Oh, but you wouldn't know anything about that . . .

I hear that a lot. Someone will be discussing some issue their child is having at school, and they'll turn to me and say, "Oh, but you wouldn't know anything about that. Your kids never have any problems with school." So not true. Most gifted children have as many or more problems with school as anybody else.

We have been really blessed with a superb school situation. My kids are in a K-8 Montessori school. They have had the privilege of having equally gifted teachers who recognize their abilities and know the importance of keeping them challenged. Their teachers have had the insight and flexibility to know when they need to supplement the Montessori curriculum with say, an algebra text book. But even with these advantages, we've had struggles. My children aren't like I was . . . when I was bored in the first grade, instead of getting in trouble, I pretended to be reading the same page as the rest of the class, when in actuality, I was reading, or re-reading ahead in my books. My teachers didn't recognize that I was gifted, in fact they wanted to pull me out and put me in special education for reading help because every time they called on me to read aloud, I had no idea where the rest of the class was. I was usually several pages, or chapters ahead. I did my math work and coloring with my left hand so I wouldn't finish as fast.

But keeping my children engaged, challenged and out of trouble is more difficult. Things like perfectionism, boredom, social quirks, intensities and sensitivities all result in difficulties at school. I have never worried too much about my children being adequately challenged because I knew if they needed more stimulation than they are getting at school, we have the ability to supplement their education at home. There are a lot of gifted children that don't have that at home. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be to go through life without being challenged? Knowing that you are capable of so much more than you are allowed to do?

Even in the ideal situation, gifted children can struggle with school. Just when I think everyone is getting what they need at school and at home, someone will have a crisis. And we have to reevaluate, restructure, and find another path. It's an ongoing process. Keeping gifted students engaged in school and at home is challenging, exciting, fun, overwhelming, dynamic, and constant. Some days we succeed with flying colors. Other days, not so much.