I have to disagree with indigo here- my kids were certainly talented in math, but the hypercompetetive-ness of the school math league and AMC contests was very off-putting to them, beginning in 5th and 6th grade. It was enough to keep them from participating. As a matter of fact, near,y all our school’s “enrichment” was in the form of contests, bees and other competitions, the results of which were usually broadcast to the school community- a real deal-breaker for kids who are bullied for being different.
Yes I have one child in particular who would actively avoid competitions and make sure they did not get selected for any such activities. In fact there have been many years of this child making sure that they aren't noticed in the classroom. This tendency is partly personality, but I also blame the Gr1 teacher, who admitted to holding them back so as not to upset other children they were blowing past after arriving in the classroom fairly equal after a grade skip. The message was received loud and clear that they were making other kids sad or uncomfortable by whizzing through things so easily. Now great effort is put into remaining a B student.
A few years ago they took up music and have progessed from never-touched-this-instrument to approaching tertiary standard in 3.5 yrs. Which has been much easier in a 1:1 tution scenario, but there are still issues about not wanting to stand out, so certain auditions have been deliberately sabotaged. And there is no history of well developed work habits or commitment to task...
