Holy shit, seriously though. As a kid I was always smart - like, top of the class, consistently. That’s not me trying to brag, honest. I was literally top in everything but like… PE, but that’s because I kept “forgetting” my running shoes so I didn’t have to do football or whatever. I was smart!!! I got praised by the teachers!! Life was good.
Except I’m coasting, and not being challenged.
And then, 14 rolls around. We’re doing algebra (trigonemetry maybe?) in maths. … I havn’t read this, this wasn’t in my encyclopedia as a kid. I made a few tries to ask for help, and got “you’re smart, you’ll figure it out.”
I’m smart, I’ll figure it out.
Yeah… problem is, I didn’t figure it out. That is the day I lost a lot of self esteem. All of a sudden, I WASN’T top of the class anymore. Teachers started with the “you’re better than this” spiel when I started slipping in my grades. Since I’d not been challenged so far in my school career, I’d forgot how to… well, learn. But I was smart, I’d figure it out.
Then I slipped into mediocrity - stopped getting invited to the award ceremonies for Gifted and Talented students. By Year 11 (the end of high school in the UK, at 16) the only thing I excelled at was the sciences, and that was only because I was given free reign of the science labs for a couple of years to do my own experiments outside what they were teaching us. And even that didn’t last long when I got to college, I failed out of Physics (my best subject!) with a U (short for ungradeable) within two and a half months. I couldn’t absorb the new info or do the maths.
Now I’m 23 and still learning how to learn. I’m basically flunking my degree at the lowest possible pass grade. All because I wasn’t pushed as a kid. If I’d not been allowed to coast? If I hadn’t had it ingrained in me that I was smart and stuff just “comes to [me] naturally”? I’d probably have done a lot better.
But because we need a little inspiration here, now? I’m putting effort in. I’m ignoring the “fuck, I can’t do this” feelings in the back of my head, and forcing myself to read the next few pages, or watch the next few videos. I can do basic calculus now! I couldn’t do that a year or two ago. It’s just a massive fucking hump to get over. Our brains work, we’ve just lost the instruction manual.
Teachers, if any of you are reading this, please. Talk to that smart kid that finishes well before everyone else. Stimulate their minds, ask what they’re interested in and get them to read books on the subject so they’re still learning SOMETHING they’re not familiar with. Can’t do it in class? Set it as homework for them. Make sure they don’t forget how to learn new information.
Don’t let them burn out because they feel like they should but can’t.
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