Underachievement

I recently had the pleasure of attending a few workshops taught by Sally Reis from the University of Connecticut. She was in California for the CAG conference and I went to every session she offered!

My favorite was a session on underachievement. Dr. Reis feels that this is the biggest problem facing gifted students and it is on the increase today because bright kids are not learning to put forth effort. I can only infer that this is due to the unchallenging curriculum offered in schools due to NCLB.

Dr. Reis encounters many gifted college students who have not yet learned to study because they have cruised through school. They have gotten 100% on every test with minimal effort. Due to classrooms aimed at students who are struggling, gifted students have missed out on learning study habits as well as things such as perseverance and resilience. She told the story of a pharmacology student who got an “F” on his first test, decided he was stupid, and was then ready to drop out of school. What he needed instead, however, was to learn how to study to improve his grades. It was the first time he had received less than an “A” and he just didn’t know what to do, attributing his difficulty to his intelligence rather than a missing skill.

I was grinning broadly as Dr. Reis said that activities outside of school teach that effort matters. For years, families of second graders have come to me frustrated because their children are having a hard year. These young children often learned to read early and so kindergarten and first grade, where much of the focus is on reading, came easily to them. It is not until second grade that they realize they really need to work in school and this feels hard to them. At this point I like to recommend piano lessons or sports activities so that students can learn the value of practice. We also need to help parents understand that it is actually a blessing if schoolwork feels hard (within reason). It means that their children are being challenged and are learning life skills in the process.

Dr. Reis’ definition of “achievement” is “the act of accomplishing something of merit by means of effort, skill or perseverance.” If we use this definition, many students still have not yet accomplished anything by second grade. Though they may have gotten good grades, they have not yet accomplished anything.

Some of the most successful students I have known have been gifted students with learning differences. They have had to work hard from the beginning. They are bright but they also know how to study and they know how to put forth effort, often producing great results.

In her research on underachievement Dr. Reis found that “busier adolescents underachieve less” and that “students with regular patterns of work in music or athletics develop positive self-regulation strategies in academics.” She also found that underachievement can be reversed in 70-80% of kids. Two important factors in this reversal are parental interaction and involvement in enrichment opportunities.

So, how can we use this information to guide younger students? Acceptance and rejection letters were sent out by Nueva School last week. I have received many phone calls from parents whose children did not get in. They are at a loss as to how to proceed. With all of California’s budget cuts, GATE programs have been eliminated in many districts in the Bay Area, leaving parents of gifted students with few options. Parents feel a responsibility towards their gifted children but feel frustrated about how to meet their needs in this economy. Listening to Dr. Reis made me realize that there is one big thing we can do. We can involve our children in learning the importance of effort and perseverance. Sign your child up for music lessons or a sports team. No one gets to be an expert piano player by just sitting down at the piano. They need to put in the work to improve. This is an important lesson we can give our children at this time.




For more on this topic read, Work Left Undone: Choices and Compromises of Talented Women by Sally Reis.