Every once and awhile, I happen upon a book that changes my mind dramatically—that changes my viewpoint so much that I see life through a new lens. Real Education is such a book. It takes such a stark departure from America’s traditional view of education, that I was hungry to read and read and underline and reread, to grasp it so I could make changes accordingly.
Real Education declares, and proves with research studies and statistics, that:
1) Ability and intelligence varies
Although the idea of “no child left behind” may seem compassionate, the truth is that each of us is unique and vary greatly in our intelligence level. And there are several measurable forms of intelligence, from mechanical ability to mathematical reasoning to social skills. But we are not all equally endowed—by any stretch of the imagination.
I cannot sing while my husband has a wonderful voice. That is just a fact. We seem to be able to accept differences in talent as expected, but we have bought the lie that we are capable of “leaving no child behind”. Which is impossible. Those blessed with high intelligence will always leave the rest behind. That is their gift, and if they use it to bless mankind, all the better for everyone! If Einstein had to wait for the rest of us, we would all be living in a much less scientifically advanced world.
2) Half of us are below average intelligence
I guess that is obvious, since the definition of average is right smack in the middle. Which means that 50% are smarter than average and 50% are lower than average intelligence. Yet we seem to think it is our task to bring every child, including our own, “up to grade level”. Our true challenge is to give our kids every opportunity, and help them progress in the areas in which they excel, and find their place—rather than encourage them falsely by telling those who are not gifted with high intelligence that if they just try harder, study more, and apply themselves, that they can become a doctor, lawyer or Indian chief.
3) Too many people are going to college
It was shocking to me to read the statistics and realize that most students graduating from high school would do better gaining skills in a different setting than a 4 year college. Based on SAT scores, about 90% of graduating seniors will not do well enough in college to gain the skills they need to make a good living and contribute to society from taking the costly and lengthy college route. We seem to look only one direction—towards college—thinking that will transform ordinary students into “college graduates”. So many cannot get jobs, even with a college education. But the statistics prove that there are many who are mechanically gifted who would be much happier and earn more money becoming a car mechanic or a computer repairman, for example, and yet they are urged to trudge through 4 years of college and get a BA degree. It seems to go quite against the grain of American thought to realize that the majority of students would do better taking an alternate route to gain marketable skills.
I can see why the Washington Times reports that Real Education “takes a moral sledgehammer to our one-size-fits-all education mind-set”. The New York Times claims it is “the most talked-about education book this semester”.
4) America’s future depends on how we educate the gifted
The gifted, those with high intelligence in the mathematical, science and thinking skills realm, have the potential to change everyone’s life. And those with truly exceptional intelligence can benefit mankind dramatically, given the opportunity. Where would we be without Thomas Edison, Alexander Graham Bell, and Henry Ford? In the dark, with no phone, and no car. If you have a gifted child living in your home, you may be homeschooling because you recognize that your child needs an opportunity to soar. American schooling, by trying to make sure nobody falls behind, also prevents those who would leap forward. In order for the gifted to excel, there must be high expectations and excellent training for those who have the intelligence to go far beyond the norm.
It is hard to let go of deeply entrenched cultural values, such as “every child should go to college” but it is so exhilarating to see clearly, and make decisions based on fact, not wishing. Take time to read Real Education. Especially if you care about education, your children, and America. It will change how you think, for the better!
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
I'd sure love to hear your comment!
My children are early elementary/preschool age. I have just had my commitment to home school strengthened. My oldest excels in school. She is very quick. She was at the top of her class in kindergarten. Yet by the end of kindergarten she had a reading vocabulary of twelve words. The teacher told me she was put in a group of below average children so that she could help bring them up. Over the summer I got her up to a second grade reading level, and I now home school her. My middle child has a very difficult time learning. I spend very focused time helping him to learn to read, write, and do math. I think if he was in school, he would fall very far behind, because he needs the one on one attention to help him learn. One thing I have decided is that for him it is critical for me to teach these basic skills and any other information can come later, once he has mastered the basics. My point is that, yes, children have different intelligence levels, but with one on one attention, they can achieve more and get to a point where they can function on average level. my son can read at a first grade level (we have worked very hard to get to this level) and he is kindergarten age. I know that if he were in school, he would not understand reading at all, because of how he learns, and because of what I know the school teaches. With home school, I am allowed to teach a concept until he understands it. I am allowed to teach year-round. I am allowed to teach to the child. While there are too many kids going to college. I think there are ways to help the children who lag behind, while allowing other children to excel, and that is through the focused one – on – one attention that home schooling allows.
Diane, this is so true! My state just passed tough mandatory classes to graduate. You earn a college prep diploma or you don't get a diploma at all… two years of the same foreign language and the 4th year of math must be advanced… that is not for a "slow" learner! I am so thankful that I can homeschool and spare one of my children from being forced into total discouragement. I'm also thankful that I graduated when I did!!!
My frustration comes when so much is placed on testing scores. Testing scores like SAT do not demonstrate the talents and abilities people have. My daughter has a real talent for teaching and has been unable to be accepted in a teaching program because she doesn't test well and has missed the score by one point. Yet she has straight A's on all of her college level courses. She has retaken the test the number of times allowed, with the same result. We need to rely less on test scores and more on the demonstration of ability. But we can not leave any child behind learning how to read, write and do basic math. Where would our country be then? I think that is the philosophy behind the motto: "No Child Left Behind".
I do agree with the book that everyone should choose the educational path that will help him develop his talents and we should stop pushing (but not discouraging) college for everyone.
I hope children will not labelled as not suitable for college during their school years.
If I remember correctly, Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison were considered "stupid" by their teachers (and were later taught at home by their mothers). Albert Einststein didn't speak until age 3. Dallin H Oaks really struggled in elementary school after his father died, receiving many failing grades for a couple of years. Imagine if those bright minds were not allowed to progress because of early impressions of their intelligence.
The conclusions may be correct, but the overal impression is disturbing. I agree with Shelly. I taught for several years at private schools with small classrooms. We had bright children and ones that struggled as well as a splattering of children with special needs. Yet the school as a whole performed 80+% on standardized tests, and students excelled in ways those tests did not meassure. More focussed attention, lots of caring, but also the challenge to rise to a higher standard seem to be critical. The key factor though that public schools will never address, but that homeschools abound in, is the teaching presence of the Holy Ghost. With that every child has the potential to excell. They may not all choose college paths, but I believe they are all "gifted" with the individual talents with which they can bless others.
Diane,
I agree that every person of college age should choose for himself an educational option according to their talents, whether that be medicine or auto mechanics.
However, there are have been studies done that a child can gain as much as 40 IQ points between his 6th and 16th birthdays, so I would hope that the government wouldn't choose a career for a child at a very young age based on the ideas in this book.
Homeschoolers do seem to outperform public schoolers academically
and that would seem to suggest that a lot of individual attention and focused learning increases intelligence. A below-average student in public school may become a scholar in homeschool, because learning is more interesting and his weaknesses may be strenghthened.
Another great post, Diane.