No person is born intelligent or stupid. That is a medical fact. It all depends on the development of the brain.
I don't know what someone calls intelligence for example my wife would have trouble with any school program. But she can tell you things that even the top science fail at one day she said it was going to rain I laugh and checked the satellite photos not a cloud in site the weather channel said no rain but three hours later we had a heavy rain. She has an intuition that is way beyond most. So what do you call that??
See, most people say "He is / isn't intelligent. IMHO everybody is intelligent in some way....the problem is people are placed in the "Intelligent Category according to their abilities in math, sciences or any of the "elite" disciplines. I had students who were brilliant designers, great languages learners, terrific planners and outstanding in history. Some of these NYC students today are doctors, marines, two are lawyers...........and you can trust me no one was "intelligent" on all disciplines. The thing to do is to help the kids to find / develop their talents.
My granddaughter graduated high school in May of last year. She went mostly to public schools, but she was home schooled for two semesters in high school and in her final year year had some online classes. She did spend one summer studying dance in Spain one summer. All the language was Spanish and it didn’t present much of a problem she said, but she is fluent in Italian. Her Spanish seems fluid now and her dad says she is okay in the launguage. I was hoping she would go to college but she has applied foe a dance scholarship to the Netherlands. She is aware dance is a short lived occupation with extremely low pay. She says she will enter college somewhere, if the scholarship doesn’t come through, in the fall. Her dad and mom seem to have no worries. I want her to have the ability to be independent if she wants. I also think public schools are necessary for those who can’t afford public schooling. I know those taxes are high but think we ought to grin and bear it.
Intelligence is nothing more than having the ability to use acquired knowledge. The average cave man had as much intelligence as the average person of today. Now if we’re talking about an intelligence rating, then we’re talking about how quickly someone can absorb and use that acquired knowledge. Now, to stay within the parameters of the topic, it’s the type of knowledge the U.S. kids of today are gleaning that hamper the overall view. Added to that, if the average student hasn’t been taught how to use his or her ability to reason, then we have another problem.
I believe a large problem with children's education today is that schools have moved away from teaching the basics. They are coddled by the system and coddled by their parents. Participation trophies for everyone!
I applaud your granddaughter for following her heart. She is living her life. I hate what the idea of an "education" has become. College is not supposed to be white collar vocational training. I think we all lose when the goal of becoming a more well-rounded adult gets shoved aside. Other than some narrow professions (attorney, doctor, accountant) I don't think most people really use what's taught to them. A degree has become little more than risk mitigation for the hiring party. And some people want to monetize it such that the cost of the education is commensurate with the income it's apt to enable, or that graduates have the right to sue the learning institution if their salaries are insufficient. Life is so much larger than Business Management. edit to add: That rant is directed against the system, not at you, Mr. Boggs.
@John Brunner I think I understand your rant, No offence taken nor given a second thought. This is merely a little conversation. I told my son to follow his dream; I encouraged my daughter to get an education, something she coud fall back on if she married some old boy who might run off and leave her. I encouraged my grandson to follow his dream, but get an education first, some way to earn a living.. I at first told my granddaughter to follow her dream, then find some way to maintain her independence. Her dad has encouraged her to follow her dream. She says after her dancing carreer is over, if she has a career in dancing, she says she wants to be a Nurse Practitioner. but who can tell which way the wind will blow. My grandson recently graduated college here at the University of Oklahoma with a major in math and a minor in computer science. His specialty is statistics. He has sent out several inquires to, I think five universities, hoping for a good schlarship at one of them. He has received one offer and has an online interview with another on the fifteenth this month. I know both kids will do what they want to do and not pay attention to an old granddad, but they humor me. Their mom and dad are their advisors.
Don't feel bad. You can walk the horse to the water but can't force him to drink....he will do so as soon as he is thirsty.
If a person doesn't want to go to College, but shows aptitudes for a useful Skill, then he should pursue a Certificate in a skilled trade/profession.
There are some states that offer grants for vocational schools provided that the student scores high enough. To me, instead of the “Bernies” of the U.S. trying to make the government hand out free college tuitions, getting kids into a vocational school wouldn’t be half as expensive and would be far more beneficial to the student. As a side note: I do not know about other areas but according to a retired gastrointestinal doctor and my own observations, most of the doctors here are from overseas. Are the kids here not interested in Medicine any longer or .....is it too hard?
You remind me of the backlash of maybe 30 years ago where we were "bleeding Africa dry" of their skilled nurses. We needed the help and they wanted our opportunities. I know a lot of younger American women who have gone into nursing, but perhaps we Boomers are skewing demand beyond domestic capacity. I've been seeing my share of doctors lately. I think about 10 of the doctors (GP, cardiologists, urologists, GI, dermatologist) were American, all of the CT scan/MRI/Ultrasound/etc techs were, nearly all of the nurses were. I've got one LPN who is from the islands, a urologist who is from India, and that's about it for non-native born medical folks. Perhaps this differs by market.
My granddaughter is going to the Netherlands. My grandson wants to be a statistical researcher and is going off to graduate school. Me, i’m going to bed.