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Was/Is anyone else on TSR labelled as 'gifted'...

...and how did it affect you?

Personally, I was thought to be a 'gifted' child at school (not a subtle brag) and I have to say that it's been a terrible experience for me. I always suffered from extremely high expectations as a child (and good performance was normally expected from me, rather than being praised for it) which normally led to me feeling inadequate as I couldn't live up to the standards that everyone placed for me. Worst of all, I've always been terrible lazy and still have a terrible work ethic simply because I could just coast through classes without much work on my behalf.

Discuss.

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Reply 1

Reue

Yup, got labelled with it at primary school. Fortunately Labour won the next general election and began their Education Education Education campaign which focused on trying to force everyone into university beginning with secondary education efforts solely aiming at the C/D GCSE boundary. Anyone above this was largely forgotten. Thank you Tony Blair.

Reply 2

Cormac Easton

Original post by Reue

Oh boo hoo

A system whereby the students who needed the most help received it. Who'd have thunk it? Give me a break love. :rolleyes:

You can't blame your failed academic endeavors on the government.

Reply 3

Reue

Original post by Cormac Easton

Oh boo hoo

A system whereby the students who needed the most help received it. Who'd have thunk it? Give me a break love. :rolleyes:

You can't blame your failed academic endeavors on the government.

You appear to have misunderstood the sentiment of my response. I'm thanking Blair + Co for saving me from the high expectations OP had to endure :wink:

Reply 4

interstitial

tbh i have pretty much the same problem as op

people expect me to do perfectly on everything but as much as i try to explain to my parents that it doesn't work like that, i'm met with 'you're supposed to be smart, why didn't you know that?' in a way, i guess that being labelled as gifted reduced my drive to work hard because i felt as if i would inevitably success because of the label itself

the worst thing is that i feel as if i can never fail at anything, which makes it all the worse when i inevitably end up flopping stuff to the extent that i've stopped trying some thing just because i'm afraid of rejection and failure

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 5

silentshadows

Original post by Reue

...

Sarcasm or...?

Original post by Arithmeticae

...

Yeah, this is exactly my point. I'm always really lazy and never really work hard for much, which will probably screw me over for things later in life that actually do require some effort on my behalf (going to uni seems like a big one at the moment).

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 6

Fullofsurprises

Quite a few people I knew at college had been labelled along those lines when young. I think it's the kind of thing that can work different ways - sometimes it's a real disadvantage, because it can attract critical attacks and marginalising from other kids and lead to a sense of isolation and also because some people who have had a lot of attention and praise for their innate abilities when growing up can be very disappointed or frustrated when older and not receiving the same level of affirmation. It can be a plus though for some people if their parents, friends and teachers have a good understand of it and place high expectations on the student without lauding them to the rooftops and making them feel like they are superior.

Reply 7

iammeyouareyou

I thought that was one of the set requirements if you wanted to join TSR :tongue:

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 8

VioletPhillippo

I don't like it when some teachers and peers think that I'm just 'born clever' and I don't even have to try at all. This is far from the truth as I have to work really hard to be in the position I am and I feel under pressure to do well in everything all the time which is impossible and unhealthy. :smile:

Reply 9

Tarte Tatin

Yeah. So far, it's had a positive effect on me because I get informed about upcoming opportunities all the time. Another good thing is that the teachers don't even know that I'm in the gifted group, so I don't get put under any more pressure than any other students. I've had to work hard for my grades though.

Reply 10

BullViagra

I was given the "gifted and talented" label in secondary school which was nice to see in the register. I was glad about it, even despite that i was nowehre near well behave as the other "gifted" kids, I was given a lot of opportunities that have now become proud achievements on my CV. I'm also attending a selective sixth form etc and that label probably contributed to that.

I never let it give me any pressure, if I wasn't bothered with a mock test I didnt bother with it for the sake of living up to any expectation. Towards the end of year 11 I got mostly D's and E's in my mocks until I got most straight A's in my GCSE's.

Aside from that, I was called "gifted" in writing, "gifted" in french and when I was like 4-5 I was "gifted" in drawing cars which was cool.

The word "gifted" sounds funny to me now after writing that, like it's some olde anglo-saxon word, lol.

(edited 9 years ago)

Reply 11

DiddyDec01

Long ago I was labelled "gifted", but severely lazy. I have been a constant disappointment ever since.

I don't care what other people think. Why should you?

Reply 12

Octohedral

Yep, at primary school. We got invited to go to 'special gifted and talented courses' at a place called Braeside.

I was good at maths, but - being 9 - I chose to go on the survival course instead, and spend the weekend building rafts (mine sank) and sleeping in tents built by 9 year olds. It was awesome.

Reply 13

loperdoper

I was labelled gifted and talented and got to go to a bunch of cool events because of it in early secondary school. Throughout secondary school, I slowly fell off all these registers and became more and more apathetic.

Strangely enough, I under-performed at GCSE (when I was predicted all A*/A), and then did unexpectedly well at AS, so I suppose I work better without pressure.

Reply 14

Shadoo

Gotta love the pressure. :smile:

Reply 15

yo radical one

Yes of course, but it means nothing to me.

At the same time, I was often on report and constantly in trouble, the thing is, I am not even bad, never bully people who are weak or anything.

Reply 16

Fullofsurprises

Original post by yo radical one

Yes of course, but it means nothing to me.

At the same time, I was often on report and constantly in trouble, the thing is, I am not even bad, never bully people who are weak or anything.

It's not uncommon that v. intelligent kids are 'in trouble' with teachers, they rightly see through a lot of the foolishness behind school authority and silly rules and see little merit in doing homework when they don't need to (for example).

Reply 17

Safiya122

my little brother is 7 and he's seen as a gifted and talented student though

Reply 18

TimmonaPortella

Well, yes, but I didn't really work until A levels -- until then I was 'gifted and wasting it'. At that stage I became plain old 'gifted and talented'.

Many people on here will have been, obviously. The bar is not generally enormously high.

Original post by Cormac Easton

Oh boo hoo

A system whereby the students who needed the most help received it. Who'd have thunk it? Give me a break love. :rolleyes:

Sure, those who need help should receive it, but it's as important that those with high potential reach it than that those with lower potential reach theirs. (Often more important, imho; for some people academia is just not going anywhere, although that argument applies less strongly at GCSE because you just need GCSEs for jobs etc.)

Original post by loperdoper

I was labelled gifted and talented and got to go to a bunch of cool events because of it in early secondary school.

'Cool events'? Such as?

Reply 19

yo radical one

Original post by Fullofsurprises

I don't even agree with that that it makes me intelligent, you get badly behaved children who would bully people and do the most stupid things and they were not necessarily the most able, but looking back I do think that some of the rules were not quite cruel, but were sinister - in the adult world you would never accept some of these things. Referring to teachers as "Sir" or Mr. Lastname, having to ask to go to the toilet, I am not of Catholic background but I went to Catholic schools and at primary school we had compulsory masses which were questionable to say the least. A variety of derogatory sermons, which targeted, Atheists, Jews and Pagans.