Does it take an intelligent person to recognise an intelligent person?

Question

What started me thinking about this was the question of literacy levels in teachers.

If someone handed in a well written piece to a teacher who was unable to appreciate the complex arguments, grammar, choice of words, then how would the teacher recognise the worth of the essay?

Hypothetical there, I am actually training to be a teacher.

If you could provide your comments about the scenario above and answer the overarching question, that would be great.

I'm posting here because I know there are a few intelligent folk in this area.

Cheers.
J

Answer 1

Yes, unintelligent people do not seem to "get it" and there are definitely unintelligent people who have the misfortune to choose to become teachers of children. I remember when a close friend stopped drinking but did not stop going to bars how surprised he was to discover that not everyone who was in bars was drunk. Just because he had never been able to go into one without becoming drunk, he'd assumed everyone was just like him.
I think that we all tend to assume that everyone is just like us until proven otherwise, and it is very difficult to prove intelligence to someone who has no personal experience with it.
I remember a childhood experience with a teacher that impressed me. We were asked on a test, "How far is the farthest that you can see?" I answered that I could see light-years out into space because I could see the stars and was marked wrong. The teacher felt that a person who had answered that the farthest they could see was the sun had the correct answer. When I asked her why, she told me that when I saw the stars I was not seeing the stars I was only seeing the light that had traveled from the stars. When I told her that was also the only way that I could see her was by the light traveling from her, she sent me to the principal.

Answer 2

Hi Jez. If I may call u that?

If you are training to be a teacher, then you must already know that students have to prove a high standard of literacy, numeracy and a whole load of other stuff , to be accepted as potential teacher material and get on a training course.
Some pitfalls in this to start with.......some intelligent people can't spell etc...and some less able people can spell like wizards.

How do you define intelligence anyway?

Complex arguments, for example. Two intelligent people can hold diametrically opposed views to each other. Both can recognise the value of and appreciate each other's viewpoint. They will never agree. This don't mean 1 is more or less intelligent than the other.

The higher level you wish to teach at, the higher standard you yourself will have to prove before you will be accepted on any training course. You ...... or any of your future colleagues...will never be put in a situation where your students are smarter than you.

Your own literacy levels look great to me BTW.

I hope I've got somewhere near answering your question?

Answer 3

If your are talking on a high school level, worth is not important in an essay. High school is supposed to teach the basic skills in order to excel in life. Nonetheless, teachers should still be far superior than their students in their given field and be able to identify different levels of thought within their own students. This allows the more gifted students to be recognized and be given an education that can go past the basics, along with helping the slower students. If a teacher is just getting by, the education of the students is being stifled.

From a college standpoint, the teachers have to be of the best, and they usually are. The problem with the teachers in college is ,not that they aren't intelligent, but they only provide one side to the issues they are teaching. This also can stifle the student.

Answer 4

As a student myself earning a BS degree in Accounting, I have sure seen many teachers as you have described.

I believe this is more of a problem in K-12 institutions than in the College/University setting. This probably due to the fact that the individuals who pursue high level degrees (e.g., PhD) are found in college.

In terms of the question, I don't think there would be a way to completely appreciate the worth of the essay. Especially if the paper was over a topic the teacher had no previous exposure over.

However, over time as the teacher sees many students pass through his/her classroom, I'm sure an intuitive sense of what's average and what's above average is developed.

Answer 5

No, less intelligent people recognize the smarter ones. In the first place they are afraid to lose the position and they do not want the competition. Whether they say it or not but from the inside they are somehow afraid of that person. That's why a lees intelligent teacher can easily criticize the finest work of some young student. Killing his originality and his attempt of reviling talents from the beginning on. This teacher walks every morning in the class, watching this particular student closely, his answers, behavior, just to get a change to break him before everyone, to show his place in this society. This less intelligent teacher is simply jealous of all the chances this new person has.

So my answers is yes, the stupid person can recognize intelligent one from the crowd. The smarter one wouldn't see any competition in any of us at all...

Answer 6

well the majority of teachers are taught not to be prejudiced against pupils work based on their personal opinion, thats why some exam boards issue teachers with a checklist of what the essay must obtain to get a certain grade, therefore if you cannot undergrade a piece of work. And the answer to your question... ....well you could get a handful of intelligent people with the same IQ of intelligence, but when examined in a certain area some may do better than others allowing the 'some' to think they are more intelligent than the others, who have the same IQ level but are more fitted in other areas.

Answer 7

An insightful question. I think the answer is yes. At one time I was a professional student, (I earned 2 PhD's and a Master's) and I have seen teachers and professors who weren't bright enough to recognize a well written essay. As far as I'm concerned, all prospective educators should have to pass proficiency tests before being awarded a license to teach. And... I also think they should have to take periodic exams to prove they are still competent, much like a medical doctor does.

Answer 8

Your question reminds me of Aristotle and Alexander the Great. Of course, Aristotle was brought to Pella, the capital of Macedonia, by Alexander's father, King Philip, for the purpose of teaching the young Alexander. This was a perfect match: one of the greatest (some say THE greatest) philosophers and thinkers of all time paired with the most successful military leader of all time. As we know, perfect matches of this kind almost never happen and we're left with reality. The hard reality is the number of near illiterate students that American schools turn out every year. It seems that no matter how much money American taxpayers throw at this problem, it only gets worse. I have come to believe that public schools are hopeless, and that only private schools and home schooling can get the job done properly. My advice is simple: Americans, either educate your children at home, or send them to good private schools.

Answer 9

I can read something, and say, "That's better than I could have written it." If I were a teacher and reading an essay, I might think, "That covers all the basics I'd been expecting... plus a few points I hadn't even thought of, that're valid."

Answer 10

Not to sound mean or anything, but do you actually think you will find intelligent people on the internet? Perhaps 1, 2 or maybe 3 but that's about it.