I wish I had a nickel for every female here who softly 'lived down' to the expectations others had of her and appeared happy as a child, but is raw inside as an adult with all that gift bouncing around without a talent to channel it through.
Parents of girls have a huge responsibility to insure that the wallpaper they place their daughters in front of is a good match for their dds.
Grinity
This was definitely my DD. She was happy, had many friends, and loved going to school. Everyone thought she was really shy, since she rarely talked during class time or raised her hand to offer answers. Even around her friends outside of school she tended toward more demure. But we noticed that the work was way below her academic level and so we pushed first for a subject acceleration and then a grade acceleration. And we are so glad that we did. Not only was the work more appropriate (although, truthfully, easy again after a few weeks), but my DD really blossomed. She started answering questions in class and volunteering information and made new friends who were truly her peers! It was as if she now felt free to be herself and share herself rather than feeling as if she had to hide who she was to fit in. Seeing her blossom and become the funny, outgoing, quirky kid who fits in so well with her older friends has truly been glorious to watch. And if we'd never asked to have her classwork match her abilities, I'm not sure we'd ever have seen the true her!
