Last week, I sat down with the parents of one of my AP Lang students. They were worried—his grades had dropped, and for the first time ever, he was hitting a wall with assignments. “The truth is,” I told them, “he is struggling.”
I saw it firsthand during our last timed essay. Matthew sat there, gripping his pen like it was a lifeline, staring at a blank page. Forty minutes ticked by. He barely wrote a word. It was painful to watch, and I can only imagine how much worse it felt to be him in that moment.
But here’s the thing: struggle is part of the deal. It’s how we grow. And as tough as it is, pushing through that discomfort is what makes the struggle worth it.
For many gifted students, though, struggle is unfamiliar. School has always been easy. They’re quick learners, high achievers—it’s just who they are. But then they hit a real challenge, usually in high school or college. The essay doesn’t flow. The grade isn’t perfect. Suddenly, doubt creeps in. And because they’ve never struggled before, they assume something’s wrong. Maybe they’re not “gifted” anymore. Instead of pushing through, they shut down.
But here’s the truth: being gifted isn’t about effortless perfection. It’s about adapting, learning, and growing through challenges. Struggle isn’t failure—it’s proof that you’re learning at a new level. The gifted students who truly succeed? They’re the ones who learn to embrace struggle.
The problem is, too many GT students don’t get the chance to build that struggle muscle early on. They need practice—the chance to wrestle with challenges, to get frustrated, to fail, and then figure it out. Because when the real academic hurdles come, it’s not about avoiding struggle—it’s about knowing how to push through.
The most successful gifted students aren’t the ones who never struggle. They’re the ones who struggle well.