I think my professor is up to something. I already mentioned that my IQ is above average, yet she insisted that I take 2 intelligence tests. As a cover, she had everyone else in class take the same tests as well and gave them the same assignement as me, but I know she's singled out my superior intellect. I just haven't figured out what to do about that yet (cue creepy organ music).
To thwart her dastardly efforts, I tricked the system and scored the results of a more "normal" human being (that's the predominant species here on Earth, right?). First off, the regular IQ test. I couldn't blow my cover, but I didn't want to come across as someone as smart as a potato, so I did above average. I got a score of 124, with 100 being considered average, with a strong ability in Mathematics. The test took less than 15 minutes and consisted of 30 questions. How, may I ask, did I come up with that score? I haven't a clue. As I mentioned, I was trying to thwart the system. I just guessed a lot like any normal human being would. I noticed the test had mostly pattern-based questions. I don't know if that allows for a broad measurement of the human mind, since other aspects such as creativity and other skills were virtually ignored. Then again, humans have a fondness of patterns. The tend to wear patterns in everyday clothing and even their history is repetitive. It's like they enjoy being stuck in a cycle sometimes.
The next test was a bit more complex. It had to do with Multiple Intelligences. All you had to do was answer a bunch of questions on a scale of hom much you are or are not like what is being asked. The test givers are assuming that the people taking the test are (Ahem) being honest about themselves. Thus I easily saw how to manipulate this one. Every person in their right mind will want to make themselves sound more intelligent than they really are. Just choose the answer that makes you look better. It would make more sense for someone else who is completely unbiased who knows you to answer those questions. However, If I had scored perfectly in all of the areas, that would have drawn too much attention. I tried to think how the"honest" human I was trying to portray would answer, and I got the following scores: 13/25 in Musical Smarts, 15/25 in Kinaesthetic, Naturalistic and Visual/Spatial Smarts, 16/25 in Logical Smarts, 17/25 in Linguistic Smarts, and 19/25 in Interpersonal and Intrapersonal Smarts.
Now the real fun is comparing my scores with that of everyone else, to see how average or above average I am. But right before I started pursuing that, I asked myself "What's the Point?" Am I so egotistical that I'll use a test score to prove I'm better than someone else? Shouldn't I look elesewhere for a feeling of self-confidence? Why should I berate someone with a lesses score than I. Then I remembered I was trying to act like a normal human being and began teasing my fellow beings of a sub-par intelligence.
By the way, that's not as fun as it might seem. I made a lot of 3rd Graders cry.
That brings me to my next point. Do tests such as the ones I took hold any validity in the school system? I think the answer is a Definite "maybe." I think the testing should and could be refined a bit so that there is a smaller margin of error (or lying) so that real scores are the result. A teacher may be able to look at the Multiple Intelligence test scores and by that determine how an individual student would best learn a particular lesson/subject. I'm posing as a Drama Teacher (so much for blending in), which if you think about it, encompasses all of the Intelligences. I don't think the IQ test alone is valid since we're dealing with creativity and human expression here.
I would try and have the parents/guardians of the students honestly score their children on the Multiple Intelligence Test so I can get an accurrate idea of where the students' strengths and weakness are.
Oh, if you are curious of what my real IQ score is, take the square root of (182 minus 17 divided by pi times 0 + 64) and tip that number on its side.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
I Know Something You Don't Know. . .
Not to brag, but I have an IQ that is above average. I would brag about it but people get sick of the whole "I'm smarter than you" song after a while. In addition, there's always somebody whose IQ is larger. Rather than trying to compete with smarter people or find ways to make myself look smarter, I've decided to forgo all of that based off of a recent revelation of mine. . .
Your IQ doesn't mean jack.
Despite what a number on a test might say about me, there are several things that might make you think twice about labelling me "Gifted." To name a few, I can't blow a bubble with bubble-gum, I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was almost 10 years old, and it wasn't until way after my teenage years that I figured out teasing and making fun of pretty girls is not the best way to get them to like you. The bottom line is, a person's value or aptitude cannot be measured solely by a test score. There is so much more involved. Intelligence, in my opinion, is infinite. It all depends on the acts of the individual.
Case in point: Forrest Gump. Here's a man who intellectually had everything going against him intellectually, but who did amazing things. Yes, it's fictional, but that's beside the point. The human being is capable of so much more than what we think it should be. Teachers should approach students the same way. The potential is infinite; it's just a question of what their starting point is.
