How to Define Intelligence
Recently in my college composition class I read 2 articles that left me wondering “How do we learn?” On one hand I had “College the Easy Way” by Bob Herbert, saying how through advancement of skills such as critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing we increase our intelligence. Meanwhile, in the second article “Blue-collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose who says that our culture today separates the body from the mind and reinforces this idea by defining intelligence solely on grades and IQ tests. He also goes onto stating how intelligence can be earned in different ways through his own personal experiences. Being a child who both has a father who went to college and a mother who did not, I feel that I can understand …show more content…
I will need both a higher education and experience to pursue my future. But, in Bob Herbert’s piece he goes in depth about how today’s college students are not advancing in the skills he finds advance intelligence. For example, Herbert contributes, “The development of such skills is generally thought to be the core function of a college education... Many of these young men and women are unable to communicate effectively, solve simple intellectual tasks (such as distinguishing fact from opinion), or engage in effective problem-solving.” This shows a very serious problem in Herbert’s piece, as he finds that college students aren’t contributing to the work force without these skills. Herbert also include a statistic from highered.ssrc.org stating in students’ first two years of college 45% of them don’t improve their skills and that by the end of their four years still 36% don’t improve. He adds these to prove his point that there is a lack of intelligence being gained while in college. And with the amount of money college students have to pay it would only make sense for them to be developing these skills and gaining …show more content…
I’ve since studied the working habits of blue-collar workers and have come to understand how much my mother’s kind of work demands of both body and brain. A waitress acquires knowledge and intuition about the ways and the rhythms of the restaurant business...Rosie devised memory strategies so that she could remember who ordered what. And because she knew the average time it took to prepare different dishes, she could monitor an order that was taking too long at the service station.”
Rose’s mother knew her trade well and had communication skills not only when it came to the customers but with her co-workers and boss as well, showing that she had the “Lingo” that showed her authority and know-how. He also touches on how his mother knew how to “work smart” by using the critical thinking skills to complete all her tasks in the most effective way while accounting for new problems that may come
Recently in my college composition class I read 2 articles that left me wondering “How do we learn?” On one hand I had “College the Easy Way” by Bob Herbert, saying how through advancement of skills such as critical thinking, complex reasoning and writing we increase our intelligence. Meanwhile, in the second article “Blue-collar Brilliance” by Mike Rose who says that our culture today separates the body from the mind and reinforces this idea by defining intelligence solely on grades and IQ tests. He also goes onto stating how intelligence can be earned in different ways through his own personal experiences. Being a child who both has a father who went to college and a mother who did not, I feel that I can understand …show more content…
I will need both a higher education and experience to pursue my future. But, in Bob Herbert’s piece he goes in depth about how today’s college students are not advancing in the skills he finds advance intelligence. For example, Herbert contributes, “The development of such skills is generally thought to be the core function of a college education... Many of these young men and women are unable to communicate effectively, solve simple intellectual tasks (such as distinguishing fact from opinion), or engage in effective problem-solving.” This shows a very serious problem in Herbert’s piece, as he finds that college students aren’t contributing to the work force without these skills. Herbert also include a statistic from highered.ssrc.org stating in students’ first two years of college 45% of them don’t improve their skills and that by the end of their four years still 36% don’t improve. He adds these to prove his point that there is a lack of intelligence being gained while in college. And with the amount of money college students have to pay it would only make sense for them to be developing these skills and gaining …show more content…
I’ve since studied the working habits of blue-collar workers and have come to understand how much my mother’s kind of work demands of both body and brain. A waitress acquires knowledge and intuition about the ways and the rhythms of the restaurant business...Rosie devised memory strategies so that she could remember who ordered what. And because she knew the average time it took to prepare different dishes, she could monitor an order that was taking too long at the service station.”
Rose’s mother knew her trade well and had communication skills not only when it came to the customers but with her co-workers and boss as well, showing that she had the “Lingo” that showed her authority and know-how. He also touches on how his mother knew how to “work smart” by using the critical thinking skills to complete all her tasks in the most effective way while accounting for new problems that may come