A lonely student
In a. gifted children association newsletter from England, a boy described what it had been like in primary school to be recognised as advanced by other children: “It was almost as though their animal instinct sensed an intruder, and they acted accordingly,” he wrote. “If the children were harsh, some teachers were even worse, at times almost goading other children into hate by singling me out for special attention. “My work was described as flowery, and because my choice of subject matter was non-conformist, much of my work was relegated to the waste bin ... I tried to become part of the crowd by altering my speech, dress and general behaviour, but I couldn’t continue the charade for long. ...” In secondary school, the boy said in his anonymous report, he sometimes held back questions that probably had no pat answer: “I question because I must know, not because I wish to disprove, but rather than create a hostile atmosphere. 1 — like the chameleon — try to blend into the anonymous surroundings of the classroom.”
Permanent link to this item
https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19811204.2.85
Bibliographic details
Press, 4 December 1981, Page 14
Word Count
175A lonely student Press, 4 December 1981, Page 14
Using This Item
Stuff Ltd is the copyright owner for the Press. You can reproduce in-copyright material from this newspaper for non-commercial use under a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA 3.0 New Zealand licence. This newspaper is not available for commercial use without the consent of Stuff Ltd. For advice on reproduction of out-of-copyright material from this newspaper, please refer to the Copyright guide.
Copyright in all Footrot Flats cartoons is owned by Diogenes Designs Ltd. The National Library has been granted permission to digitise these cartoons and make them available online as part of this digitised version of the Press. You can search, browse, and print Footrot Flats cartoons for research and personal study only. Permission must be obtained from Diogenes Designs Ltd for any other use.
Acknowledgements
This newspaper was digitised in partnership with Christchurch City Libraries.