Bottom-of-the-Top Syndrome
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"The feeling and belief that you don't fit into an academic setting where everyone else is also smart (and, from your estimation, a lot smarter than you) is called Bottom-of-the-Top Syndrome (BTS). In BTS, you realize that you had to have some brain power to get accepted into the mix initially, but after evaluating the others around you, you determine--often with no basis in fact--that you're the least intelligent of an intelligent bunch" (Delisle & Galbraith, 2002, p. 146).
Children may face this situation upon first entering a gifted program, enrolling in a cutthroat AP class, or participating in a summer enrichment program.
Children may face this situation upon first entering a gifted program, enrolling in a cutthroat AP class, or participating in a summer enrichment program.
Growing up in rural Ohio, it was not until I entered college that I found a group of peers as intellectually gifted as me. I quickly determined that I was not nearly as intelligent as I thought I was, and was quite convinced for years that I was the dumbest undergraduate in Ohio Wesleyan's honors program.
--Jennine Zepeda
What Teachers Can Do
Share the description of BTS with your students and ask them if they've ever felt that way. Then, discuss how they responded to the situation. Some questions to ask may include: 1) Did you strive harder? 2) Did you give up entirely? 3) Did you talk yourself out of your negative feelings and just plow ahead in an effort to learn?
"Such questions (and their answers) can go a long way toward achieving the ultimate goal of this activity: helping your students realize that almost everyone feels like the bottom of the top at some time, even if it's seldom discussed openly. Just knowing that you have company in your search for an academic comfort level is emotionally beneficial" (Delisle & Galbraith, 2002, p. 146).
"Such questions (and their answers) can go a long way toward achieving the ultimate goal of this activity: helping your students realize that almost everyone feels like the bottom of the top at some time, even if it's seldom discussed openly. Just knowing that you have company in your search for an academic comfort level is emotionally beneficial" (Delisle & Galbraith, 2002, p. 146).