The secrets of childhood GATE program experience
Follow me to childhood -starting Grade 2- as I entered the Gifted And Talented Education ("GATE") program. VERY COOL & LIFE-CHANGING.
I was an impressionable, easily misguided child, coerced and abused into participating in anything that an adult asked me to. I was conscious from a very young age. I never trusted my parents, because they were horrible people. They hurt me in some way, every day. This is not an exaggeration.
I think there is a likelihood that my intense childhood abuse and uncanny ability to submit to suggestion, strangeness and chaos, were the first reasons that I was “selected” for the “Gifted And Talented Education” (GATE) program in elementary (primary) school. I was a “great listener”.
What is the “GATE” program?
Okay, so what is the GATE program? The “Gifted And Talented Education” (GATE) program… goes by other names, too. The memories I have about GATE start in 2nd grade (ages 6-7), and stop after my 5th grade year (ages 10-11). I do not know if I was involved after 5th grade.
From what I can recall, as I started 2nd grade, my parents and I were told -together in a group meeting with my teacher- that I had been selected for a special program because “I was exceptionally talented”. This probably fit perfectly into my parents worldview and understanding of my being “white and delightsome”. (Granted, I WAS a pretty adorable white kid.)
About Me: I am a Xennial -caught betwixt the Gen Xers of the 1970’s- and the Millennials of the 1980’s.
I am grateful that many others who were in the GATE program about the same timeframe as me, have began sharing their personal experiences online. Otherwise now, I would not talk about any of this because the whole thing seems to not really matter anymore. But if anything, the sharing and speculation by GATE participants online, only grows! It is SO FUN for me to hear that other kids -now adult weirdos like me- had many of the same experiences.
Listening Games, Puzzles and Patterns, and Practicing a type of strange Daydreaming
Starting at age 6, each week, I think twice per week, I was taken out of regular class with my peers. Admittedly, I remember feeling proud about it. As that young child, someone who I did not know -who was dressed in a nice shirt and pants- would come to pick me up and walk me to a room somewhere on-campus. The person walking with me was a woman. But, the person that was my teacher in the GATE class, was a man. Sometimes, there was a small group of “teachers” in the room observing me.
Later, in 4th and 5th grade, my family had moved to another part of the city. And, the GATE classes happened in “portable” (semi-permanent) buildings; still on-site at the school. None of the rooms or portables had windows.
Okay… I want to show you the GATE program learning accoutrement. What you see in this image below are the mind-training toys used back when I was in the GATE program. You can see the flashcards, the headphones headset (an example of one), and some tiles for pattern games and group challenges.
GATE program flashcards used in the classes
Shown in this photo below are another view of the flashcards used back then. These are called Zener Cards. You can CLICK HERE to play an online version of the “guessing game” I played in the GATE classes.
Going to class started to become something that I looked forward to. Granted, I do not remember everything that happened in the GATE classes. But, I do have some concrete memories which I still get “good feelings” from remembering. Like what?
What I am personally sure of, is that:
I often sat alone in a sort of cubicle made with cardboard walls, mostly away from other kids. The room was almost always darkened, except for during occasional group games with other kids.
I enjoyed the flashcards guessing games, where I practiced guessing which symbol was on the other side of the card. (ESP exercise?)
I often wore a headset on both ears, where I would sit through “listening” exercises as a range of tones played. I was told they were “hearing tests”. But, I distinctly recall that the actual hearing tests happened in the nurses office. (Hemi-sync brain training program?)
I recall some “anticipation games” where guessing the location of a person or object was the point.
There were timed puzzles where I had to make different patterns using the tiles of varying shapes.
There were many printed documents I read, and many worksheets I was asked to finish. Some were advanced vocabulary sheets, some were number/pattern sheets.
This photo above is an identical example of the reading lessons and activities sheets we could choose from.
Some games were number guessing games, and I was never told if I was “correct” or not.
Many of these exercises and games were “timed” with my results being hand-recorded. (Note: Later in junior high (middle school), I had MAJOR performance anxiety issues related to timed tests, which I’ll write about at a future moment.)
