Sunday 4 December 2016

So what is intelligence? #wfe2

During my own education, how has my "intelligence" been assessed?

I can recall doing IQ tests as a youngster.  Back in those days Aoteroa/New Zealand was using TOSCA (Test of Scholastic Ability) but they did a "derived IQ" from that. I can't remember it ever affected my life much but we were streamed (this is the late sixties/early seventies).  

How has this affected the educational opportunities I have been given?

I was A stream so I guess my TOSCA was OK, and there were 5 other sets.  We got to do Latin because we were A set.  (Actually never regretted doing Latin, when I later became a biologist and letter again had my own garden it came in useful! There would be lots of lower sets who became gardeners that could have done with it.)

It also labelled me as someone who should achieve, this bought a bit of pressure.

What judgments have people made about me that have been affected by an assessment of my "intelligence"?
Dad was a London docker (we emigrated to NZ when I was 10) and Mum a seamstress. They had very low educational backgrounds, but coming out of WW2 they had a sense of we could be who we wanted to be. We were as good as the "masters". Dad was intelligent and well read in narrow fields (eg History of WW2) and Mum was a very good sower. This is relevant because although they wanted me to succeed, they really did not understand what studying meant.

Do you consider myself to be a "learner"? why?

As a result I did not study well.  I am highly dis-tractable. Even this morning writing this I wanted to check out on-line auctions!  I have learnt, I have an MSc, but I could have done better. I think I have a natural ability to learn but a disinclination to focus.  The result is I underachieve a bit, but I am not unhappy with that.  I know a lot of different stuff because my mind wanders as opposed to knowing a lot about one kind of thing.


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