Why 5th Graders Are Smarter

Fifth graders are pretty smart.
Chances are, they’re smarter than you.

Here’s why:
Recess, they understand the power of short breaks.
Breakfast, eating breakfast like a king (or queen) is smart.
Early to bed, early to rise, granted different people are productive at different hours but having a routine is genius. (Even if you don’t do routinely things like bungee jumping.)
Curiosity, at some point we forget that we’re all ignorant. We are. About different subjects and it’s okay to ask questions.
Persistence, at this stage they don’t mind trying new things.
Friendships, are simpler.
Politics, there is very little of it.
Poker face, haven’t met a 5th grader with a good poker face yet.

The Value of Teachers

Everyone has had at some point (I hope) a good teacher.
A great teacher.

Someone who inspired you and helped you on your way.
I’ve been fortunate to have a few.

The unfortunate aspect  of this great teacher is, no one knows what they look like.
There is no “formula” in place that determines which teachers will be great and which won’t.

But a paradigm shift is necessary to help the teachers. It falls on the students too to insure they are “learning”.
Gone are the days of one-way communication, both groups (students and teachers) now have access to an immense amount of resources.

But I think the formula has remained simple and Socrates had it right:
Just listen. Plan to discuss.

Keep your ears and (more importantly!) your mind open to other people’s thoughts.
I know it can be rather tough.

But, brilliance is everywhere.
The kids of today, really want to learn.

The Thing About Labels

In recent days there has been a lot of talk about labels.

I’m not talking about the aisles in grocery stores you frequent or hipster shirts. (all labels though)
I’m talking about people.

The Star, (June 2011) talks about a group of grade 8 students who weren’t allowed to attend their graduation dance because of their “bad behavior”.

Lewis Terman’s study of “gifted” kids Psychology Today (Sept 2009) whose average IQ was a fantastic 151 points.

These are a couple of small examples of a much larger problem.
People are often “boxed” in and labeled.

Why do we label? Because it makes life easier.
It’s all too easy to make predictions.

Genius can come from anywhere and everywhere.
It’s high time we learn that.