Bringing Gifted Children Back to Earth, Without Popping Their Balloon!

Off and on, we have discussions about some of our learning goals in the SAGE program.  An important objective I need them to recognize is that part of my job is to help them break bad (learning/work) habits they may have acquired.  If students are able to complete the majority of their school work with ease and they rarely face work that challenges their abilities (even if this only occurs in their areas of strength) they will pick up bad habits. 

I cannot say that all gifted students develop the "bad habits" listed below, but most do to some degree.

• Many young, gifted students rarely read directions and don't discover they are doing an assignment incorrectly until they turn in their paper. 
• At this point they are often frustrated at the idea of redoing it (--especially if the assignment was below their instructional level.) 
• They will often begin to negotiate what they are or aren't going to do. (If they get by with it, then they've just begun one more habit I will need to break.)
• Some students will become "indignant" at the idea of doing the assignment over and may be perceived (accurately or not) as being disrespectful.          

• Many gifted students rush through their work.  They are all about first and most. "I got done first!" or "I got more done than anyone else!"  (Sometimes this is a case where the student is bringing their sense of athletic competition into the classroom.)
• They make careless mistakes and/or do a minimal quality of work. 
• Even if the child's work is better than everyone else in the class and even if it meets the standards of the assignment, it is not good enough if it was done in 2.2 minutes (or even 10 minutes.) 
• As a teacher, I would wonder, "What could that child accomplish if they applied themselves for 20 or 30 minutes?"  --I am referring to lessons that provide for higher order thinking skills and are somewhat open-ended (such as creative writing and project work.) 
• I have students every year who, I believe, have little or no concept of what their personal best effort is or looks like. 

I want to provide your child with some tasks that are not restricted by time.  I want them to have opportunities to focus on the quality of their work and to explore both their own potential, and the possibilities of the task.

I try very hard to make them understand that they are smart and their work is good, but when they are here, I want to see their "great."  It is difficult to get that across with out dinging their self-concept a bit.  Many of my students are used to hearing nothing but praise.   Please remind and reassure them that my constructive criticism/suggestions are intended to make them better students, not to put them down.  If you have questions or concerns about your child's perceptions, please let me know!