The Truths and Myths of Being Gifted

Being gifted has it’s ups and downs and misconceptions. There are a lot of things people assume about  gifted students , most of them being myths. There’s more to being gifted than what meets the eye.

Being gifted comes with its ups and downs. When you’re gifted certain things are easier for you to learn than others. Learning is quicker and clearer. Also, if you’re in a gifted and talented program, you get new experiences and projects. I still remember some of the cool projects and trips I took in elementary school when I was in a gifted and talented program. But, being gifted has its cons too. When you’re gifted people start to make assumptions and high expectations for you. I’m always expected to be perfect, to get all A’s, to be a role model for others, and to not mak mistakes. Eventually, there’s a lot of pressure and it feels like people are waiting for me to mess up. Another downside is that people make fun of you. People are always saying I‘m in all the “smart kid classes” and make other remarks. Now that I’m older most of my friends know that I’m smart and don’t tease me but I don’t like telling people I’m in G&T because of how they will react and how they’ll expect me to know everything.

There are many myths about Gifted kids.  Some myths according to the National Assosiation for Gifted Children are that gifted students make everyone else in the class smarter by providing a role model or a challenge and that gifted students don’t need help;they’ll do fine on their own. I agree with NAGC that these are myths. The truth is that most students don’t even pay much attention to gifted kids. They think we know too much already so they don’t try to be like us because our expectations are high. The only time people come to me in class is to ask if they can copy my homework, I highly doubt they’d try to be like us or that we have that much of an affect on them. Second, just because a student is gifted or talented doesn’t mean they are gifted at everything. There are classses that I do better in than others. Gifted kids don’t know everything  and need help just like any other student. Another similar myth that goes along with this is that gifted kids are self-directed, they know where they are heading.This isn’t always true. Lastly, another myth given by familyeducation is that all gifted kids are high acheivers; they don’t have to work for grades. This is far from true. I work hard on my school work and if I don’t study for a test I’ll fail just like any other student would.

There are some people, though, who understand the needs of gifted children. For example,  family education states “Gifted kids who do well in school may define success as getting an "A" and failure as any grade less than an "A." By early adolescence they may be unwilling to try anything where they are not certain of guaranteed success.”  When I first read this I was surprised because it was like they read my mind. Ever since 3^rd grade when we started to get letter grades, I was expected to get good grades. “Good grades” meant that I had to get an A and anything less was a disappiontment. Once again, like the words were taken right out of my mouth, family education wrote “Gifted kids are often perfectionistic and idealistic and may equate achievement and grades with self-esteem and self-worth. This can lead to fear of failure and can interfere with their achievement in and out of school.” Whatever I’m doing I always try my best in fear of failing and disappointing. I get even more nervous when I play sports because if I don’t succeed and I make a mistake, I’;m not only letting myself down I’m letting my team down.  The last truth was written by byrdseed and it sums up my thoughts pretty well: “Not only are they dealing with the usual trials of growing up, they are often doing it with an increased awareness of their faults, a frustration with being unable to do everything well, and a world that often doesn’t know what to do with them. Worse, they often lack the emotional tools to accompany their increased awareness.”

In conclusion, there’s more to being gifted than getting good grades. Being gifted comes with high expectations and great amounts of pressure. Based on this post, being gifted doesn’t sound like much fun but it can be. Even though I have a burden on my shoulders, I use the high expectations and set goals for myself and even though I’m pressured I don’t know if I would be getting as good of the grades I do know if I wasn’t pushed to excel. Being gifted comes with its difficulties but I get to see life in a different perspective and I with classes like this I get to learn and experience new and exciting things.