If I'm So Smart, Why Aren't the Answers Easy?: Advice from Teens on Growing Up Gifted

by Robert A. Schultz

Based on surveys with more than 5,000 gifted adolescents and young adults, "If I'm So Smart, Why Aren't the Answers Easy?" sheds light on the day-to-day experiences and stories of those growing up gifted. In their own enlightening words, teens share their experiences with giftedness, including aspects like friendships and fitting in with peers, school struggles and successes, worries about the future, and their family lives. By allowing teens to share their real-life stories firsthand, the book gives readers a self-study guide to the successes and pitfalls of being gifted teens in a world not always open to their unique and diverse needs. While reading, teens will be able to reflect on their own experiences through the engaging journaling and thought experiments included throughout the book, and their parents and teachers will enjoy hearing directly from other students about the topics their gifted teens face daily.

Genres: Parenting

202 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 1, 2012

About the author

Robert A. Schultz, Ph.D., is professor of gifted education and curriculum studies at the University of Toledo in Ohio, where he directs the CIGI (Curriculum and Instruction Gifted) program and coordinates doctoral programs in curriculum and instruction and early childhood education. A man of many hats, Bob also travels the country as a consultant in gifted education and curriculum development/evaluation, working with families and teachers addressing social/emotional needs of the gifted and developing education plans for gifted and highly/profoundly gifted individuals; teaches in public schools; and conducts research in and writes about giftedness--especially from the perspective of children, teens, and young adults (with more than 100 articles and book chapters and three books under his belt). Most importantly, he is better known as Dad to his kids.

Reviews

[Brenda Kahn]

Reviewing for SLJ

[Melvin Marsh · Rating 3 out of 5]

First, I want to say that I was in the Gifted program growing up as my daughter is now, I am in Mensa, my partner is qualified for Mensa. This is three people in my family who are gifted.

Now, this book is trying to do many things to different audiences and as a result I do not feel it does either of the audiences particular justice. The "Your turn" exercises are for students (and they don't have to be Gifted as these are primarily common sense exercises that I have seen teachers do with their regular classes) and the answers to the questions the authors pose to the interviewees for the most part are not "advice" as the book's title would suggest. I suppose a teacher of gifted students or parents might get something out of the answers the students give, however, given the diversity of responses to almost every question, one has to know their own student well in order to understand what is going on in their head. However, if someone knows a student that much or that well, they don't need the book.

The only people I can really see as finding this book helpful would be teachers. Even then I can suggest better books such as "Gifted Grownups" by Streznewski or "Teaching Gifted Kids in the Regular Classroom" by Winebrenner.

[Lee-Anne · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book supplies answers to questions about giftedness. The answers are provided by the teens themselves. Reading their own words is helpful to seeing both the good and bad, although the quotes are often too short to really offer real insight into their lives.

This book was provided to me by Goodreads First Reads in exchange for an honest review.

[Shayla Drumm · Rating 2 out of 5]

I thought the title of this book was very misleading. The format of the book is basically question and answer. The author poses a question and then the answers that gifted teens gave are below. A reader can relate to what the teens are going through, however, there is not a lot of advice as to how to handle different challenges the gifted teen may face.

[Christine Fonseca · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great guide for teens wanting to understand more about what it means to be gifted. Pulled from teens themselves, this book is filled with advice from everything from fitting in, school issues and planning for the future. A welcome addition to any well-stocked library on giftedness, and the perfect book for a gifted teen.

[Christine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great to hear the voices of 'special' teens talking about their own giftedness. A useful book for all young people with remarkable talents who grow up feeling different from their peers. I wish I'd had this book growing up, and I was just a good student, not gifted!