Gifted but Underachieving

Dayna asked me for help with her gifted teen daughter who was underachieving in public schools.

Hi Dayna,

It sounds like you need my new audio CD called “Gifted Education” but it’s not quite ready yet! Seriously, though, do I ever understand the difficulty of raising gifted children!

I have a great idea that may work with you AND your husband. How about looking into College Plus! Here is a link. If your daughter is motivated by doing “real” work, and she sees college as being valuable, then this may be a solution. It’s all “homeschooling” but there is an actual college degree at the end of it. It’s based on the ideas of Accelerated Distance Learning, but with mentors who help the student along the way. See if it might fit the bill.

You can also look over my “Homeschooling College” Dig Deeper page, and see if you get some ideas from there.

The problems that you describe are fairly common with kids in public schools. They just get bored because they aren’t challenged – and they become fearful of failure when they get overwhelmed. It would be the same way in any classroom situation (even a virtual situation) because it would be equally difficult to keep her always challenged yet never overwhelmed.

I have a page on “Homeschooling Gifted Teens” here:

I got a lot of support from Hoagies Gifted Education. It has a “Gifted 101″ page that may help you think through the issues and talk to your husband. Here is that link.

Is that enough information for now? I don’t want to overwhelm you. Let me know if you have more questions.

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