How Can Stress Hurt a Gifted Students Self-esteem?
During the early years, school may be easy, with minimum effort required for success. If students are not challenged, they conclude that “giftedness” means instant learning, comprehension, and mastery, and that outstanding achievement follows naturally. As years pass, however, schoolwork becomes more difficult. Some students discover that they must work harder to earn top grades and that they have not developed productive study habits. Many suspect they are no longer gifted, and their sense of self-worth is undermined. Stress can hamper the very abilities that make these students gifted. Stress clouds thinking, reduces concentration, and impairs decision making. It leads to forgetfulness and a loss of ability to focus keenly on a task, and it makes students overly sensitive to criticism. Under these conditions, they perform less well and are more upset by their failures. Gifted Students Have So Much Potential. How Can That Be Stressful? Abundant gifts and the potential for success in m
