The Epidemic of Former 'Gifted' Kids

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[thatoneidiot]

I wasn’t really gifted at school, but up until middle school I could put very little effort in because the structure of a class is exactly the best way I learn- listening with some visual aids is just perfect for my brain (ie why I’m lowkey addicted to video essays) I think the kids who weren’t “gifted” just had a different learning style/ school was a shitty place to learn. The gifted kids are just the lucky ones school was designed for.

[bruhchannel]

the "i really just knew how to read a little bit faster than the other kids" hit harder than it shoudl have

[blackmageevangeline]

In my experience, my parents thought I was so smart because I learned to read early and really enjoyed it. That made me super arrogant and led to me giving up anytime I didn't instantly get something. I didn't have to study most of the time, but I also just wouldn't even if I needed to, because if my "gift" didn't help me get it, then it was hopeless anyways. It set my work ethic and social development back years imo.

[irisv_d_h]

dude, my family would always make fun of me for being so stressed about exams bc i'd always end up with a really high grade. as if that stress didn't result in me studying an unhealthy amount, thus getting me a ridiculously high grade, like?? i didn't get that result from doing nothing

anyway i had to stop going to uni this year bc i burnt out so hard lol

[UFOhhhNooo]

Seriously, the older I get, the more obvious it becomes that the real intelligence and “giftedness” exists in the people who get shit done. They don’t always get it right, they probably weren’t amazing students, they probably aren’t the most talented professionals, but they have the mental and emotional flexibility to try something over and over again, incorporating others’ feedback with minimal damage to their own self concept. (Granted, that “flexibility” can just be the result of having a strong financial and emotional safety net while most of us are raw dogging life on hard mode, but that’s a whole ‘nother tangent.) The most successful people in my life are the ones who were mediocre students at best. They prioritized social relations, and ultimately that’s all that matters when you’re part of a highly social species. Feels like we “gifted” kids would have been better off as amoebas. 😬

[definitelynotashark]

Oh look, a personal attack! 🤧

I went from "gifted" to "lazy" and "wasting my potential" real quick lmao and now I'm finally diagnosed autistic and ADHD and gifted and can't do shit with that knowledge because I can barely function day to day, and I can't get on any sort of disability because I need to be employed full time because otherwise I'll lose my visa 💃🏻

[susanollington]

Burned out in high school because the only reason people thought I was gifted because I worked harder than others. Had to learn how to cope with a pass mark in university that I got because I took time for my mental health

[margaretannemuria]

I'd say I'm both. I was called really smart as a kid but couldn't get into the honor's class. Impressed a lot of adults because I say a lot of smart things for a 7 year old. But too slow and easily distracted to get any work done.

As an adult, people still see me as really smart for being a yapper, but I need to clarify to them that I'm more of a smart*ss than what they'd traditionally expect as smart. I do really well on the beginning of the semester with grades above 90 but then burnout by the end of it with almost failing one of my subjects.

[ham_ham]

the thing i noticed was that as a 'gifted kid' i was much more ill-equipped to handle criticism than those i knew who were not 'gifted.'

[maitele]

I can't even recall being called "gifted." I have the experience of it - i never had to study for tests, etc - but what i do know is that whatever gift i had was not in my work ethic. Punctuality and home-work of all types remain near insurmountable hurdles for me.

I sure can think good, but action is different, and god *damnit* has that mismatch turned me into an absolute lunatic. Im only reaching this clarity through the unmatched power of 10mg lexapro. Its a mess out here

[SpaceChannelDelta]

The ability to humble yourself enough to be bad/mediocre at something is the first step to eventually being maybe actually pretty good at something. Literally the only reason I've been consistent at learning how to draw lol.

[korvet]

I come from a family where every kid is gifted. (not kidding, it's some genetic almost eidetic memory thing that makes us all appear smarter than we are). Being several grades ahead in most subjects was common for every one of me and my siblings and cousins.
Thankfully none of us were ever moved up grades, because it was our family culture to see school as something to develop the child's SOCIAL skills rather than intellect. There had been so many in the family who were isolated due to their intelligence that parents, aunts, and uncles cared a LOT more about us being able to make genuine connections than our grades.
Basically, my family was a generation ahead of the whole 'gifted child' thing, and so those former gifted kids raised us counter to the whole thing. It worked for most of the kids, but we ran into a new issue - the kids were used to skating by in school with a photographic memory and having to apply the knowledge rather than just memorize it hit us all pretty hard during the last year or so of college going into grad school.
Guess I'm gonna be focusing a lot more on comprehension than memorization for my kids and see how they turn out....

[sassygrilledcheese]

I was put on a huuuuge pedestal as a kid and teen by my parents (god love them) and I wasn't even talented lmaooo

[empyrea_]

10:22 I really wanna pick up drawing as a hobby but the being shit at it stage is killing me😭
I wanna be good immediately

[blinkysparkz]

Former extremely average kid to what appears to be a gifted adult. I'm not really, I'm still average, I just seem to be the only one at my job who knows how to Google solutions to Excel problems and that somehow improves my worth

[megan]

absolutely in the club where i learned to read quickly and did well thru high school and then struggled majorly in college without as much structure and esp w writing essays...intellectually i could understand readings but getting past the executive dysfunction to do my work was a slog, thank god i'm never going back to school and can just read new things when i want on my own time

[hank_]

Dude this felt like therapy bc damn it unlocked some shit for me for real.

[Starsongzz]

Watching this as the opposite of a former gifted child to see what the ~other side~ is like (failed algebra 2 AND astronomy, not to brag or anything 😌😌😌) But seriously though, I grew up feeling so freaking mediocre because I wasn’t super good at anything that can be measured by numbers or make money 🤷🏾 I think the last academic feat I accomplished was when I scored the highest grade on a reading test we were given in the 5th grade. But that was probably because I had to go to summer school yearly, as my reading was so behind, initially. I’ve taken remedial math classes in high school, and I still can’t do basic math except for like adding and subtracting and multiplying, dividing is still tricky🥴🥴🥴 every award I’ve been given was for my willingness to try and devote my time towards success, not for being inherently better academically. But it’s taken me into my 20s to realize I’ve always been good at things that people don’t give enough of a shit about. Like I am really good at perceiving the feelings of others, and making them feel heard. I have been told countless times that people seek me out specifically to talk to about hardships they’re facing. Even as a 6th grader, I remember making friends with an 8th grader who was deeply in need of being heard. Although at the time, I didn’t understand the gravity of what she was facing. I just knew she needed someone. I love buying gifts for people, and I’m really good at it. I’ve been told I’m good at getting something they have been wanting or really enjoyed. I have so many strengths that I haven’t appreciated enough just because they can’t be applied to the corporate world. And that isn’t fair to me. And even still…I am smart, I’m actually really smart. I see people, I have common sense, I have strong intuition, and I can find a way to make things work. I have finally learned I don’t need a trophy confirming that.

[NosManJr]

I personally was the smartest kid in the special ED class and that's on set 😤

[anemoinsanity]

There was a literal meeting in my school that only “gifted” kids were allowed to attend. I was one of them. It was based on this thing called CAT4 (I think, I’m not really sure I remember correctly) which measured reading and comprehension, mental math, your ability to imagine and manipulate stuff in your head, and one other thing I can’t remember. Not a single thing about social interactions, which is also the one thing my teachers and parents constantly bring up. I feel like getting the “gifted” label just traps you on a podium and nothing short of being exceptional in anything is allowed (I know this probably isn’t true, but it’s what I internalised early on and I am yet to un-internalise it).