioned the results as there had clearly been a mistake.  I’m not so sure.  One possibility is that she had never taken a test before or ever, ever been alone with a stranger.   Maybe after an hour she had gotten tired or bored.  Maybe she’s just an idiot savant.  Part one of the test could have been her area of natural thinking, while part two was more of a challenge.  I don’t know.

This week, my baby, who was just born the other day, will be starting kindergarten.  I’ve done lots of crying and she is thrilled.  It has been extremely frustrating for me because, after all that research, she’s ended up going to the same school I went to decades ago.  I don’t intend for her to stay there, though.  I will be continuing my efforts so that she is recognized for the savant she is.  I will keep you posted.

Permalink | September 6th, 2009

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