Ever wondered why your highly intelligent child is not performing well in school?Be prepared to be surprised because your child could be in considerable trouble.He/she might not be prepared to put in more effort in higher grades,might not know how to put in the effort or might just not be ready to accept the fact that schoolwork is actually taking up so much effort!Such a situation could result in your children falling behind in coursework , underperforming and teachers might just blatantly ignoring all the talent.Don’t lose heart.
Apparently,all it takes to help your child in such a scenario is a bit of understanding , a good mentor and keeping in mind the following:
Skipping grades never help.Although the child might still do well academically,personal life suffers a lot and leads to the development of a number of complex personality disorders(It is hard for children to be in class full of students who are much older and hence into puberty when they are not).
Never put too much importance on “smartness”. Smartness doesn’I necessarily translate into good grades.Success has a recipe and many ingredients go into it.Hard work and perseverance need to be emphasized on.
Encourage them to take up an independent project that will help stimulate their intellect and use all the extra time they have. Highly gifted children solve a variety of complex academic problems much faster and more thoroughly than their peers leaving them with a lot of time to kill.Encouraging such children to participate in a project of their own choice can help them greatly.Offer a variety of topics of interest and let them give a presentation to the entire class and the teacher.Their level of understanding might surprise you and other children in the class benefit from thus activity as well!
Allow them to follow a course curriculum meant for older children in a subject of their choice. This might not always be possible in a school so be prepared to guide your children yourself or introduce him/her to a mentor.