They all – each and every one of them – deserve to learn. Related: If He’s REALLY So Smart… When Gifted Kids Struggle Here’s the thing…fair does not mean equal in education.Īll of our kids have the right to a fair and appropriate education. They can also, as in the case with my son, fall apart because they are not being challenged and see every day, every hour, and every minute spent in the classroom a colossal waste of time. Frustration that peers don’t want to play their complicated games, talk about the things that interest them, or come to their “periodic table birthday party.’ Gifted kids can become so frustrated by these social interactions that they become withdrawn, depressed, and filled with anxiety. They begin to think there’s something wrong with them. They become the behavior problems that some of their teachers are already predisposed to believe them to be. They recognize that there’s no point in towing the line… so they don’t. They fall out of their chairs, talk back to the teacher, cause distractions, and often get into worse behaviors. Under-challenged gifted kids often become class clowns, focusing all of their pent-up energy on getting attention in the only way they can. What’s the point, really, of pushing oneself when one has already hit the ceiling? So they don’t They do the bare minimum they need to in order to get by. If they don’t drop out physically, they drop out emotionally. As they get older, they drop out or give up. They tune out, stop turning things in, and fail classes. They decide that school is a waste of their time, and it’s not worth trying any more. What happens to gifted kids who aren’t getting their needs met?Ĭhildren who are forced to sit and relearn things they’ve long mastered tend to react… Related: Navigating Social and Emotional Needs of Gifted Kids School, learning, teachers, books… everything. But, my seven year old didn’t know that the prejudice and lack of education was what he hated, so he just hated it all. He did, however, loathe the way gifted children like him are treated by teachers who are undereducated about giftedness and thus unprepared to teach them. My son didn’t hate learning, and he didn’t hate school. They’re ridiculed, dismissed, pathologized… they earn the reputations of “that kid” or “that parent.” Our gifted children are, for most of their school days, sitting there in a classroom listening to things they’ve already learned.Īnd when they, or their parents, ask for appropriate modifications, it becomes worse. Our gifted – my child and yours – are made to feel like they’re a bother. And, they’re kids who are challenging – they want to know why, not just what. They’re not, like the stereotype suggests, compliant eager teacher pleasers who always achieve. Teachers – not all of them, but many, many of them – don’t want gifted kids in their classes. In the worst of the situations in which our gifted kids find themselves, they’re being met with open hostility from the very people in which we’ve entrusted their education. They’re expected to just “be okay,” and the majority of the resources and attention goes towards those who are struggling to meet minimum requirements. In so many of our schools, the brightest of our children are, at best, having their educational needs pushed aside. Related: Discovering Giftedness | Esther’s Story The Problem with Being Gifted In A School Settingįrankly, schools as they’re run right now are failing our smartest kids. Why wasn’t his school able to fan the spark that had always been there so that his love of learning flamed up, burning brighter than ever? What had changed so drastically in the very few years that he’d been spending his days in a classroom? To pepper us with seemingly endless “did you knows.”Īnd, up until this year, he’d always loved the idea of going to school. My son had been described by previous teachers as “an extreme thinker,” “the smartest kid they’d ever taught,” and “so fun to talk to.” He loved to learn. I’m too dumb.” My sweet first grader burst into tears and ran to his room.Īnd I stood there, shocked and speechless. “I don’t ever want to go back to school, again. It was the day I realized that the system had failed my family. I’ll never forget the day that the educator in me was devastated by the very institution that I had so strongly supported for so long.
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