Now as teachers, we should already have come to the realization that (see previous blog posting) God has a sense of humor and thus created people with differences. These differences come in many forms, some of them quite severe. There are many who have trouble with tasks most people consider mundane or effortless. Much of the time it is through no fault of their own. Most people like to focus their attention on the question 'Why?" but they should be asking themselves "What can be done?" As a teacher, it will be my responsibility to ask the later and help these individuals succeed.
I don't anticipate it being easy. In fact, I have a confession to make. Most of my life I've been wary or nervous around people with mental or physically deformities. So wary that there have been times when I've attempted to completely avoid a situation where I knew people with handicaps of some kind would be present. I don't know exactly why. Sometimes I was self-conscious of the fact that I was staring, sometimes I felt guilty being a person without a disability. I thought I'd say or do something that would come off as me rubbing in the fact that I'm more whole than they are. Most of the time I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do in their presence.
Obviously, nothing in that previous paragraph helps the situation much. Thankfully, I have been able to get over the wariness for the most part. I find that understanding the difficulties a certain person might have helps, because then i know in a small way what they are going through. Secondly, I try to get to know the individual and treat them like a person rather than a case. One of my favorite scenes that depicts this is from the movie "Patch Adams" where a patient is being looked at by a bunch of medical students as a case, rather than an individual. Patch is the only person who seems to show any concern about the patient as a person.
That's what I believe the trick is: Knowing what the disability is and what it may mean as far as what the individual needs or will experience, balanced out with the treating them equally.
Your IQ doesn't mean jack.
Despite what a number on a test might say about me, there are several things that might make you think twice about labelling me "Gifted." To name a few, I can't blow a bubble with bubble-gum, I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was almost 10 years old, and it wasn't until way after my teenage years that I figured out teasing and making fun of pretty girls is not the best way to get them to like you. The bottom line is, a person's value or aptitude cannot be measured solely by a test score. There is so much more involved. Intelligence, in my opinion, is infinite. It all depends on the acts of the individual.
Case in point: Forrest Gump. Here's a man who intellectually had everything going against him intellectually, but who did amazing things. Yes, it's fictional, but that's beside the point. The human being is capable of so much more than what we think it should be. Teachers should approach students the same way. The potential is infinite; it's just a question of what their starting point is.
Now as teachers, we should already have come to the realization that (see previous blog posting) God has a sense of humor and thus created people with differences. These differences come in many forms, some of them quite severe. There are many who have trouble with tasks most people consider mundane or effortless. Much of the time it is through no fault of their own. Most people like to focus their attention on the question 'Why?" but they should be asking themselves "What can be done?" As a teacher, it will be my responsibility to ask the later and help these individuals succeed.
I don't anticipate it being easy. In fact, I have a confession to make. Most of my life I've been wary or nervous around people with mental or physically deformities. So wary that there have been times when I've attempted to completely avoid a situation where I knew people with handicaps of some kind would be present. I don't know exactly why. Sometimes I was self-conscious of the fact that I was staring, sometimes I felt guilty being a person without a disability. I thought I'd say or do something that would come off as me rubbing in the fact that I'm more whole than they are. Most of the time I honestly had no idea what I was supposed to do in their presence.
Obviously, nothing in that previous paragraph helps the situation much. Thankfully, I have been able to get over the wariness for the most part. I find that understanding the difficulties a certain person might have helps, because then i know in a small way what they are going through. Secondly, I try to get to know the individual and treat them like a person rather than a case. One of my favorite scenes that depicts this is from the movie "Patch Adams" where a patient is being looked at by a bunch of medical students as a case, rather than an individual. Patch is the only person who seems to show any concern about the patient as a person.
That's what I believe the trick is: Knowing what the disability is and what it may mean as far as what the individual needs or will experience, balanced out with the treating them equally.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
People Are Different. . . So Get Used To It
In the beginning, God created Adam in His image, though with less muscles because the Almighty wanted Man to be humble. And God saw that it was good. And it did come to pass that God developed a sense of humor, and as proof created Woman to amaze and confuse Adam. And thus it was that before Adam knew what was happening Eve, the Woman, had taken over. And God saw that it was good.
And it did come to pass that God did not stop there, for he commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the Earth. And thus came the existence of many nations and cultures, all from the same parents though not one of them will ever confess it. And with these nations and cultures came social structures and caste systems and new dialects and ethnic differences and alternative skin colors. And God did look down upon the many different peoples and did say unto Himself "Let's see how they deal with that mess."