I was asked to “imagine” different types of locations and places, which I cannot recall. I was asked to draw them, and do recall enjoying this exercise. I was not judged for what I drew.
There were “decoding” worksheet exercises, which I loved. There were all sorts of symbols and a “legend” that helped me to fill-in-the-blanks until “secret messages” would be revealed.
There was a 3-ring binder that our group leader had with my name on it, where all of my scores and worksheets were placed after each lesson.
Every single one of my GATE classes ended with drinking a small plastic cup filled with a pink liquid, which tasted good but chalky.
To my knowledge, neither of my parents were never given updates or told anything about the classes, or given reports or anything. My parents never once asked me about the classes. (Not shocking, though.)
Until I hit puberty, I had recurring nightmares. I would wake up crying. I would dream that a vehicle parked on a mountain would invite me inside, and a man would press a button, and the van’s undercarriage would open-up to an underground prison where kids in cages would work. In the nightmare, I was always let out in the morning, same way I went in. Then, I would wake-up.
GATE Program Selection Criteria
You had to be recommended for this program. There is speculation that you had to be a white kid with blonde hair and blue eyes. But… there’s no record of that. Otherwise what is documented, is that there are two tests which would have been administered to me as a child.
Both of these tools are still used, but have been since updated.
The Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children: There is now a second updated version KABC II, but I was assessed using the KABC I, which is no longer even available for review. But apparently, you can buy the last copy for $119 at Amazon LOL. If you do, please let me take a copy of it. =) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaufman_Assessment_Battery_for_Children
The Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children: This assessment has also been updated since the version used when I was child.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wechsler_Intelligence_Scale_for_Children
There are five primary index scores, the Verbal Comprehension Index (VCI), Visual Spatial Index (VSI), Fluid Reasoning Index (FRI), Working Memory Index (WMI), and Processing Speed Index (PSI).
As for my home State of Arizona, there are records -which have not been transcribed a placed online- still available for in-person review at ASU Library.
CLICK HERE to read more about what’s inside the archives as stated in: “Preliminary Inventory of the Arizona Association for the Gifted and Talented Records 1954-1998”. The Arizona Association for the Gifted and Talented and Bob Stahl donated these papers between 1991 and 2003.
CLICK HERE for a video related to the last 50-years of the gifted programs in my home State of Arizona.
Reference cited here verbatim: https://www.lacesmagnetschool.org/programs/gifted.jsp
In 1980, the California Legislature provided legislation (AB1040) to adopt the federal definition of gifted. The program was renamed Gifted and Talented Education (GATE). The Marland Federal Report on gifted education adopted the following:
Students who are identified as gifted/talented exhibit ‘excellence’ or the capacity for excellence far beyond that of their chronological peers. They require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their ability to contribute to self and society.
This definition expanded the identification categories of gifted to include intellectual ability, high achievement ability, specific academic ability, leadership, creativity, and visual and performing arts abilities. It provided for 200 minutes a week of differentiated curriculum. The Legislature deemed that each school district determine the categories for identification.
Stacking Meaningless Accomplishments
I “think” the GATE classes ended for me after 5th grade. But to be honest, I do not remember my 6th grade year, really at all.
What I feel about all of this, is that I was being trained to be some sort of a human computer with psychic and remote-viewing skills. Both during and after GATE program, I started seeing the great emergence of my new practical skills and abilities.
One such example of my abilities traumatized me. It was a public “incident” which occurred when I was in 5th grade. The story goes something like this:
During regular 5th grade class with my peers, we LOVED playing a group “math” guessing game. In this game, our teacher would pick out one child, and they would get to be “the guesser”. That child would have to leave the classroom entirely, out of sight and sound of what was happening inside the classroom. While the guesser was outside, everyone else together would choose a 3-digit number.
Once the class had finished selecting the number, the guesser would be retrieved and brought back into the classroom. And then, the guesser would stand at the front of the class (which for kids like me, was an exciting moment to be paid attention to).
The point of the game, was for the guesser to try and guess the 3-digit number. The teacher would help the guesser get closer to the answer, by indicating when each individual place value (first number, second number, or third number) was either too high, or too low. You had a certain number of chances to guess the number, before you failed and were asked to sit down.
