Ever heard of the radical third-grade teacher in the ’60s named Jane Elliot? The day after Dr. King was assassinated, she wanted to discuss racism with her all-’white’ class in Riceville, Iowa. In this class, she tried out an experiment that drew mixed reactions from the locals in Riceville, and the impact of what she did reverberated throughout the country. (Below is a link to find out more on the most effective way for students to work…
She argued that there was strong scientific evidence to show that brown-eyed children were smarter, cleaner, and nicer than blue-eyed ones. When told this, the children who were ‘designated’ as inferior actually took on the behavior she described all these children to be like, they even demonstrated poor performance on tests and other class work. In contrast, those who were told they were smarter became more aggressive and the introverted ones came out of their shells. these students did better in class.
Although it was originally intended to be a lesson on discrimination, scientists stumbled on another discovery – that self-image has a lot to do with performance.
Perhaps, since your elementary grades, you’ve had classmates who were so confident and outgoing that they easily got by without studying as hard as you did. Or you probably had the same ideas as them, only the teacher didn’t call on you. This means that those classmates of yours are unconsciously harnessing their potentials by developing their positive self-image.
Dr. Howard Gardner, a professor of Education at Harvard, developed a revolutionary theory on Multiple Intelligences. In 1999, he wrote that students need to understand the world “so that they will be positioned to make it a better place.” And in order to develop that understanding, we have to be aware of who we are and what we can do.
In his study, he emphasizes that each one of us has every one of these types of intelligences, only that we’re stronger in some and weaker in others. If you’re looking to determine which field of study would suit you best in college, it would be a good idea to focus on your strengths. However, to become a well-rounded student, you need to work on your weaknesses.
Tags: children, college, education, of education, professor, student, students, study, teach, teacher, theory