Gifted Awareness Week 2025

What does it mean to be gifted?

At Dara School, we are in the unique position of being the only R-12 Gifted Education school in Australia. In preparation for Gifted Awareness Week 2025, we invited our students to share what giftedness means to them.

What giftedness means to me…

‘People find the fact you are a “smart kid” a defining personality trait. … I have been held to the standard of being extraordinary for so long that, when I was younger, I became intent to fly under the radar and have an impact-less job, staying ordinary.’

“[I am] creative, rainbow dots, lines, splats“

‘The term “giftedness” itself makes it seem as if somehow having a higher-than-average amount of neural connections makes us “better” or fundamentally changes something about our identities. … Despite this, I find it hard to describe it purely as a “gift”, especially when so much of the negative side effects that accompany it are so difficult to deal with and are often ignored.’

“I am fun, intelligent, smart, nice and playful”

‘Giftedness is hard to determine, as there are so many different ways to be gifted. … People must keep an open mind as much giftedness is ignored because it is in a so-called “useless” field.’

“[I like] creativity, chess, math, bugs, friendship“

‘I understand that my brain taking in information faster puts me at an advantage, but that shouldn’t mean that a six-year-old was told they needed to have an incredible career because of their “opportunity”, and it shouldn’t mean a thirteen-year-old is judged by their family and friends for wanting a gap year.’

“It looks like my head exploded and all my giftedness fell out”

‘It happens in a way so that the things that get praised the most, like skipping year-levels or getting good grades, I had very little contribution to, while other traits, like being hardworking, are generally ignored. If I succeed, it’s because of my “gift”, and if I fail, it’s because I wasted my potential.’

A shared experience…

Our Novice learners, grouped by their ability to work at Grade 2 and Grade 3, participated in a survey about the common characteristics of gifted children. The data below shows the pattern of shared experiences across this community of learners. Interestingly, as this survey uses self-reporting, it also highlights how our younger gifted learners perceive themselves in relation to their peers, or their idea of “normal”.