Friday, November 19, 2010

Argument: Intelligence

I'm trying something new.
A little bit of arguments here and there...I suppose.
They're not going to be back up much by references, more so my opinions.
Argue with them, agree with them, or just read, I won't really mind. I just feel like writing this down and maybe years later, look back at what I thought.

Intelligence.
What is it exactly? The ability to get 100% on tests? Straight A? Able to do sums in your head? Write a perfect essay?
Does creativity count as intelligence? So far, not really. What I mean is, parents, teachers, schools, have their own views of intelligence. Which is being able to memorize things, be 100% right, get an A...
So, let's say me. I cannot get good tests. No matter how hard I study, I can only hit the average level, tops.
So, I'm average.
I'm not smart, nor dumb, just in between. Teachers are neither resentful nor doting towards me.
I'll probably be considered by colleges, universities, as an average student, neither beneficial or dragging.
Actually, I won't even make it to a university. University are for those who are ultra smart, those who get all As, score 100%, stuff like that.
Like my friend.

I'm going to ask this, what does IQ have in all this?

Think about it.

Comparison of me and my friend. (I'm not being insulting)
Her:
Strict parents.
Extensive vocabulary
Many classes
Perfect writing/speech
Perfect scores
Knowledge of most anything studied the day before
Me:
Strict parents
Vocabulary research( Means I enjoy looking up words and using them for fun, occasionally, but I don't memorize them)
A couple classes
Decent writing/good voice/ nervous speech
Average scores
Knowledge of random bits and bobs (Like myths, odd facts, history, science, math terms, stories, poems, court cases)

So she's ultra smart while I'm average.
A while back, I took an IQ test my other friend sent me.
I scored 133, a pass into a program that she used to take.
My other friend commented that I should have joined the program years ago. I was confused; I told he that I wasn't smart. My friend is the one who should have taken the program.
My other friend then mentioned that my friend took the test several times but never could make it in.

What does that mean?
Aside from me, students are rated smart by how well they do in school. That is the usual way most people consider.
Ever 'looked' inside?
See, I have a couple friends that are considered average as well, but have such fascinating goals and ideas. One of them is a writer, so very good, and so mature sounding. She's such a good writer, I can't even edit her works. She does very well in the narrative section.
Another, she enjoys explaining things. Her 'teaching' style is very efficient, sometimes better than the teachers themselves. Isn't explanation surely a sign of intelligence? She does very well in supporting essays, and once, when we held a debate for class, her side won. Mutual agreement.
Another is creative. Her way of taking things is very original. Like a project, she was the only one to do a skit and got perfect on it. It was also very amusing.
And a poetic friend. She's quite shy of her work, so I had to convince her a bit to let me read it, and I instantly loved it. Her teacher did too, after I suggested her to show it.

These are all average A-C students. None of them have straight As, so they're just average.
But I think that if they would choose whatever career would best suit them, they would definitely succeed. But education at this point probably won't give them the best support to make that flower blossom. Nor their parents. The guardians want them to be rich, like a doctor or a lawyer. They hate going home with a B on a test, 'cause then they get yelled at by their elders. that they'll fail.
The way education rates intelligence is quite....wrong, I could say. We're all expected to learn the same things, to be able to use those things in the same way. Only one right. Others are all wrong. Why can't we expand? Or better yet, first teach life skills they will need to support their possible careers, then help expand on the skills they have. The talents.
We do that for musical talent. Art talent is quite discouraged where I live, for many artists become famous AFTER death.
And also, there's age limitations.
For some people, education is slow. They're chained to their age group, forced to work at the same pace their peers are. Unless they're extremely prodigy smart, they're stuck in that chain, even getting dumber as they don't receive challenges.
Others are thrust along, being told they're dumb, just because they work things at a slower pace. Or they're told they're wrong, because they see differently than the way the curriculum teaches.
And teachers. You know, that Teacher Association that protects teachers from being fired? And also that year requirements thing that when a teacher passes those requirements (In a short amount of time), they cannot be fired easily.
Some teachers are just downright horrible. Like my math teacher for the first few weeks. He didn't teach. He wanted us to do everything his way. He made us learn useless things, stuff that were not related. And if you didn't follow his ways, or didn't study alone, you were dumb. A failure.
He even told us he failed math.

But he couldn't be let go. Parents complained, but certain things protected him

Education is a waste with all these "teachers" Many don't teach. True, we need to protect the rights, but we should have stricter regulations on those who are acceptable for teacher, and those who are not. Or it's all going to go downhill.

Education can be a key to unlock potential, or a sword that kills intelligence.
But first, why not change how we view intelligence?

Intelligence is not a letter on a sheet or paper. Nor a test. People work differently, are smart in different ways. Maybe it's impossible to address all of those different ways, but we could try. Instead of being reined to one system.
Also, there are classifications of certain mental "disabilities". Is it considered "retarded" that someone sees the world in color? Like, each number has a color and it adds up to another color? I have never experienced that before, but if it helps the child, person, such, and brings new views into the world, ones that are later considered a great discovery, why don't we promote those?
Why do we consider disabilities, flaws? Is it because they think differently, see differently, write, read, calculate differently that it's an infliction, a sure sign of stupidity?

Surely, that is not intelligence. In order to grow, humans need to be able to expand, think, actually have diverse thinking.
But we're pulling the flowers and letting the weeds take over.
Is that what we want?
I think not.


And this whole entire thing seems jumbled. I'm done, for writing my odd thoughts and such.
Goodnight.

Many inspirations from this

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