Gifted student not applying herself

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amother

OP ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:02 pm

What are some methods you use in order to help students that are gifted reach their full potential and focus on their school work for middle school age child that would rather play and talk with their friends?

amother

Fern

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:04 pm

How are their grades? Are they doing well? Gifted students might be bored in class, which is why they'll goof around instead of focusing and concentrating. They might be under stimulated.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:05 pm

Grades are mostly b sometimes A but has potential for A

amother

Navyblue

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:08 pm

The issue is usually boredom and lack of stimulation. As a a gifted student that didn’t do well in younger grades because I was too bored to apply myself I say just let it be.

amother

Tomato

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:23 pm

I was gifted student whose emotional needs were not being met. On the outside I looked very "normal" and no one would have guessed. I totally didn't apply myself, I was in school to have fun and that was all. Eventually I decided it was worth my while and then I turned over a new leaf on my own. I have two sisters who went through the same thing, just realizing now as I'm typing this up. Wow. Point is, there can be a lot going on.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:24 pm

amother [ Tomato ] wrote:

Thank you for your insight I will definitely pay more attention

mushkamothers

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:44 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

Reach full potential is not the same as doing school work.

amother

↑ OP ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 4:48 pm

mushkamothers wrote:

Reach full potential is not the same as doing school work.

Pls elaborate

amother

Brass

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 5:11 pm

What age and grade?

Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 5:43 pm

What sparks her interest? Hone in on that and capitalize.
One kid of mine who usually doesn't reach potential in the school setting had a teacher one year who had him turn all their learnings in halacha into PowerPoints to share with the class. It made him need to focus and gave him computer time which was worth gold to him.

I had a teacher who realized I loved researching and learning more and making connections and I'd get mini research assignments during class to enhance the material that was being presented. That was in high school though.

amother

Crocus

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 6:13 pm

I wasn't gifted per se but I also was able to get Bs without trying for most of my school years. Turns out really I had ADHD which was missed because of my grades. As the work got much harder I started having a couple C's sprinkled in but it still wasn't enough to make anyone concerned. In a way I wish I had done worse so I could have been diagnosed and started on meds. I really would have been a different student.

amother

Red

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 6:31 pm

amother [ Tomato ] wrote:

I had this exact experience. As a younger child I excelled and participated in all the gifted programs but as I got older the emotional issues from home were too much and I checked out and stopped trying in school. I eventually got my act together to graduate and go on to college and grad school but it was a rough few years. I was called an underachiever but really it was depressing to work so hard (straight A’s) in gifted programs snd not be acknowledged or have my emotional needs met at home.

amother

Nasturtium

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 7:37 pm

amother [ Navyblue ] wrote:

The issue is usually boredom and lack of stimulation. As a a gifted student that didn’t do well in younger grades because I was too bored to apply myself I say just let it be.

I was the same way.
I was often bored in class and didn’t bother putting effort into my grades, even though I knew I could easily get straight As. Grades just wasn’t something I ever cared about, even though I did enjoy learning.
Some of my teachers let me quietly do my own thing when I got bored, like read magazines or leave the classroom to air out.
Another option, if she’s interested, cud be to find out what does interest her, and help her explore those subjects on her own. Maybe she likes science and wud njoy doing experiments or reading books on biology, or maybe she likes numbers and wud njoy complicated math topics that aren’t part of the curriculum… if she’s interested in the subject and can get material that challenges her, then she might start enjoying to learn.
It cud be there’s something serious going on that needs to be addressed, but it cud be she’s just a gifted student that doesn’t fit the standard learning mold.

amother

Mimosa ↓

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 7:58 pm

I have a gifted DD with ADHD, and there are a few things that pique her interest.

1) Novelty. New material, the feeling of moving forward and covering ground.

2) Being ahead. She is motivated when she knows she's learning things that are way ahead of the class.

3) A teaching style that invites students to participate. She loves to raise her hand even when she doesn't know the right answer.

4) Unexpected connections or apparent contradictions with material learned previously in a different context.

5) Celebrating milestones of accomplishments. She loves siyumim and prizes and that kind of thing.

Maybe some of these can help you with your student. Hatzlacha.

amother

↑ OP

Thu, Jan 06 2022, 8:00 pm

amother [ Mimosa ] wrote:

Thank you this is 😃

shofar

Fri, Jan 07 2022, 5:49 am

Zipporah Osrin works with kids like these on the educational, emotional and sensory fronts. Her website is giftedspace.com

balance

Mon, Jan 17 2022, 2:25 pm

amother [ OP ] wrote:

The most important thing is for these students to keep their interest in learning. Pique their curiosity out of school hours so that they see that learning is interesting and stimulating and then they'll come to it in school time on their own. The issue comes into place when they see all learning as boring so they switch off from learning completely. That's very hard to remedy.

amother

Razzmatazz

Mon, Jan 17 2022, 2:52 pm

Please give her more advanced work and HOLD HER RESPONSIBLE for it. That is the only way she can learn work ethic.

↑ Hashem_Yaazor ↓

Mon, Jan 17 2022, 3:35 pm

I disagree with that approach. I'm sure I'm not the only mother who would hear complaints from her children that it's not fair that they have harder work just because they do well.

Having them want to expand on their learning is crucial but it has to come from their willpower.

amother

Daffodil

Mon, Jan 17 2022, 5:28 pm

I was this girl. I was even tested for learning disabilities because I was totally disengaged - and was found to be at a college level in middle school in all english subjects. Every year I got to hear my parents tell me that the teachers all said that I wasn't reaching my potential, but I was bored out of my mind. I thought the subject matter was silly, I saw students with poor assignments do better than me because some teachers decided to grade me at the level they thought I could achieve and not grade level. I was miserable socially because I used a different vocabulary and stood out like a sore thumb. I gave up. I read the textbooks and encyclopedias because I thought they were interesting, but no matter how hard I tried I realized I couldn't escape the "not full potential" PTA report.

I gave up.

I stopped handing in exams and papers. I started cutting class. I didn't graduate high school. I didn't go to seminary.

I recall with great fondness the teachers who didn't say "not applying herself," and instead focused on my strengths and positives. One teacher saw I loved reading and made me librarian assistant, and I spent hours each week in the library with her talking. Another teacher saw I had a gift for writing and offered to edit the stories that I would write on my own and offered constructive feedback. One teacher invited me to her for meals and she and her family were so warm and kind. The connection with those teachers kept me frum - even though I lost track and haven't been in touch with them since.

A couple of years after that, I decided to prove to myself that I do have a brain. I went to college, quickly finished multiple degrees with a 4.0 GPA, and now have a good job BH.

Just wanted to give you the perspective of a girl who was always marked as "not applying herself." You have the potential to change the life of this girl!

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