Should we Care Less About Academically Gifted Children? Gifted Students Have Social and Emotional Needs too.

This Harmful Quote

Do we need to care less about whether a child is academically gifted?

This harmful quote is pervasive throughout social media. I’ve seen it shared hundreds if not thousands of times. Every single time I see it my stomach lurches, my blood boils and my pulse speeds up. It infuriates me! And I am not alone. Each time I see it, I tentatively look at the comments, and what I most often see are people like me who KNOW that this kid sitting alone in the cafeteria is actually most likely the students who is academically gifted.

It suggests that people think being gifted makes them better. Which simply ISN’T true! gifted isn’t better; it’s different. And students who are gifted need to have their social and emotional needs met too.

The Fact Is…

The fact is, students who are intellectually gifted experience social isolation. Students who are academically gifted struggle to understand and feel understood by their same age peers. I’ll say it again, gifted isn’t better; it’s different. Gifted students tend to have intellectual and emotional sensitivities that can cause them to stand out from their same aged peers. They can appear socially awkward. This often results in their peers rejecting them. Finding like-minded peers who share their interests is often a struggle for gifted students, and they can end up sitting alone at lunch time. It is important that we cater to the social emotional needs of gifted students.

Social Isolation and Gifted Students

A student who is gifted often feels as if they don’t fit in. This make them more likely to mask (hide) their gifted traits in order to fit in socially. This leads to a culture of underachievement, particularly in girls who are at risk of going “underground” and hiding their abilities. In fact (Rimm, 2005) found that girls in middle school felt that social pressures interfered with their desire to perform well at school. Gifted students who feel like no one understands them tend to have anxiety and social struggles. If you’re unsure how to helps a gifted student socially, the answer is through finding like-minded peers.

What Can YOU Do?

Please don’t share that insidious quote on social media! Share this blog post instead.

Ask yourself: Is that child sitting alone in the cafeteria gifted? And how can I find them some like-minded friends who share their interests?

If you need some help recognising the traits of giftedness in your students; you can read this blog post or download a FREE checklist here.