Problems and challenges of the gifted adolescent: School-related problems of the gifted adolescent

Abstract: Among non-gifted adolescents school-related problems might include school pressure, such as lack of learning motivation, concentration problems, lack of interest, or just laziness. The nongifted might prefer to do fun things, such as spend time with friends rather than activities that have been chosen for them by responsible adults. Very often this is not the situation for gifted adolescents. Many of them actually like learning, love working hard in order to accomplish cognitive tasks, and wish to have more and more difficult subjects they can absorb themselves in. However, too often they cannot do it in their regular classes; many a time not even in their special gifted groups. Some of the most frequent school-related problems gifted adolescents are likely to cope with are acceleration of their studies, choosing a suitable learning track and make early decisions about academic studies, the difficulty of enduring boredom, negative attitude of peers, high expectations, or the pressure “not to neglect one's giftedness”, school discipline and self-discipline problems, the difficulty to understand others, problems related to introversion, perfectionism, as well as impatience and intolerance.