What Do Gifted Students Want?

By Rowe Van Meter, AAGT Vice President

In my professional life, I spend a great deal of time training teachers in gifted education. As adults, we talk extensively about what gifted learners want and need educationally. Sometimes, however, we forget to go directly to the source: gifted students themselves.

How often do we ask them what they need or what they want?

The Eight Great Gripes

In a 1985 study, Judy Galbraith identified the “Eight Great Gripes” of gifted students:

1. No one explains what being gifted is all about. It is kept a big secret.
2. The work we do in school is too easy and boring.
3. Parents, teachers and friends expect us to be perfect and to “do our best” all the time.
4. Other students often tease us about being smart.
5. Friends who truly understand us are few and far between.
6. We feel different and wish people would accept us for who we are.
7. We feel overwhelmed by the number of things we could do with our lives.
8. We worry about world problems and feel helpless to do anything about them.

Since more than 40 years have passed, one might assume that we have made significant progress in helping gifted learners understand who they are and receive the support they need. Sadly, for many gifted students, the experience has not changed nearly enough.

Listening to Arizona’s Gifted Students

A few months ago, the Arizona Association for Gifted and Talented launched a new initiative: a statewide Gifted Student Advisory Network composed of gifted high school students representing the gifted experience.

More than 20 remarkable young people have been meeting regularly in virtual brainstorming sessions. Listening to their voices, experiences and ideas, and hearing the passion with which they speak, has been truly inspiring.

Our conversations revealed several common themes, many of which closely resemble those identified in Galbraith’s study.

Students in the AAGT Gifted Student Advisory Network:

• Expressed frustration that giftedness is often misunderstood as simply high intelligence or academic success.
• Described the emotional burden many gifted students carry. Intense expectations to perform flawlessly can lead to stress, burnout and a reluctance to ask for help.
• Shared feelings of isolation and difficulty finding peers who truly understand their experiences.
• Expressed frustration with repetitive instruction, slow pacing and limited opportunities for advanced exploration. They advocated for learning environments that prioritize depth, acceleration, creativity and authentic challenge.
• Identified significant inequities in gifted programming across schools, districts and grade levels. Many noted that support decreases substantially after elementary school and varies widely depending on a student’s ZIP code.
• Emphasized the importance of teacher preparation and awareness. Many believe educators need additional training in gifted cognition, neurodivergence and differentiated instruction.
• Expressed a strong desire to participate in educational decision-making and advocacy. They want authentic opportunities to help shape programs, policies and future initiatives.
• Emphasized that gifted education should not be limited to select programs or schools. They advocated for broader access to advanced coursework, enrichment, the arts, mentorship and dual-enrollment opportunities.

A Legitimate Educational Need

What stood out most during these meetings was the maturity and insight these students brought to conversations about their experiences.

One strong, overarching message emerged:

Gifted education should not be viewed as a privilege or a luxury. It is a legitimate educational need deserving thoughtful support, meaningful advocacy and systemic investment.

AAGT looks forward to continuing its work with these remarkable students. During one of our first meetings, a student asked, “What can we do?”

That is a powerful question.

Now, we look forward to discovering what these students want to do, and what they will do, to support gifted learners throughout Arizona. By listening to their voices and giving them meaningful opportunities to lead, advocate and create change, we can help ensure that the next generation of gifted students has a different story to tell.

There are great things on the horizon.