Common Social Behaviours

Most gifted students enter the PACE stream, from a secular inclusive classroom, having been 'big fish in a small pond'. Suddenly they are thrown into a self-contained gifted classroom and find themselves "small fish in a big pond".

The first day new gifted students meet each other (Gr. 5) is a revelation. They sit quietly, do not talk to each other, watch one another carefully and bide their time. A veritable teachers' paradise! Of course, the quiet does not last. Some common behaviors observed over time:

Some gifted students may be:

- overly anxious
- perfectionists (often their own worst critic)
- highly sensitive to criticism, constructive or otherwise
- disorganized (extends to handwriting and neatness of work)
- rather opinionated
- ready to debate on any topic (love the challenge of this exercise)
- quite competitive
- prefer to be alone (prefer to read, or may have poor social skills)
- impulsive and hyperactive

It must also be noted that many gifted students view report cards and grade levels as important indicators of their intelligence.