Which brings me to today's subject: God's Sense of Humor. . . or as my Teacher puts it: Differences in the Classroom. Can you remember in all of your times in school if there was someone exactly like you (identical twins, you will please ignore that last question). Probably not. If we were the same it would be really boring and, as God would say, less humorous. Sooner or later one who is a teacher, as I am, will need to come to terms with the fact that there are many different kinds of people with multiple backgrounds and personalities. Now, as a teacher I could choose to acknowledge only some and treat the others as insignificant, which we all know would not end well. Not only would that be wrong, but expensive too. Lawsuits would be piled up against me and I wouldn't stand a prayer in court on a teacher's salary. So it would be much wiser for me to adapt the classroom teaching to respect all cultures.
Notice how I said "wiser" and not "easier." Remember, God has a sense of humor. Seeing as I haven't been struck down by lightning yet I will carry on with this train of thought.
In my classroom there will undoubtedly be differences. Lucky for me I'm teaching theatre, which historically has a pattern for doing things that are "different." It's my job to teach them how to artistically portray/show a person or idea. With Art, it really is about expressing what you are or what you feel. Those two things are greatly determined by where you come from and who/what you are. There are techniques and skills to acquire,yes, but when you think about it, the Oscar winners and kids singing in the Kindergarten are all doing the same thing: giving a part of themselves to their work. A teacher who dismisses or even squashes differences is, in effect, killing the giver. If, however, a teacher effectively opens the door, a flood of what I like to call "New Wonderfulness" will overflow into the classroom.
Now that's nice, you might be thinking. You should be asking: How are you going to do that? To be quite honest, I don't know for sure yet. Each student, each class, each day is different. Odds are the teaching adaptations I'll be using will have to evolve just like the cultures and ethnicities themselves have evolved over time. I do have a a general list of 'Do's and 'Don't's which should help.
And it did come to pass that God did not stop there, for he commanded Adam and Eve to multiply and replenish the Earth. And thus came the existence of many nations and cultures, all from the same parents though not one of them will ever confess it. And with these nations and cultures came social structures and caste systems and new dialects and ethnic differences and alternative skin colors. And God did look down upon the many different peoples and did say unto Himself "Let's see how they deal with that mess."
Which brings me to today's subject: God's Sense of Humor. . . or as my Teacher puts it: Differences in the Classroom. Can you remember in all of your times in school if there was someone exactly like you (identical twins, you will please ignore that last question). Probably not. If we were the same it would be really boring and, as God would say, less humorous. Sooner or later one who is a teacher, as I am, will need to come to terms with the fact that there are many different kinds of people with multiple backgrounds and personalities. Now, as a teacher I could choose to acknowledge only some and treat the others as insignificant, which we all know would not end well. Not only would that be wrong, but expensive too. Lawsuits would be piled up against me and I wouldn't stand a prayer in court on a teacher's salary. So it would be much wiser for me to adapt the classroom teaching to respect all cultures.
Notice how I said "wiser" and not "easier." Remember, God has a sense of humor. Seeing as I haven't been struck down by lightning yet I will carry on with this train of thought.
In my classroom there will undoubtedly be differences. Lucky for me I'm teaching theatre, which historically has a pattern for doing things that are "different." It's my job to teach them how to artistically portray/show a person or idea. With Art, it really is about expressing what you are or what you feel. Those two things are greatly determined by where you come from and who/what you are. There are techniques and skills to acquire,yes, but when you think about it, the Oscar winners and kids singing in the Kindergarten are all doing the same thing: giving a part of themselves to their work. A teacher who dismisses or even squashes differences is, in effect, killing the giver. If, however, a teacher effectively opens the door, a flood of what I like to call "New Wonderfulness" will overflow into the classroom.
Now that's nice, you might be thinking. You should be asking: How are you going to do that? To be quite honest, I don't know for sure yet. Each student, each class, each day is different. Odds are the teaching adaptations I'll be using will have to evolve just like the cultures and ethnicities themselves have evolved over time. I do have a a general list of 'Do's and 'Don't's which should help.
DO show respect
DO NOT show favoritism
DO empathize and endeavor to understand
DO NOT expect to know exactly what it's like and never assume you do.
DO give everyone the chance to step up to the microphone and say what they feel or need to say.
DO NOT stop trying
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)
