I think it pays to remember that kids are resiliant. For that reason, I am virtually never swayed by the argument "I went through [some horrible thing] and I turned out okay." Yes, kids survive innumerable indignities, even horrors, and some grow to be well-adjusted adults. That doesn't meant those indignities and horrors are okay though! They turn out okay in spite of the indignities and horrors.
I am completely sympathetic to being unsure about whether to advocate or not, and there's no blanket answer.
IMHO, if your child is unhappy, something probably has to be done. What needs to be done is wide open, but I think unhappiness is a pretty big sign that advocacy is necessary.
Personally, I think that even if your GT child is happy remaining unchallenged at school, you need to at least consider finding ways to keep your child challenged, outside of school if not in school. Many kids who are never challenged have the same problem that kimck's husband: no idea about how to study, no idea about how to handle something that isn't easy. I do not think this is a desireable result.
So I guess what I'm saying is that if your child isn't challenged in school, then I think the only option I wouldn't recommend is doing nothing at all. Advocate, afterschool, check other schooling options...but just ignoring the problem is not something that seems like a good idea to me, generally speaking.
FWIW...
