Book Smart

I am fortunate to work with some of the smartest and most gifted students this year through the IB program at Southside High School. I marvel at their analytical capacity, creativity, and even flexibility to adjust towards any number of standards and rubrics. Truly, by all means, these young people are marked by intelligence in all of its forms.

I want to write about what startles me the most however: their affinity to find the right answers. By no means discrediting them I'll mention that their experiences are limited in scope - most of them are only seventeen years old - and have never seen the politically significant events for which our text book presents forums. Yet, somehow they seem to understand.

I'm seeing a pattern of students simply becoming what I assume people mean by "book smart" the uncanny ability to use data in whichever way is asked of them: categorize, assess, compare, contrast, evaluate on and on - they know exactly how to meet and exceed expectations, or at least minimize, by any means, the possibility of failing expectations.

I'm not undermining the value of this but simply marveling at the ability of a student to find answers to multiple choice questions without truly knowing answer. Even essays show their continual grappling and losing of relevant data contrasted with trivial and non-critical. They'll use this priceless bank of information applied to the world and their choices in their futures I'm sure...