All kids have potential genious?

Deliverance

during a train journey myself and my 5yr old daughter had this interesting conversation which kind of threw me a bit about how clever kids can be:

Her: "Dad I want to look after birds and be a bird watcher, I have a bag and a chart here which I tick off when I see the birds. I just need binoculars. Can you buy some for me"?

Me: "Sure, that is what a 'bird scientist' does".

Her: "I am a scientist dad, I know everything".

Me: "Well, no-one knows everything, you have to learn before you know stuff".

Her: "I know everything dad, I am a scientist".

Me: "Scientists have to learn things before they know about stuff".

Her: "No dad I know everything because I am a scientist".

Me: Senstively making a point: "Ok anwer me this, how does a train move"?

Her: Pause.... "Oil makes a train move dad".

Me: Surprised at answer but still trying to make a point about learning..."Ok where does oil come from"?

Her: Long pause for thought... "The wood and things go into the ground and turn into 'goo'.

Me: Taken aback by such an answer... "That is quite close to the right answer, well done clever girl!"

Her: "that is close dad but I guess I should know more about how oil works".

I gave her a big hug and a kiss and told her how clever she was to have learned that. I learned a lesson myself as well on how not to underestimate her: Proud dad here:)

metrovelvet

^ They are very very clever. We make them stupid.

My three year old explained to me how pistons work to make trains move and how this works with coal and steam and exhausts. I didnt even know what a piston was when he explained it to me. :eek:

Then he followed it with 'How do trains poo mommy?" :pac:

Deliverance

Haha brilliant. They are much more clever than we give them credit for. I like the statement you made: 'We make them stupid', that is so true.

Cróga

Yep, we make them stupid which is why a lot of parents are starting to realise that schools are no longer needed as it is an outdated model by about 150 years. Have a look into Unschooling. Kids are naturally curious - there's no need to force them to learn stuff they don't want to, forcing them to spend most of their time listening to boring teachers and doing boring homework. 15+ years of this causes them to lose their natural curiosity and enthusiasm. All for what? To be good slaves in their tax farms.

They are scientists - they use the scientific method all the time. It's important to not force your beliefs/answers onto your children but ask questions and be curious with them which helps them find the answer. Teach them how to think not what to think. The Socratic Method: Teaching by Asking Instead of by Telling

Another thing that effects children's IQ which isn't spoken about very often is beatings/sexual assault (commonly known as spanking). Violence has a big effect on the brain, especially on children's brains who haven't yet developed. Violence/neglect causes physical changes in the brain.

The Amygdala of insecurely attached children are hyperactive and larger than those of securely attached children. They have a greater surging of fight-or-flight, adrenaline, cortisol plus their prefrontal cortex's are smaller and so they are less able to control their fears, their angers and other irrational emotional reactions. People with childhood trauma/abuse make up almost the entire criminal justice population (abusive childhoods causing dissociative states).

They have poorly integrated cerebral hemispheres. This and the underdevelopment of the frontal cortex is the basis of such symptoms as: difficulty regulating emotions, lack of cause and effect thinking, inability to recognise emotions in others and themself, incoherent sense of self, lack of conscience. Violence is poison on the developing brain. For more info check out the bomb in the brain series

gbee

Many children have greater natural abilities, but, society, religion, school & environment knocks it out of them.

School & college/university are by far the biggest culprits on dumbing down smart kids.

Deliverance

Seems to be on the turn in some areas. These 8yr old kids had a paper published through their research findings and documentation. This is what education should be about alongside the more traditional approachs.

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2010/12/kids-study-bees/#

Also the use of media technology is being developed in this area as well at the cutting edge using multitouch tables. A realisation of the intelligence and resources that kids have to offer with their natural non preconcieved input is invaluable to recognise for the betterment of their future lives and indeed society in general.

mymo

My daughter is a big question asker and always was, my way to cope was to say "well lets find out" and go to the library or use the internet.
When she started school I got complaints from the teachers in a couple of classes because she asked why and how when doing school work. Finally in 4th class she got a teacher who allowed 5 minutes or so after studying something new to ask questions, she then encouraged the class to find the answers. It was like a light went on for her, she loved school again. Thankfully this continued into the other classes (small school, teachers must have talked), and they were given projects to work on, they could choose something from the subject they were studying and expand it(as homework or after they finished class work). They then got to explain it to the class once a week.
This kind of thing should be in all schools, children should be encouraged to ask more questions and find the answers themselves.

Up until this happened school was beating her down and she was loosing interest, I'm sure most kids are the same.

Chuchoter

I don't think that all children are geniuses, but I definitely think education makes people stupider. It discourages creativity, lateral thinking and discovering things for yourself. Everything is heres the answer. Learn how to get it, do it again in a an exam.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDZFcDGpL4U