Dumb kids who get straight As

I don't think that grades are neccessarily the indicator for intellegence. A person can get great grades in high school and lack the common sense to fight their way out of a wet paper sack. I've know people that have high degrees in their field, but lack commen sense in so much others. I don't think that people are "dumb". I think a person can be lazy because they don't apply themselves. Say a person learns what they think they need to know and then are just content to not learn anything else. Okay, I got a job so I'm content so I'm not going to try hard to learn something else. I've also known Mr. Joe Blow Farmer that showed up in court in his bib overalls and is in a court battle with a team of lawyers and he's out witted all of them because he applied himself and read every law book he can get his hands on to support his case. He reads up on case studies and seeks court documents to support his case. They're still fighting him after 10 years and they haven't gained any ground. So grades and test scores don't make the person. The person makes their own way in life. Grades, test and even in some cases college degrees, don't neccasarily mean you're smarter. They just mean you're "teachable", but once you are taught it's still up to you to decide if you're going to get comfortble in what you know or continue to grow and keep learning.

I did know a few. They paid me. Grades are not an indicator of intelligence. People who show up and pay attention. Unless they find people there to do the same. It really shows after you are out of school completely and need to earn your living. I read once that school is a place where A students teach B students how to work for C students. It is better to know HOW to think rather then remember stuff. If they can't problem solve they will have a lot of trouble getting ahead in the real world after schooling is finished, great topic.

Interesting discussion. As a teacher many of us in the profession have often stated quite honestly that grades are not the best measurement of the abilities of a child. We've gone more towards portfolios, but districts and states still want mainstream data, and that means test scores. (That's a bit oversimplified mind you, but know that we do speak about it). In terms of "dumb" people, I don't consider anyone dumb. That could be because my speciality is English and Special education, but I don't think even in high school I had those thoughts. Two of my best friends in high school were National Merit Honor Scholars, and some of the most common sense people I knew. Have I met those without common sense? Sure, but I don't think it has anything to do with their grades. I also think that "IQ" is something completely different and by no means affects one's grades. Meaning, I don't think the two are equal or can be equated, though they often are. I have a very high IQ, but my grades in High School were horrible due to a learning disorder. Once I got to college, I was able to shine. I think people who get good grades finally learn how to study, but also learn their own learning style. I'm a visual learner, and most of my high school was auditory teachers. I also suscribe to Gardner's Multiple Levels of Intelligence, and when I discovered what my strengths were I did much better because I leaned towards classes along those lines. Namaste-Anora

haha, nice description of a dumb gal, except that she is not dumb at all. She is a very smart girl who knows how to make use of people. She gives the impression that she cannot write speech. I bet she can. She just want to take a short cut. Ask people to write for her and she edits to suit her needs. That is a very smart way to do things. In fact, she knows how to play office politics at such young age, I think she will become a young manager within a few years of working. Maybe you have underestimate her ability.

I believe there are two kinds of smarts, street smarts and book smarts. The people who get others that are "smarter" to help are using street smarts. I had a friend who has a degree in psychology. He could explain how a sonic boom occurs and all kinds of other things that make you think 'hey this guy is really smart.' Yet he needed instructions to start a standard car racing arcade game. He also needed his 6 year old son to teach him how to use a CD player because he had never used one. Obviously he had an amazing amount of book smarts but absolutely NO commonsense.

I think grades to some extent show one's intelligence.Maybe we have diferent intelligence at birth.But we can take practice to improve that.Through learning something we can not only learn knowledge but also know how to learn new knowledge by ourselves. I think even an average student can get top grade if he make effort.I think most of students aren't interested in study beacuse it is very dull and students don't know why they should learn.But I think every subject is interesting if you read carefully and understand the principle. All in all,if you make effort,you will get you want.Otherwise, you will lose .