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Taken advantage of

Dear Sam,

I am quite gifted at school and am good at academic subjects, music, sport and art. However some people take advantage of the fact that I do well in school and are always asking for answers and yell across the room 'HOW DO YOU DO THIS?' They also ask to copy my work and assume I know everything which I don't! I'm getting a reputation for being the smart kid who has all the answers. It's getting infuriating and I just get so angry with them. I want to shout at them but I know it's wrong and I don't know what to do about it. Should I talk to a teacher or anyone else?

Ask Sam

Sam

Hi there,

Being gifted is wonderful. It makes sense that you’re feeling frustrated, because it seems that people are taking advantage of this. You might want to be seen as more than someone who can help them with their work, and appreciated more as a person.

Saying “no” can be a hard thing to do, but sometimes you need to. People can often forget that they are asking you for help all the time and forget that you might not be able to always be there for them. It’s okay that you cannot always help them. It might actually benefit them to get help from someone else, like a teacher. You might find that being assertive can help express yourself to people.

It might be an idea to share how you're feeling to a teacher. This adds a lot of pressure on you which is not okay. You may be gifted but you shouldn’t have your learning interrupted to help others.

Speaking to a teacher might bring this problem to their attention and they can be more aware of what is happening. If the teacher is aware they might be able to speak to the other students.

It's great that you took the time to contact me before it got to that stage and that you recognise that shouting is not the right way to handle the situation because can often make things worse.

Take care,
Sam

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