The Thinker:
Sculpture by Auguste Rodin
From
the dawn of intelligence testing to the present, developmental psychologists in
the main agree that a person's Intelligent Quotient (IQ) will at best increase
ten points during his/her lifetime. This increase is not a universal given however;
many do not gain this much.
Intelligence
is primarily the result of the physical development of the brain, and that is
established and controlled by one's DNA. Everyone is born with a set of
intellectual tools (aptitudes); some have a complete set of quality tools,
others not so much. Those persons most important to a child's
development—family, educators—need to understand this and first identify the
quantity and quality of the tools in the brain-box and then help the child
learn to maximize the use of what tools s/he has most effectively.
One
of the gravest mistakes parents and educators make is to assume that when a
child gets good grades in one area, say communication skills, but does poorly
in another, arithmetic and math for instance, that the child can achieve the
same in the latter as s/he did in the former, and is not doing so because s/he
is just not trying. Children are very
capable evaluators of their abilities. When a child says, "I can't
understand that," or "I can't do that," the child is telling
the truth.
To
push (badger, browbeat, threaten etc.) a pre adolescent to achieve above his or
her ability will do incalculable harm to the child's confidence and self
esteem. The child will struggle to please; the adolescent however will rebel. One
of the questions my student-parents taking my Adolescent Development course
asked most frequently was, "What can I do to make my son/daughter get
better grades?" My response always disappointed them. Nothing! One of the most
effective passive-aggressive punishments adolescents can apply to parents
demanding greater academic achievement, or better performance beyond their
ability in any area, is to quit trying altogether, even though in the long run
it may be detrimental to the youngster's future. (Many of my
just-out-of-high-school students agreed with this.)
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