October 21, 2011
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Circle of Influence
A computer in England was poorly programmed, and labeled the smart kids ‘dumb’ and the dumb kids ‘bright.’ Typical mixup.
When the administration finally discovered the mistake five months later, they decided to test the kids again without telling anyone what had happened. And the results were amazing. The “bright” kids had gone down significantly in IQ test points. The “bright” kids had gone down significantly in IQ test points. They had been seen and treated as mentally limited, uncooperative, and difficult to teach. The teachers’ paradigms had become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
But scores in the supposedly “dumb” group had gone up. The teachers had treated them as though they were bright, and their energy, their hope, their optimism, their excitement had reflected high individual expectations and worth for those kids.
These teachers were asked what it was like during the first few weeks of the term. “For some reason, our methods weren’t working,” they replied. “So we had to change our methods.” The information showed that the kids were bright. If things weren’t working well, they figured it had to be the teaching methods. So they worked on methods. They were proactive; they worked in their Circle of Influence. Apparent learner disability was nothing more or less than teacher inflexibility.
Comments (5)
AHHHH THIS MAKES ME FEEL LIKE SUCH A HORRIBLE TEACHER!!!! It’s the teacher’s fault after all!!!! *SOBZ*
@NightPrancer - Yeah, try to do better lol. Anyway, don’t think of it in terms of ‘fault’ because it’s the fault of whoever didn’t help you be a better teacher. Just do your best, that’s all that matters.
forsure! just change for them. everyone is different, ‘n so are their needs, right?
Hehe IQ is a really humerous idea. We want to affix numbers to everything, even things they don’t belong to. I found this coffee cup on the floor somewhere where you’ve never been. I’m pretty sure it’s yours. Here ya go
@twilike - It’s more complicated than that. IQ is actually a really good predictor of capability. The only problem is it measures current capability, not your potential. IQ can change as much as 20 points in a year.
Some people make the problem of thinking once you’re born with your IQ, you can’t change it. But that is definitely false.