What to Do if Your Child Isn’t Challenged Enough At School, Lalitha Murali, WATG Board Member

One of the most common reasons for children to complain about boredom is that the material is not challenging enough.  Especially students who are academically ahead of schedule tend to describe themselves as bored and frustrated.  As a gifted and talented teacher in a public school, I come across situations like this on a daily basis.  These children are gifted and they have abilities beyond the level of work that is being assigned.  Some of these children may not do all their homework or may make a lot of careless mistakes in it, but they do better on tests.

How can you identify whether your child is under-challenged or not?

• These students do very little studying, yet they get good grades.
• They will perform poorly in areas of strong ability
• Sloppy and disorganized work, with no interest in improving
• Avoidance of study in subjects in which he’s previously shown strong interest
• Speeding through his work
• Extensive reading in class

If you see any of the above symptoms, you can ask to have him/her tested for giftedness.  It is very important for advanced learners to spend time with their peers in an isolated setting on various projects or they should be accelerated one grade level if they are exceptionally bright or they should be accelerated in a single subject where they have exceptional abilities.

Parents can do fun and exciting projects outside of school and set up lots of ways for their child to learn.  If students are allowed to express their feelings, get a lot of attention, and exposed to interesting projects, they will do well and be successful in the long run.  For instance, in school, the teacher can help the child select books for more advanced readers, look into dual enrollment, advanced grade placement for a specific subject, or whole grade acceleration.  For high school students, one can explore college-level coursework, from AP courses to credit-granting classes at a local college.

“Every child should have the opportunity to struggle with challenging content.  Gifted children should have content with rigor, depth, and complexity,” says Sally Walker, Executive Director of Illinois Association for Gifted Children. This is important not just to keep your child engaged, but also to teach him/her to apply herself.  “Otherwise, children may get the mistaken idea that because they are smart, they should not have to work hard.”

There isn’t one way to make things work for gifted children.  Each of us needs to assess our child’s needs and chart an educational path that will be challenging and rewarding.  In doing so, we provide our kids with an environment to deepen their knowledge and develop the confidence to succeed.

(excerpt derived from https://www.noodle.com/articles/what-to-do-if-your-child-isnt-challenged-enough-at-school)

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