I guess I just wonder if these gifted lists are skewed toward malcontents?
While articles such as
The Parenting and Education of Gifted Students by Jan Davidson Ph.D. are positive and informative regarding gifted traits and identification of the gifted, it is mentioned that "
unchallenged bright students are at risk for frustration, depression, underachievement, and often give up on school as a place of learning" and that they may exhibit "
an inability to concentrate on a task that is not intellectually challenging, including repetitious ideas or material presented in small pieces."
These traits are not describing malcontents, but are raising awareness of the unfortunate impacts of a learning environment which does not "fit". This information helps alert parents and teachers to signs and symptoms, and also offers suggestions on providing a stimulating, challenging, supportive learning environment.
Not all children react that way. Some, especially girls, just fade into the class. Think about it - the squeaky wheel gets the grease, and the child with behavioural issues gets the testing. Those kids are malcontents because of their IQ, but having a high IQ does not always make you a malcontent.
Of course, these kids (often girls) don't ever learn to work or struggle or overcome adversity, which is a problem in later life, but in school they don't make themselves obvious. I can't tell you how many sweet, gentle calm high IQ kids I know who were tested because a sibling was having issues at school.
