Are all children born geniuses?

Question

Seriously, take a look at this and tell me if you agree?

http://www.thomasarmstrong.com/natural_genius.htm

It's interesting that if you look at the ADD link on that site, and especially the MULTIPLE INTELLIGENCE link, that HOW children are taught in school tends to be a real disadvantage to children who are gifted in other areas that are not dealt with in school, and in fact ignored and not tolerated, which is where maybe the ADD misdiagnosis comes into play too.

I say this because I have two gifted children (according to the "gifted" test they do in late elementary school) so my youngest, 8 was being badly treated (I have since switched schools and he is doing fantastic now) and he was mistreated because he was the exception to the class where all the other kids needed special ed, he was gifted and bored silly and was being abused and not tolerated as a result. His needs totally ignored, he developed stomach problems. He is doing WAY better in a school with brighter kids.

And brighter teachers! The kids were a factor (very rough and pushing/shoving/swearing type) but the teachers were even worse in thier capacity as educators. New school is as different as night and day and mostly it's due to the cultural difference, of that I am certain.

You are right Cheminator but don't your schools have special ed and gifted programs? Ours do but not in all the school boards, but the special ed kids (in elementary) get WAY more focus than the gifted...and I worked as a volunteer and team manager with my kids and got them to global finals of Destination Imagination 2 years in a row...wow you think you'd get a pat on the back but all you get is resentment from other parents...so it's like students have to DUMB DOWN and no one supports any endeavours they try to do...which is why I volunteer to help because the one teacher of the gifted has 5 classes of kids who come from 20 schools in the area...so I volunteer with my kid's class...but for my youngest he has to wait till grade 5 for gifted programs...not fair to these kids...many end up being problem kids and if you don't help them when they are young it's too late by the time they leave elementary school. So you are right...must take matters into your own hands.

Answer 1

Children arn't born a blank slate. How behaviorist....such claims are completely dismissed by all psychological evidence that has been recently accumulated.


I personally have my own ideas on this. I believe one is born with your abilities, and those are all you will ever have. You are 100% genetic. However, I believe that these abilities must be 'unearthed', in that, they are not simply just there, but you must nurture and develop them in order for them to shine through. You must build and strengthen those neural connections in the brain.

This is where environmental factors come into play. One might be 'naturally' gifted, but this giftedness cannot show if one is not allowed to unearth their natural abilities. I also don't believe academia is the 'natural' setting for genius. No...those who have abilities in academia may have their genius unearthed and recognized, but genius is not specific to any domain.


So I guess yes and no. Yes they are born with their intelligence level, but they cannot obtain genius without sculpting and molding the genius that they were given.



The link here seems a little optimistic. It seems to support an idealist view that everyone is created equally. However, this isn't true, but rather the reverse. No two are created equally.


As for gifted children, they can be a perplexing issue. I have delt with some children of IQ above 180. If anything a lot of these children have more than anything, learned to unearth their abilities at a premature age. They are highly sophisticated, though their abilities tend to flat line and plateau as they get older, which is why they should not be pushed too hard. Such could result in a 'burn out' when one reaches maximum potential at an inappropriate age and begins wto get fustrated while others begin to catch up on their intellect. Gifted children should probably learn the origin of their scores as well, so that braggart tendencies do not arise, or eliteist views upon others. High performance at a very young age does not guarantee very high performance on a deviation curve.

It is better for these very high IQ children to be treated normally, but with their gifts nurtured. They should be encouraged to build on their talents, and should be in a flexible educational environment where their needs and differences are met with care. They should not be treated as 'abnormal' or some sort of 'super smart genius' though, as alienation isn't exactly a good thing for a child. In fact, a child should learn to realize that they are going to have to work hard to obtain genius and nurture their gifts wisely.

It is true that most schools do a horrible job about nurturing gifted abilities. It is sad to see that the system is only designed to fit the middle of the road in development. People are too radically different from eachother for an education system to exist that only meets the needs of one kind. There is also a lot of attention given to low performing students, while often little to high performing ones. This is half due to political issues. People are afriad to adress the fact that some kids might have unearthed abilities that are well beyond that of the average child (or even some adults!). Also, most teaching courses do not address gifted children, and as such most teachers do not know how to deal with children that are too witty and clever for them. They may also lack the skills necessary to identify a child that is highly gifted but highly introverted and or has not unearthed much of his/her ability.

It's sad but true. Our education system has a long way to go.

Answer 2

Children are born as a blank slate...What is put on the slated comes from many sources, not just school. As for HOW children are taught in school tends to be a real disadvantage to children who are gifted in other areas that are not dealt with in school, that is where the other sources come into play. Schools are required to cover precise areas that everyone needs to know, not structured around the individual's strengths or weaknesses. It would be impossible to taylor a classroom to fit the individual needs of every student. They try to take a middle of the raod approach when teaching. The 2 extremes, slow and gifted students, suffer because of this doesn't address their needs. But it does cover the majority of the people.