Welcome to Mr Aslanov’s cefr lessons

H. Being Gifted Is not Always Easy 
 
Q1. Gifted children’s behaviour differs from that of their agemates. Many gifted children learn to read 
early, with better comprehension of the nuances of language. As much as half of the gifted and talented 
population has learned to read before entering school. They can work independently at an earlier age and 
can concentrate for longer periods. They like to learn new things, are willing to examine the unusual, and 
are highly inquisitive. 
Q2. Being academically gifted is a topic laced with myths and fears, many of which are unfounded. 
Moreover, academically gifted children often face special problems. So do their parents. Schools treat 
those children differently from those whose talents lie in other areas, like music, art, and sports. Gifted 
children may also be learning disabled, or have another disability while being highly intelligent. 
 
Q3. Social and emotional difficulties are not directly linked to giftedness. Rather, they result from a lack of 
understanding by the child of the nature of their intellectual difference. Parents and teachers don’t usually 
discuss this difference with them because of the concern that they may get a ‘swelled head’. The risk is that 
gifted children may view their differences as ‘weird’ or ‘bad’ or try to ignore or deny them. 
 
Q4. Most of the athletes are allowed to develop their special skills at whatever rate best suits them. No one 
tries to stop them from becoming much better baseball players or swimmers than their classmates. Yet if an 
academically gifted child tries to do two years of work in one, that’s viewed as potentially harmful. Much 
of the concern focuses on the nonacademic areas of these gifted children’s development. 
 
Q5. Researchers emphasize that for the vast majority of academically gifted children those concerns are 
groundless. In fact, these children are more likely to develop social and even academic problems if they 
don’t feel intellectually challenged. If gifted children don’t go to challenging programs, they may not learn 
how to learn. Eventually, in college or graduate school, they feel emotionally overwhelmed when they 
can’t just coast through their courses anymore.