South Carolina Consortium for Gifted Education

GREAT post from the tn.associationforthegiftedWhat is the cost of never struggling?

For some advanced learners, school comes easily for years.

They earn high grades. They finish work quickly. They are praised for being smart.

Then one day, they encounter something they cannot do immediately.

Instead of thinking, "This is challenging. I need to try a different strategy," they think:

"Maybe I'm not as smart as everyone thought."

"If I have to work this hard, maybe I don't belong here."

"Everyone else seems to know what they're doing."

"Maybe I should just give up."

The problem is not that they encountered challenge.

The problem is that they encountered it too late.

When students are rarely given opportunities to struggle productively, they may never develop the skills that come from working through difficulty: perseverance, resilience, problem-solving, and confidence in their ability to grow.

Appropriate challenge is not about making learning harder.

It is about helping students learn an important truth:

Struggle is not a sign that you are failing.

Struggle is often a sign that you are learning.

https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1BMqLraXkr/?mibextid=wwXIfr

GREAT article from the Mensa Foundation- The Average Trap: Why Giftedness Needs the Right Environment to Thrive https://www.mensafoundation.org/the-average-trap-why-giftedness-needs-the-right-environment-to-thrive/?fbclid=IwRlRTSASXnddleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZAo2NjI4NTY4Mzc5AAEeXRtnUrQJnT9OvofiFy0_3oOrJQScW-LU5DL72DxiWe38uoOaxPRVi3qbfaw_aem_GySuZ6EhuTavL2Nxf46ieA

🌿 Healthy Support for Gifted Children

Children with gifted traits often need:

❤️ emotional safety
🌱 freedom to explore
📚 intellectual stimulation
🎨 creativity
🐾 nature and animals
🤝 understanding adults
🧭 mentors
⏳ time without pressure

The goal should not be creating “elite children,” but helping children develop into balanced, healthy, compassionate human beings.

What if boredom isn't something to eliminate, but something to embrace?

Gifted children are often accustomed to constant stimulation, enrichment, and achievement. Yet research suggests that boredom can play an important role in creativity, self-reflection, problem-solving, and innovation.

This thought-provoking article from Harvard Medicine Magazine explores the science of boredom and why unstructured time may be more valuable than we realize.

For parents and educators of gifted learners, it's a timely reminder that not every moment needs to be scheduled—and that some of our best ideas emerge when our minds have room to wander.

Read more: https://magazine.hms.harvard.edu/articles/boredom

What are your thoughts? Is boredom a barrier to learning or a catalyst for creativity?