Lesson 24. Section 1. Task 1. I.Q. Tests.
Mrs Kellerman, why is it that some children perform much better than others at school?
Obviously, it can't be denied that certain children are brighter than others, but it's not as simple as that.
A lot of emphasis is placed on intelligence measured by tests, so called I.Q. tests, which only measure certain types of intelligence.
Such as? Basically linguistic and numerical skills, or reading and mathematics to put it plainly, which is unfortunate because some children are bound to suffer.
A good example was a friend of mine's son who was kept out of the top class at school because of his average I.Q., that's around 100.
His father, though he had no idea his son was going to be an architect, always said he was a clever child.
Apparently he was able to picture things in his mind and draw accurately at a very early age.
The point is that his university life might not have been so difficult if his ability had been recognized sooner.
What you're saying then, is that some children have ability that are not easy to measure, that aren't appreciated by many schools. Precisely.
And if these skills are not spotted sufficiently early, they cannot be developed.
That's why in my view, there are so many unhappy adults in the world, they are not doing the things they are best at.
What are these other kinds of intelligence, and how can we recognize them in our children?