Genius and the Problem of Expectation

Zaldy Carreon De Leon Jr.

“Genius is an infinite capacity for taking pains.”

Anonymous

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It is just natural for them to think because they carry the burdens of the world, and not just themselves; they held the most elusive questions with their soul, and never stop until they find solutions; and they are nearest in the crisis than anyone else – while they discover and invent and write indomitably, it is an intellectual satisfaction that their hearts held with great joy; and yet the sacrifice of their own is a pain in the ass of others especially those who are close to them.

In their youthful days, they felt as if they were toys played and overused by the schools for having been intelligent. All the praises were spoken, all the achievements were posted in their gates. But, on the consequence of losing, is it not impossible for a highly-intelligent person to set low and bring nothing from a competition? Obviously, someone is better than the former. However, this is exactly the problem in some schools – teachers expect a lot to a student.

A student remembered that he had several schools taken because of the kind of job his parents have. He said that his elementary school days is something of a hell he don’t want to remember anymore. The described it with teachers who murdered their students for the beacon that the school anxiously wanted; awards that the school is eager to seize; and the great deal of pressure to the students that they thought they can handle. Unfortunately, the expected result had not been so. What should be done with this?

It should be made clear what a highly-intelligent person is. Thus, a genius is a turret that stands on its iron: when they stand, they are like eagles expected to soar high and the eyes of those from the plain and other places looked up with amazement and ghast. Some laid their wings before the calming breeze of the hills, others were on the raft of silence among the cooling shades, but others roamed their feathers above the clouds of windstorm. The latter are the turret among the tower. But who are they in the first place? Ah, they are students who are able to exceed their school’s expectation, and at some point, their teachers’ intellect – yet, without saying, almost like an open-secret, they are also called gifted and others eccentric. Positively, they look forward to with a bigger, brighter, and most commonly yet peculiar, out of the world yet pertinent perspective which is indeed, outside the box, but most often, unique. According to The Atlantic (2018), the bona fide genius solves problems whole with spontaneous outbursts of inspiration, rather than working them through step by step, or equation by equation.

Rarely though, genius individuals exist and they are used by their own school in promoting the self-same glory that has been laid on his or her name among various competitions in the division, regional, and the arduous national level – more so, to the delight and joy of the school they represent. Their classmates are proud of them, they are the delight of their parent, and their community elicited an uncommon valor over prestige of his or her existence. However, at some point, it is not always joys and delights, save the prestige and the fame, when a genius fails to exceed their teachers’ expectation, it is more than a problem – it is an embarrassment that dignity seems to be slashed off in their name. What will be our genius’ initial reaction – nothing but they doubted themselves. Then they lose hope. They burnt out.

According to giftsforlearning (2018), many people think that because gifted kids are smart, they won't have any problems. They think they "have it made." However, gifted children can have plenty of problems from perfectionism to underachievement. Not all gifted children excel in school. The reasons vary, but a common cause is the lack of intellectual stimulation. Look at Stephanie Tolan's "Is It a Cheetah?" to understand how a child can be gifted yet not be recognized in school. Plenty of famous gifted people were not recognized as gifted in their youth. Look at the list of famous people whose giftedness was missed. Here are some:

First, perfectionism can lead to fear of failure, in turn causing a gifted child to avoid failure by refusing to even try something. Teachers must be particular with this kind of situation where they ‘forced’ students to give their best, and expect a lot from them. This is rather abusive to the students – for, when they are not able to reach their teacher’s goal, they become less motivated and the impact in the future could be negative. The teacher may not feel it yet but little by little, the effect of expectation is worst to the point of depression.

Next, on keen observation, imagination, and ability to see beyond the obvious can cause a gifted child to appear shy, holding back in new situations in order to consider all the implications. Teachers are not mindful of situations that a gifted child and an average student has to be empowered with. Also, this may require full details before answering questions or offering help, once again making a gifted child appear socially shy. Therefore, the teacher must be able to accommodate the needs of a gifted child. Though they were raised in a ‘higher’ form of environment where academics or the child’s abilities or skills are the focus, the teacher must be qualified to teach and well-deserve of the position by knowing the profile of each students. At least, he or she knew who they are.

On another point, the intense sensitivity that teachers produce can cause gifted children to take criticism, or even general anger, very personally. When teachers ‘expect’ a lot on students, they took it personally. It follows that the teachers are going beyond the boundary – that is, although these people are gifted, they are also human. And more so, they are also sensitive to the criticisms of their teachers and the losses it might conjure. It is said that sensitivity and well-developed sense of right and wrong can lead to concern over wars, starving children, pollution and other injustice and violence. If they are overloaded with images and discussions of these issues, they can become introverted and withdrawn or even suffer from "existential depression."

Even so, asynchronous development allows gifted children to intellectually understand abstract concepts but be unable to deal with those concepts emotionally, leading to an intense concerns about death, the future, sex, and other such issues. Asynchronous development can also result in frustration when a gifted child's physical development leads to an inability to complete a task the child is capable of intellectually envisioning. (Perfectionism may play a role in this frustration as well.) Asynchronous development also causes a gifted child to be able to participate in adult conversations about issues such as global warming or world hunger one minute and the next minute cry and whine because a sibling took a favorite toy.