One day, it was my turn to be the guesser. I had waited for this day! I went outside, and waited patiently for someone to retrieve me. I stood in front of the class. Our teacher asked me to go ahead and give my first guess for the number. This first guess was almost always just an arbitrary guess; incorrect and ready for improvement.
“356,” I said. That was my guess. 356.
Some of the kids made gasping sounds. I was waiting to be told if the 3, the first place value, should go up or down.
“Did you hear us?” my teacher asked me. My teacher, who was a very kind woman, shot me a mean glance! I was so confused.
“What?” I asked. I felt humiliated. I was waiting to be corrected, so that I could keep playing.
“I said, did you hear us choosing the number, Alisha?” she asked.
“What?” I asked, again. I had no idea what she was asking me. I could not register it.
“Alisha, please go and sit down. The number was 356,” she said in an upset tone of voice.
I remember leaving the front of the room and sitting down. I had not cheated. I had just happened to guess the number, and I could not believe it. I felt very embarrassed, and still remember that my classmates -including my best friend who sat next to me- would not stop staring at me.
The Skills Started Blooming
The guessing game incident was only the beginning of my strange GATE skillset “bloom”. Including, I began to have excellent experiences finding lost objects; able to search first using “my imagination”. (Remote viewing skills sometimes still “bother” me.)
From that time through the remainder of my public schooling, I accomplished many things. I used my rapid observation skills, rapid physical anticipation and response abilities, my “time” oriented skills, my “guessing” skills, my musical abilities, speed-reading, and physical strength abilities, excellent spatial awareness and visualization abilities, and pre-cognition, to my advantage.
And until high school -when my home life completely disintegrated- I remained always at the top of my classes. Always chosen for opportunities. Always winning awards. (When I am healthy, having “perfect timing” is still one of my gifts.)
As a child, due to my terrible family situation, I was forced to carry extraordinary burdens and responsibilities. And so, none of this “winning” actually helped my confidence, because of the horrid range of abuses I constantly lived through in my parents’ home. (I still have “imposter syndrome” on a weekly basis.)
Speculations Galore
In my “free time” as a kid, I had intense interests in underwater activities. I very much liked learning about water, and at one point as a child, thought that I could breathe underwater. Furthermore, I was obsessed with the Mattel Battleship game. And, I was in love with the “Flight of the Navigator” movie.
In high school, for whatever reasons, I wanted to join the military. I was obsessed with technology and “Star Trek: The Next Generation”. In March 1997, I was one of the weirdos that stood outside for hours and watched “The Phoenix Lights”. I felt LOVE for those lights, and that feeling stays with me.
While I still don’t know EXACTLY what I was going to be used for, since the inventions of Reddit, and the declassification of those CIA documents -and more recent interviews with UFO whistleblowers- I have some ideas now.
CLICK HERE for the specific moment that Jake Barber starts to talks about his GATE program experience and the pragmatic benefits of this training. (New interview Jan. 2025)
And, WHO KNOWS where my life would have gone, had I not been impregnated at age 18? Starting a family as a teenager, was not an intentional or easy path to walk.
I have had MANY -what I consider to be- uncanny experiences. Luckily, many of them involve other people being around to witness them. I like to think of these experiences as otherworldly, and many of the experiences are sacred to me. Sometimes, I have been able to help people in ways that seem miraculous to me. I look forward to writing about some of my incredible life moments, with you.
In closing, if I may be EXTRA weird for a moment, my hope is that I am well-enough psychically to connect with our loving universal “alien” families. I actually think I’d be a great candidate to be loving and not fearful of their capabilities. I hope that my skills will connect me to their consciousness and technologies.
Thank you for reading.
Declassified MK Ultra documents gathered through FOIA request:
Declassified GATEWAY documents:
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP96-00789R002800180001-2.pdf
https://www.cia.gov/readingroom/docs/cia-rdp96-00788r001700210016-5.pdf
Some peers talking about GATE:
https://www.reddit.com/r/GATEresearch/ - read responses from people across the usa who are sharing their memories and theories.
Video below: