Bullying and the Gifted

Excerpt of article posted in Psychology Today by author and educator Christopher Taibbi.

…For many gifted students, there is a more severe and serious issue that threatens them the first days and weeks of school. They know it’s there because they have encountered it before. Many of the students I see in my position have described it this way: they don’t really “belong”; that they are merely “floating along” as the year progresses, not a “real part of the class”, an “add-on.” It’s demoralizing enough that many of our gifted students may feel this way, but it is made so much worse when others in the room pick up on these feelings and actually turn on the gifted student. We’re talking here about bullying.

So what to do? My answer may surprise you here because, contrary to others’ advice, I would suggest the solution might best begin first at home, and then at the school. You—as a parent, mentor, guardian—are an invaluable asset to your child.

Read here for his advice on what a parent can do.