Later, advanced verbal and reasoning ability can lead a gifted child to be argumentative and/or manipulative. (Adults often remark that the child is a little lawyer!) Parents and other adults need to remember that, although credit should be given for logical and convincing arguments, a child is still a child and requires appropriate discipline, no matter how clever or cute the behavior may look. Children who see that they can manipulate adults can feel very insecure.

As an example, advanced verbal and reasoning ability can lead a gifted child to be manipulative. (Parents and other adults need to take care that they don't allow this manipulate.) In this case, the teachers may sometimes also manipulated. In the course of the events, upon the realization, the teacher might become more aggressive on the child’s achievement that he must not lose. For, as is given, advanced verbal and reasoning ability can lead a gifted child to try to outsmart parents and teachers. Sophisticated vocabulary and advanced sense of humor can cause gifted children to be misunderstood, which can make them feel inferior and rejected. This is not good for the students in attaining their goals.

Lastly, virtually all their traits can make them feel “different,” even at a very early age. It’s important, therefore, to get them together with children like them and with people who understand them. The first people in the school to understand them are the teachers. But if the teachers cannot even understand these gifted people, it might give them the impression that their giftedness if of no use to all. Teachers must support them along the way.

There are silent slaps in the face, an almost unheard murmur, rude signs and gestures of incompetence and doubt as to the intellect of these people. In their mind played the silent ghosts thus: “Is he really a genius? Then, why he does not win?” “What happen to him? I thought he is a genius. If someone else is sent, we might got a better chance of winning.” “Why does he lose the game? Now, I know, he isn’t really that intelligent.” And, everything is silence. There is not a word heard – that is one of the many problems with expectation. Teachers, many of them trained the concerned students one-on-one for hours and days – with a subscript of “You should win and bring home the beacon”; and yet, to the trainee, it is a message of anticipation, a message that kept his intelligence under turmoil and constant trial ‘how?’. In unknown agony, he speaks to himself: “Hey, teacher, I know you think I am a genius… but I might not be.” “Sir, I think I have had enough. Can we continue tomorrow? I’m tired.” “Mam, please don’t expect a lot from me. Anyway, I’ll try to do my best.” Such is the silent whispers around him – so much more but never the less.

Is there any justice when the teacher expects a lot, and the student (who is seen as a genius), fail? Should the teacher compromise the school’s reputation and glory for the student’s horrid feeling of being pushed and pulled? Should the student, in the first place, feel the heavier gravity of expectation? “I answer that” – the line Saint Thomas Aquinas is fond of in the Summa Theologica. Thus, genius is rare and when a school found one, it is like an explosion of joy – like a person who discovered a lump of gold in his backyard! But the question is, Is genius enough to win a competition? Nay. While genius individual knows a lot of things, even knows higher perspective than what books teach, the teachers forget one thing – one basic thing, indeed – a genius is also human – there will be someone better. Obviously, their ability to win has a higher probability than an average student. But push everyone from the below average student even to superior intelligence, come to think what happens next? Will that be a positive motivation? Instead of expecting, why not deliver confidence to the students? Instead of assuming, why not brainstorm on the possible questions? And instead of pushing or pulling them students on things-that-should-be, why not usher the students on things that might be not for the good of the school but for his or her future?

Open discussion and not spoon-feeding. Let the genius be. Even in this training, the K-12 system is applicable – let the teacher be a facilitator. Indeed, the one who would be in the hot seat is not the teacher, but the student. If genius in this is true, then let the student answer things as they comprehend. Silent doubt and unheard murmurs at the back are not necessary. But when the student and the teacher learn to collaborate, genius has a better chance of winning. Therefore, as teachers grow in teaching, they must also grow in sense and commonsense. Genius is a turret among the intelligent, and expectation is a rusted iron. When genius fail, it is not the tower that should be apprehended but the iron that should have kept it from standing. Strengthen the iron first and the turret follows. When genius wins it is because the iron is still quality strong because the one who builds it is more concerned with the turret rather than the turret when it stands. Well, is it not in Roman mythology, genius a protector or a guardian spirit? Is it not the teachers – rather than the genius student himself in the first place?

If so, let ‘genius’ start with the teachers – before the problem get worst. Let ‘genius’ tower in the hearts of the teachers before it enters the mind of the student. Teachers are the iron from where the turret stands on. Strengthen the iron, and the turret firmly follows. Encarta exposes that it was believed that every individual, family, and city had its own genius. The genius received special veneration because it was thought to bestow success and intellectual prowess. Let the expectation to win stop because of the basis of intellectual prowess and intellect, be secondary. From now on, expect less – cease from the silent slaps, the unheard murmurs at the back, and the doubt – instead be a ‘guardian’ to these kind of students. It always work – teachers being the iron to their student’s turret.

The culture of expectation should not be tolerated in the classroom. It is a poison, in my opinion, that would enter the vein of a student and lurk into his esteem down. Expectation kills a person’s natural freedom and by doing so, a genius fails to express their rare and valuable capacities into freedom. Therefore, expectation should be avoided by any teacher when it comes to their students. The purpose of education is learning foremost, and winning in a competition is of lesser degree significant.

References available upon request.