Pushy adults put stress on their gifted children

Photo / Paul Estcourt

Gifted children often feel pressure to over-achieve in order to excel later in life - and teachers and parents are often responsible.

More than 230 gifted teenagers met yesterday at a conference organised by the Secondary Auckland Gifted Educators (Sage) to give the students a chance to meet like-minded people, expose them to life outside high school - and address the pressures they feel to fill up their plates.

The consultant chairwoman for Sage, Sonia White, said gifted students often felt pressured to over-achieve because of a natural thirst for knowledge and curiosity.

"If there is a mountain there they want to climb it."

However, often it is the adults in their life who can be responsible for that pressure.

Educational psychologist Associate Professor Steven Little said "busy-ness" had become a status symbol that could cause anxiety.

"Young people need free time to be inventive and develop self-sufficiency rather than be constantly organised and instructed by adults," he said.

Professor Little conducted a study in the US in 2002 which showed that students who took part in extra-curricular activities felt high levels of anxiety because of pressure to excel. He said similar patterns were seen in New Zealand.

"The more they were doing, the higher status symbol they attained."

Each generation of children become more organised in the activities they do.

"Some of them have their whole life planned out for them, what was going to happen when."

The conference also heard that some gifted students hide their abilities because they don't want to stand out from their peer groups.

Ms White said the term gifted didn't necessarily mean genius. It could mean anything from being academically driven to excelling in particular areas such as music, sports or cultural activities.

"They learn a lot faster, they manage to do whatever it is a lot quicker than your average student."

Niket Shah, 14, from Pakuranga College, excels academically in maths and is also involved in various extra-curricular activities so he can improve his chances of getting into medicine.

"I try and get involved in as much stuff as I can so I can put it on my CV."

Ariana Flaherty, 17, from Westlake Girls High School, said she had never really understood what being gifted meant.

She is involved in three choirs, the philosophy club at school and takes singing lessons as well as her school work.

"I just want to fill up my time so I don't get bored," she said.

The conference was a first of its kind, but Sage plans to make it a regular occurrence.

TALENT POOL

* About 10 per cent of New Zealand children are thought to be gifted.

* Gifted students learn faster and do things quicker.

* Experts warn adults filling children's schedules may make them anxious.