As pre-service educators, we should know what to look for in our students while also understanding what they are going through. In a study provided by the Archives of Neuropsychiatry that determined what mental health struggles were common in students, gifted students were tested for social isolation, sensitivity, adaptation, various forms of anxiety, attention deficit, ect. (Eren et al., 2018). These students were given tests, such as the Pediatric Quality of Life Inventory (PedsQL) and the Children Depression Rating Scale Revised (CDRS-R), that were specifically designed to uncover and locate where students were having the highest amounts of mental health difficulties (Eren et al., 2018). One of the most obvious challenges that gifted students face is being socially excluded, causing them to choose between a social life and their academic future (Jacobs, 2018). When a child is identified as gifted, they are then placed into classes with like minded students and do not mingle with the rest of their peers causing an imbalance in their friend groups. If schools place academically proficient kids with other kids of the same mindset, they then feel forced to perform on the same academic level as their friends. It is not on purpose, but it is what happens when gifted children become isolated from their peers. With the constant pressure placed upon them to overachieve, it would make sense that those same students would feel an overwhelming sense of failure if they don't meet or exceed school expectations as well as their own (Sampson, 2013). I know I would constantly be asking myself if I was doing enough because I would compare my work ethic to my classmates. If gifted students continuously keep having to ask themselves if they are enough, they are more susceptible to having poor mental health. Studies show that gifted students were said to have poorer emotional health when compared to their peers (Eren et al., 2018). Eventually, these students can end up being disinterested in schooling because of the lack of moral support that they are given. With everything being thrown at them, it further proves why these students have higher rates of suicide due to the overwhelming pressures and lack of support they are given to combat these struggles that they face (Kaufman, 2019).

After reading all this, you may be asking, “After knowing what to look for, what can I do to help gifted students?” In my experience, a little goes a long way. Because gifted children often forget to be kind to themselves, it may be beneficial for you to show them the compassion that they lack or teach them how to practice self compassion (Kaufman, 2019). It is also beneficial to create an atmosphere that would promote a healthy mind by implementing Social and Emotional Learning into the classroom setting. Social and Emotional Learning is ‘the process through which children and adults… show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions” (Hansen, 2019, p. 32). In the classroom, this can be implemented by doing projects involving the community or group projects that promote each individual's strengths. At the school level, it may take a long time for teachers and school officials to be educated in SEL, but it is possible. For example, in the state of Alabama, presentations and trainings were given on SEL at state and district level conferences in order to spread and educate the idea as conveniently as possible (Jacobs, 2019). A worry that accompanies the implementation of mental health trainings could involve money or time, but Alabama seemed to have solved the problem by adding them to already existing meetings for school officials. Based on what Alabama has done, schools can implement SEL in the standards that already exist. Schools can include SEL objectives in their trainings that occur throughout the year as well as having trained GATE counselors available to students. They may even attempt to train teachers on this type of learning by having the teachers practice SEL amongst themselves. Pre-service educators would then be able to practice and implement a SEL environment in their classrooms by assigning projects that go beyond the classroom. Educators could ask students to use what they have learned in a way that would help the community around them. Projects and assignments would allow for every student to express and show their own individual strengths and educators would be showing their schools that SEL is important, giving them the support they didn't have before. In classrooms that promote Social and Emotional Learning, gifted students would be able to grow emotionally in an environment that promotes emotional maturity.

Another way to curve the detrimental effects on their mental health is to take advantage of the amazing skills that these students possess. The five overexcitabilities mentioned above are very useful tools not only for students, but for pre service educators as well. Now that we know how their minds work, we can then implement strategies that promote and encourage their abilities. For example, if a gifted student is restless, giving them some type of physical activity would calm them, such as a ball to fidget with or having them deliver a note to another teacher (Sampson, 2018). Being able to fulfill, but not overwhelm a students senses comes into play when creating the aesthetic of the classroom. If the decorations are too bright or if group projects get too loud, a gifted student could shut down and have difficulty taking in new information because their mind is overwhelmed. Two skills that work great together are their intellect and imagination. Allowing students to utilize these skills are essential and we can further encourage them by giving more flexibility to assignments and not forcing a repeated framework. In an english class, giving students the opportunity to perform or interpret a piece of literature that would demonstrate their understanding would encourage them to use the skills that make them special. Just being aware of what makes gifted kids special is not enough. Schools should be willing to provide educators with the supplies and flexibility they need, so that their GATE students can thrive and fully utilize what is being offered. Pre-service educators must use what they know about their gifted students and create lesson plans that would stimulate these five traits, so that students stay focused and are pushed to levels that these abilities would allow them to achieve.

The main focus for pre service educators is to understand gifted students and utilize the skills they have to better help them learn to deal with both the challenges of school and their mental health. After learning what makes a child gifted, educators can leave behind all the assumptions about their students that would create an unfair playing ground, giving gifted students and educators a clear understanding of what it means to be gifted. By knowing what they face and how they present these struggles in class, we can go the extra mile and teach them how to take care of themselves and their grades at the same time. This does not need to be achieved by completely restructuring a class. If you see that your gifted students are struggling mentally, give them the tools they need to become stronger. Make the classroom SEL friendly and use their overexcitabilities to launch their learning. Students have the capability to become great citizens, but as educators, we need to be willing to change our classroom to foster their gifts. Educating ourselves is not enough, we need to also be willing to make the changes that our future students need. By giving them a safe, uplifting, and stimulating environment, we can teach gifted students how to deal with the pressures that come with participating in gifted education and teach ourselves to be more understanding of the struggles that they face.