Would you ever send a top athlete to compete in the Olympics without a coach? Gifted students need guidance from well-trained teachers who provide them with challenges and support to fully develop their potential. Many gifted students may be significantly more advanced compared to other children their age and thus know more than half of the curriculum each year, before the school year even begins. This results in them feeling confused and bored, which can lead to low performance, frustration, or unhealthy habits. The role of the teacher is very important for identifying and caring for gifted children in school.

Although teachers try to provide challenges for all children, they often don't know the needs of gifted children and therefore don't know the best way to help them in the classroom. Research conducted abroad shows that 58% of educators have not received professional training focused on teaching students with increased academic development, while 73% of teachers abroad agree that: "Very often, the smartest students get bored and are not interested in school - we don't give them enough opportunities to develop." This admission confirms what many families already know: not all teachers can recognize and support gifted students. Even more so in our country, where the field of giftedness has not yet developed and teachers who are trained in teaching gifted students by certified professionals are very few and very specific.

Students with average or below-average performance do not view gifted students in the classroom as role models. Observing or relying on someone who is expected to do well does not help at all in increasing the self-confidence of a struggling student. Similarly, gifted students benefit from interacting in the classroom with students whose performance is at a similar level, while they get bored, confused, and show a lack of motivation when placed in classes with typical population students.

All students have strengths and positive elements, but not all children are gifted in the educational sense of the word. The term "gifted" in a school environment means that when compared to other children of their age or grade, these children have an increased ability to learn and apply what they have learned in one or more academic areas, or in the fine arts. This increased ability requires modifications to the regular curriculum to ensure that these children receive challenges and learn new things. "Gifted" does not mean good or better: it is a term that allows the identification of students so that their unique educational needs can be served.

Academically gifted students often get bored or feel they don't fit in with children their age and have a natural attraction to older students with whom they are more similar as "intellectual equals." Studies have shown that many gifted students are happier with older students who share the same interests, than with children who are the same age as them. That's why the opportunity to go to a higher grade, either by starting Kindergarten earlier, or "skipping" grades, or finishing school earlier, are options that should be considered for these students.

Gifted programs aim to help all students who fall into this category. Gifted students can come from any culture, ethnic background and socioeconomic class. However, many of these students do not have the opportunity to cultivate their abilities due to the way these programs and services are funded, or even a flawed identification process. For example, relying solely on a single score after some test for admission to a gifted program can lead to the exclusion of students with different cultural experiences and opportunities or students who simply had a "bad" day in their performance. Additionally, without state funding, programs for gifted students are funded exclusively by the parents themselves. This means that despite existing needs, often only private schools with high tuition can provide such services, giving the impression of elitism. On the contrary, at the Center for the Advancement of Noesis there is care for all gifted students.

Underachievement describes an incompatibility between a student's performance and their actual ability. The roots of this problem vary, depending on each child's experiences. Gifted students may get bored or feel confused in a situation that does not offer challenges in the classroom, which leads them to lose interest, develop poor study habits, or become averse to the school environment. Some students may hide their abilities in an attempt to fit in socially with children their age, while others may have some learning difficulty that masks their giftedness. Regardless of the cause, it is important for an observant adult to show care and help gifted students break the cycle of underachievement so they can reach their maximum potential.

Many gifted students stand out in the community and in their school environment. However, some gifted students differ in terms of their emotional and moral intensity, sensitivity to expectations and feelings, are perfectionists, and show deep concern about social problems. Not all share the same interests with their classmates, which results in isolation or being labeled with the ugly term "nerd." Because of these difficulties, the school experience is endured rather than celebrated.

Some gifted students also have learning difficulties or some disability. These "twice-exceptional" students often go unnoticed in regular classes because the difficulties they face and their gifts overlap, making them appear "average." Other twice-exceptional students are recognized as having a learning difficulty and as a result are not considered for gifted services. In both cases, it is important to focus on students' abilities and allow them to follow a program that will provide them with challenges, in addition to the help provided for their learning difficulty.

Although enrichment courses offer demanding, advanced-level content, these are not gifted programs. Enrichment programs are designed as higher-level courses compared to the corresponding courses offered in the standard school curriculum for children of the same age, which are taught by school teachers to students who are willing to work hard. The provisions of these programs are limited as: a) the subject areas of the courses offered are always the same and b) they are offered to children of a specific age and only to students of the respective school. Universities abroad recognize that enrichment courses are aimed at any student who has been adequately prepared at an academic level and is willing to work hard, regardless of whether they are gifted or not.

Providing support services and gifted programs does not need to be expensive. A fully developed gifted education program may seem huge due to its complexity and the needs it serves. However, to create such a program, what is required to start is acceptance from the community and securing staff who recognize that gifted students need something different: the commitment that they will be provided with the appropriate program and specialized guidance, and teachers who are trained in the social and emotional needs of gifted children and the pedagogical techniques for managing them in the classroom.