The Different Values of a School and of a Student may Lead to Underachievement
The atmosphere and values of a school and the values of a student may come into conflict and create an underachieving gifted student. The atmosphere of a school must be beneficial to high achieving gifted students. If the atmosphere of a school is geared more towards social status and not towards intellectual status, then a gifted student may feel the pressure to conform and no longer be an achieving gifted student (Hoover-Schultz, 2005, p. 47). The gifted student will see more reward in fitting in with what is viewed as popular by their peers and no longer see a reward for being an achiever. The option to then become an underachiever is a more appealing because it will allow the student to fit in with the majority.
Other times, the values of a school and the values of a student may come in conflict with one another. If the value of the school emphasizes hard work and intelligence, but the student does not have this same set of values, then the student may eventually become an underachiever. Some gifted students may feel pressured to hide their abilities from parents, peers, and others because the environment they are from does not see the value of learning (Rimm, 2009, p. 14). A gifted student may feel more of an allegiance to his/her home environment and no longer try to achieve in school. When the home environment does not encourage giftedness but the school environment does, often times the gifted student will side with the home environment to keep from feeling like an outsider in his/her own community. These two different views can often cause a gifted achiever to become an underachiever over a student’s educational career.
Other times, the values of a school and the values of a student may come in conflict with one another. If the value of the school emphasizes hard work and intelligence, but the student does not have this same set of values, then the student may eventually become an underachiever. Some gifted students may feel pressured to hide their abilities from parents, peers, and others because the environment they are from does not see the value of learning (Rimm, 2009, p. 14). A gifted student may feel more of an allegiance to his/her home environment and no longer try to achieve in school. When the home environment does not encourage giftedness but the school environment does, often times the gifted student will side with the home environment to keep from feeling like an outsider in his/her own community. These two different views can often cause a gifted achiever to become an underachiever over a student’s educational career.