But then what is this forum about? We talk about gifted kids needing challenge. What if they feel average if they are with a bunch of other gifted kids? In my opinion, and experienced, they will work harder. They will develop the skills and study habits the average kid develops to get good grades in the run of the mill school. Kids like me, who didn't have to study to be top of the class, develop terrible study habits, there isn't that competitive edge to push yourself.
Ren
I think we all believe that a certain amount of challenge is good for our kids, but there many many different ways of creating challenge. Demanding schools are one way.
But there are many others. A lot of what we do here is share our ideas and experiences. But we also recognize that what works for one kid might be miserable for another.
I was not challenged much at all academically in high school, but took the opportunity created by not ever having much homework to try things I would not otherwise do, like run for student counsel and take tap dancing lessons. These challenges (some of which provided opportunities for true failure) were really growing experiences for me. I was able to transfer those skills quickly into academics when I got to college. It worked out fine for me.
For our son, we realized early on that we needed to provide him with opportunities to learn perseverence because academics came easily to him. We chose violin lessons when he was 5. He is not musically gifted, but he has been playing violin for 7 years now and is being invited to perform throughout the community. He worked for that and it did not come easily. He wants to keep playing, which means an hour or so of practice a day at this point (much less when he was younger). He will never be a great violinist, but he will be a competent one and that gives him pleasure. If he were in a challenging academic environment, he might not have the time or energy to keep playing. We are not willing to risk that.
I know several men who are HG+ who hated school and hated academic challenge. They wanted to learn because they were curious. They never needed to be pushed to learn or learn-how-to-learn, because their drive is intrinsic. They resented schools trying to teach them because they already had their own goals which were different than the school's. One is a self-taught airplane mechanic, another a farmer, and another a ship's captain. They are all successful and highly respected. They would have been miserable in any kind of formal schooling, even one for highly gifted. I suspect homeschool would have made their childhoods less painful, but it was not an option when they were young.
So, yes, we talk about challenge, but we also talk about how to get the best fit. And personality, values of the family, and availability of options are all very important as well.
