"You're a genius!" - Dealing with Gifted Kids

In my blog description and welcome post, you'll see I'm a freshman in high school. But I'm already taking one college-level English course and math two years ahead of where I should be. Next year I'll be taking two college classes and two AP classes. You could say I'm smart. I've never been prodigious, though. Far from it at times. I'm getting a C in my advanced algebra 2 class. But I've been in dome sort of a gifted and talented or enrichment program my whole life, so I know the ins and outs of smart kids. After remembering my frustration in elementary school, I thought I'd share some tips with the teachers of the internet.

First of all, smart kids get frustrated. Easily. With a lot of things. Stupid people is a big one. (Seriously, you're like, "it's super simple, you just add two to both sides and divide by three." Abd they're like "... wut." After you've explained it a billion times.) Also, when a smart kid is used to always being able to do stuff easily, and then suddenly they can't do something, it frustrates them. A lot. Which leads into my next point...

So there is this kid in your class, and you realize that they are smarter than the rest, so you decide to give them some more challenging work. Woah woah woah. Stop right there. It's not that easy. Especially in upper elementary, smart kids have gotten 100s (or As or sparkly alligators or whatever your highest mark is) their entire lives. They are used to being the best and school being easy. (This can sometimes make them extremely cocky. You've been warned.) The transition into gifted education is going to be a tough one. Easing a child into more challenging work is the way to go. Make sure they're prepared, and know what is going on. Most likely, they'll realize the work is fun soon enough, and trust me, they will enjoy being challenged. Which coincidentally leads into my next point...

The kid needs to be challenged. I cannot stress this enough. If a kid in your class gets everything right on all of his tests, is he/she really learning? Sure, they're absorbing what you tell them, but they can't apply it to better their lives since it's so easy peasy. My mantra is that if you have a 4.0 GPA, you're not being challenged enough. This concept is simple, and doesn't need much explanation.

Sometimes kids don't want to tell you stuff is easy, or they'll mess up because they don't want to be 'different'. Check in with your class. Ask if things are too easy just as much as you ask if they are too hard. Overall, most of the time, smart kids need to be treated just as differently as the slow kids are.

Too sum up everything, your average above-average kid is going to be independent, eager to learn, and occasionally outgoing and slightly cocky. But don't fear them, or send them away for every subject. From experience, no kid likes being reminded that they "are a genius!"

Above all, your gifted kid is still just a kid. A special kid that learns at their own pace. But a kid.

***
How do you deal with your little smarties?

Miss Lena