“That is not Where my Intelligence Lies”
When I was a child, I didn’t think I was smart. I felt like most of my teachers and family members felt the same way. I believed the majority of my college professors held the impression that I was unintelligent and as a result I didn’t try very hard. Unfortunately this is a problem throughout the world that if you are not a good test taker or you have trouble grasping and memorizing concrete information quickly, you are not looked upon as being smart. I finally learned as an adult, “this is not where my intelligence lies”.
Elementary school was fine academically, however it was a different story in Junior High School. Despite having honor and AP courses in High School I continued to feel dumb. I regularly put myself down and felt inferior to my classmates. As a student in college and grad school I established a healthy group of friends who were supportive and encouraged me to change my negative self-talk. It has only been as an adult that I have finally managed to accept my intelligence.
I am not the exception. Many children feel incapable of writing an essay or completing a math problem because it takes them longer to learn the material. There are different types of intelligences; just because a person has a harder time with one or more areas it doesn’t make them dense. It just means their intelligence lies in a different area or they haven’t had the opportunity to develop their skills.
Many studies have been done to conclude testing to be a poor indicator of ability or true knowledge. Not only that, there has been discriminatory research in trying to highlight certain ethnicities and cultures as being inferior. Environmental factors such as socioeconomics, which may include lack of opportunities and resources, cultural differences – such as placing more of an emphasis on certain subjects and careers over other areas of study, parental guidance (or the lack thereof), trauma in childhood, and language barriers are all examples of how a person may view their own intelligence due to societal and environmental influences.
If more children had access to very small class sizes, the latest resources, a healthy, supportive home environment, and opportunities to explore and grow areas where they excel, then we would have stronger societies throughout the world.