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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]was he picked up for "acting white"?[/quote]

He is white.  (Most of his classmates are not). He hasn't been picked on yet.  Socially he does very well.  So far.  I can only assume that all the posters stating that this does not happen or that smart kids are a dime a dozen go to different types of schools.  My child definitely stands out (a lot - he's several grade levels ahead e.g. about two in math and three-four in reading) and the other kids definitely notice.  [/quote]

Perhaps, but I honestly think you're over thinking this and likely thinking too highly of your own child.  My kid with a very, very high IQ fits in just fine...but he's humble and has no idea how bright he is.  He acts like a normal kid with other kids but with sprinklings of advanced vocab or questions or humor.[/quote]

Thanks!  I hope so.  My concern is partly from my own experience, though I wasn't by any means as academically advanced as my child appears to be.  By 12 being smart was not considered cool and I learned to lie about my grades or pretend I hadn't done my homework.  But much earlier than that I was picked out and given nicknames related to my "brains" (not mean in itself, but ultimately it became negative).  As much as we praise him for effort not intellect, the kids at school very quickly labeled him as "smart" or "genius" which then becomes part of your identity and an expectation you have to live up to.  [/quote]

OP, your son sounds like he is in a similar situation to my DD.  She's always seemed to have an easy time fitting in socially, and has always had plenty of friends, and although kids would sometimes comment on how she knew things they didn't, it wasn't negative.  In 1st grade she was pulled out to go into a 2nd grade class for part of each day, and that seemed to work fine for her socially as well.  It seemed like it was around the second semester this year (2nd grade) that some kids in her class were teasing her or giving her a hard time for being "smart".    I don't think it has really impacted her friendships, but its something that she is struggling with a lot more now and never seemed to be an issue previously.

I'm kind of side-eyeing a lot of the previous commentators who talk about it not being "smart" kids who get picked on but "know-it-alls".  Kids this age notice differences and start to use those differences as a reason to tease and pick.  It doesn't take the "smart" kid showing off for their differences to be noticed.  I don't really know what the solution is, though, other than I don't want her to feel like she has to hide who she is so that she can fit in.

Anyhow, I'm not sure this is helpful, but I wanted to share that you aren't crazy for thinking about this as something that might be an issue, despite what some other posters have said.[/quote]

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