School is Not Real Life
Teaching to the Average in Same-Aged
Classrooms
By Deborah L. Ruf, Ph.D.
Remember how I said that the average IQ
difference between people who get our
jokes-people most likely to become our
friends-is 12 points (on a 100 point scale
with a 100 IQ being average)? And
remember I told you that the typical same-
aged elementary classroom has a 70 to 80
IQ range in it? You probably have been told
by others-not me-that this is good for
children because it teaches them about the
real world. Well, in the real world we choose
our friends and our activities by how
comfortable we are in that environment and
by who else we get to spend time with. Also,
although it may be nice to have a mix of
abilities in the office, we pretty much want all
CPAs or medical doctors to have a certain
high ability, no lower than what is required to
get the job done, right? That's why we have
examinations at the end of such training to
guarantee that everyone who earns the title
actually can do the job.
Did you know that every job or career
actually has its own IQ average and its own
proven necessary minimum? Google Linda
Gottfredson and Frank Schmidt to get you
started. They are among those who have
shown that people in the professions or other
very complex careers need a minimum IQ of
about 120 in order to both learn what they
need to learn and perform it well. Like IQs or
not, these numbers keep correlating with real
life outcomes. Oh, and in case you are
assuming that you can change somebody's
IQ, there are no replicated studies that show
any more than an average 6 point temporary
increase in testable IQ with even the most
intrusive interventional approach, adoption.
So, the way I look at it, we need to start
educating and training people for what they
can do and for what will give them
satisfaction, pride, and the ability to take care
of themselves.
Most people think that teachers teach to the
average. Well, no, they don't. They can't! If
they taught to the average, too many of the
slower learners simply wouldn't catch on to
most of what was happening in the
classroom. Teachers teach to the top of the
bottom third once they know their class. This
way, they reach the slower learners fairly
well and the majority of the kids in the middle
get lots of encouragement and opportunity to
manage their time, learn study skills, and
how to handle a certain amount of intellectual
struggle and feel success when they
finally "get it." The sad truth, though, is that
the brightest students end up spending a lot
of time waiting for something new to happen.
Depending on a number of other factors, like
whether they are male or female and their
personality profiles, they learn a lot that ends
up not being helpful to real life. They learn
that if you are smart, you don't need to study
or work hard. They learn that their parents
and teachers don't know what they are
talking about if they think this assignment
matters. They learn that they are smarter
than everyone else in the class and are in for
a shock when they actually do get out into
the real world.
David Lohman says that by 1st grade the
typical same-aged mixed-ability classroom
already has 12 grade equivalencies of
achievement in it. Brighter children absorb
more from their environments than lower
ability children, so regardless of their
preschool environment, brighter kids will
know a great deal more than low ability
children by the time they reach 1st grade.
Environment is an extremely important factor
in someone's development, but it does not
change whether or not someone is very
bright or very slow. A child whose IQ is 120
could finish the typical elementary curriculum
in about 4½ years, not six. A child whose IQ
is 130 could finish it in less than three years.
Above 140 needs only one year, but they are
required to stay all six and go at the pace of
everyone else their age. What a waste of
time and talent. Folks, there has got to be a
better way.
Keeping Up With Dr. Ruf . . .
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Greetings!
Ah, March in Minnesota. One minute it feels
like spring, and the next it is cold and
blustery with huge flakes of wet snow falling
from the sky. Then five minutes later it is all
melted and crocuses are poking through the
compost.
Well, then, it must be time to start looking for
summer camps! In this issue, besides
continuing Dr. Ruf's articles on School is
Not Real Life, we list summer programs
for gifted children.
Sincerely, Kathy Hara, Editor
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Summer camps
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For those who have not yet found a summer
camp for their bright kids, here is a list of
web sites of summer programs, put together
by a Minnesota Council of Gifted and
Talented (MCGT) group. And besides all
these entries listed here, don't forget to
contact your local art, history and science
museums to see what they offer during the
summer.
This first group of websites contains lists of
summer programs:
Jo
hns Hopkins Center for Talented Youth,
Hoagies' Gifted Education Page,
Davidson
Institute,
Massa
chusetts Institute of Technology.
The following are summer programs taking
place around the U.S. and the world:
THINK Summer Institute,
Centre for Talented Youth
Ireland Summer Programme,
J
ohns Hopkins University Center for Talented
Youth CTY Programs,
Center for Talent Development-
Northwestern University,
(Rocky Mountain)
Center for Innovative and Talented Youth
Summer Programs,
Office
of Precollegiate Programs for Talented and
Gifted (Iowa State),
Stanford University EPGY Summer
Programs,
MathPath,
MathCam
p,
Ross Program,
Summer
Institute for the Gifted,
Mid
dlebury Monterey Language Academy,
Greatbooks Summer Program,
SPARK,
Phillips Exeter
Summer School,
Inter
lochen Summer Arts Camp,
Exploration
Summer Programs,
Duke TIP Summer Programs,
Secondary School
Program: Harvard Summer School,
TASP,
Leadersh
ip Education and Development Program in
Business (LEAD),
Yuna
sa Summer Camp for the Gifted.
These summer camps and programs are
located in Minnesota:
Bakken Library and
Museum,
Institute of Technology Center for
Educational Programs,
Minnesota
Institute for Talented Youth,
Concor
dia Language Villages,
In
termediate District 287 (West Suburban
Summer School),
Rochester College for Kids,
School
Chess Association ,
The Loft
Literary Center,
iD Tech Camps Minnesota,
Gifted
and Talented Institute-ISD 191.
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Educational support
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Last year about this time we included
information about the Jack Kent Cooke
Young Scholars Program, which provides
educational opportunities and support to high-
achieving youth with financial need. The
program is now accepting applications from
current 7th graders, and the deadline is
Monday, May 5. For more information, visit
the Jack
Kent Cooke Foundation.
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Some fun websites
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Over the last six months or so we have
heard of some fun websites that you and/or
your children might enjoy.
The first site is Doodle 4 Google, which features a
contest sponsored by Google. It is
run through schools, with a registration
deadline of March 28 - so there is still time,
but not much. The idea is for students to
make a design incorporating the Google logo
with this year's theme "What if . . . ." If
nothing else,
it's fun to look at the site and see what
creative students have done with the logo
over the years.
One can get lost in the National Geographic
websites. The National Geographic
World Atlas for Young Explorers, Third
Edition,
which ties in with the book, includes an
Animals section, with Crittercam access; a
maps section for fun or to use for school
reports; world music, where you can listen to
Arab classical music and more; and a
games section which features interactive
adventures, puzzles and action games.
Clicking on the Country menu item leads to
even more choices, including more animals,
daily news, a green guide, and history. And
throughout the site there are the
incomparable
National Geographic photos.
Sponsored by the Minnesota Zoo, our third
site is Wolf
Quest. Along with information
about wolves, the site also features a free
downloadable game in which the player lives
the life of a wild wolf in Yellowstone National
Park. With single- or multiplayer versions,
new episodes will be released periodically
during the year.
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In Minnesota - School Options Fair
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There will be a School Options Fair for
MCGT members from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on
Saturday, April 19. Attendees will be able to
speak with representatives of various
schools, from pre-K to colleges with dual
enrollment programs, about what those
schools have to offer gifted children. The site
is the Edina Community Center, 3rd floor,
Room 350, 5701 Normandale Road, Edina
(On the east frontage road of Highway 100
south of 50th St.).
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The foundation of every state is the
education of its youth.
-- Diogenes Laertius
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