Encouraging Gifted Students To Take Risks

Jennifer Breheny Wallace’s research with high-achieving kids revealed a sobering finding: more than half believed their parents’ love fluctuated based on performance. Psychologists call this conditional regard. It can drive achievement in the short-term but often leaves kids anxious, burned out, and disconnected from their own worth. The antidote is a mattering mindset. This is the belief that your value comes from who you are and the impact you make, not only from what you achieve. Kids who feel they matter are freer to take risks, recover from mistakes, and pursue learning with resilience. How do we build it? 1. Show curiosity about who they are, not only what they do 2. Remind them their worth is non-negotiable even when they fail 3. Celebrate their ripple effect through kindness, creativity, and presence 4. Let your face light up and show them you are glad they exist, not just proud of results When we cultivate mattering, we fuel not only healthier achievers but happier and more grounded humans. https://lnkd.in/g34EUGGF

Dreams grow when given room to breathe. As educators, we are responsible for creating that room, showing students what’s possible, and encouraging them to reach beyond what they think they can do. Providing the right tools makes all the difference. Access to mentors who challenge them. Platforms where they can explore their passions. Pathways leading to meaningful opportunities. How we communicate matters. Are we helping them uncover their potential? Are we encouraging them to think bigger and define success on their own terms? To support bold thinking: ➔  Design programs that blend disciplines, sparking creativity and problem-solving. ➔  Build spaces for collaboration where students can test ideas without fear of failure. ➔  Invite industry leaders to share real-world insights, pushing students beyond classroom boundaries. ➔  Introduce scholarships or grants that back innovative projects and entrepreneurial ventures. We must equip students with the tools to take risks, learn from setbacks, and keep moving forward. How do we encourage bold thinking? We can prove that we believe in their dreams as much as they do.

Good teachers don't deliver content. They empower students to grow. They inspire curiosity. They foster resilience. 8 tips to make your classroom the space where students want to engage, even when they’re scared of the challenge: ✅ Encourage students to “do it scared” ↳ Fear of failure holds students back. ↳ Share personal stories of times you overcame fear. ↳ Remind them growth happens on the other side of discomfort. ✅ Break it down ↳ Stop with overwhelming assignments. ↳ Break them into achievable milestones. ↳ Celebrate small wins to build confidence. ✅ Embrace the chaos ↳ Allow students to grapple with uncertainty. ↳ Encourage them to ask and explore rather than be “right” ✅ Make failure part of the process ↳ Shift the narrative around failure. ↳ A low-stakes “failure journal” helps students document what they learned from mistakes, reframing them as steps toward mastery. ✅ Engage through action ↳ Hands-on learning beats passive lectures. ↳ Simulations, role-plays, real-world challenges. ↳ This turns engagement into a habit. ✅ Teach the power of “why” ↳ Help students connect coursework to their goals and passions. ↳ "Why does this matter?" ↳ "How will it help me achieve my dreams?" ↳ Purpose drives engagement. ✅ Create safe spaces for risk ↳ Emphasize effort and creative thinking over “getting it right.” ↳ When students know they won’t be judged for trying something new, they’ll take risks. ✅ Celebrate growth, not perfection ↳ Regularly highlight how far your students have come. ↳ Acknowledge effort, process, progress. ---------------- 🚨 Remember: ↳ A disengaged student needs your encouragement to reignite ↳ Show them challenges are stepping stones to growth ↳ Foster lifelong learners. ---------------- What’s your go-to strategy for keeping students engaged? Let’s share ideas below! 👇 ---------------- 🔔 follow me for more content like this ♻️ repost to inspire your colleagues Image credit: Janis Ozolins