Re: PreMeds would made Great MTs

From: Liz (lizhug1_at_mycomcast.net)
Date: 07/26/04 

Date: Mon, 26 Jul 2004 16:30:14 -0400

Well said, Sandi. And I for one never thought of your discussing your
school success as bragging. You were obviously excited and pleased and
wanted to share with your online friends. That's a far step from Joi's
expressions of superiority!

"SANDITYPES" <sanditypes@aol.comshazbot> wrote in message
news:20040726161656.16562.00001507@mb-m22.aol.com...
> >And even if I were, what difference would it make. I don't complain
> >about other MTs who describe their successes at school, or those who
> >identify themselves as Christian . . .
> >
> >What is it about one's saying that one is intelligent that upsets some
> >of the people on this group so much? I have never said that anyone
> >else isn't intelligent, unless some are upset about the numbers that
> >were revealed when people posted about the online IQ test.
> >
> >Get over it. I'm intelligent. It's a huge part of who I am, always
> >has been. If it bothers you, then just ignore my posts.
> >
> >Joi
> >
> Well, I've been deliberately staying out of this one because I have such
strong
> feelings about it, but since I'm the one who brags about school successes,
I
> reckon I'm dragged in kicking and screaming. :)
>
> Everyone here is intelligent. But everyone here is not placing the value
on
> sheer IQ that you are. As a person who once had her whole life defined by
her
> IQ number, I know the folly of that kind of thinking. I know the kind of
> pressure that kind of thinking puts on children, and I know the reality of
life
> that that kind of thinking ignores.
>
> In particular as it relates to children, I almost want to cry when I hear
of a
> child being homeschooled in obscure subjects while the subject of taunts
and
> hatred from children her own age because she can't relate to them on an
> age-appropriate level.
>
> Quite honestly, I understand why a child who is studying Japanese for fun
and
> getting Microsoft certified as a preteen would find herself a social
outcast
> among her peers. It is not because she is so smart that they can't relate
to
> her; it is because her smarts are all "book smarts," which in the grand
scheme
> of life have very little return for the effort.
>
> There is intelligence in the way that it is usually understood, the IQ,
bookish
> kind, and then there is emotional intelligence, which enables us to
interact
> with others and be a part of the world in which we live, the world OUTSIDE
of
> books. Often children who show early on that they have the traditional
kind
> get a lot of attention devoted to developing that intelligence, at the
expense
> of having to develop the emotional kind, which in my opinion is more
important
> to life success than "book learnin'" (as we used to say in WV) could ever
be.
>
> Call it common sense, as Dee did somewhere in one of these threads, or
> socialization, or whatever. Whatever it is, kids need it. And they can't
get
> it from us. They get it from their own peer group. A child can be
perfectly
> charming to adults (although often polite adults don't say what they are
really
> thinking, which is that the precocious child is an unbearable little
snot), and
> kids his or her own age will not be able to stand him or her. Not because
he
> or she is too smart, but because he or she thinks or knows, "I'm smarter
than
> you," and might know the history of the pythagorean theorem, but can't
have a
> conversation about teenage things.
>
> Now, I hear the strains of "teenage things are not important," and to us
adults
> they seem silly. Lip gloss and what singer is hot and which boy spoke to
whom
> on the bus seems totally unimportant, and it is easy to say, "Oh, children
> don't need to know THAT. It's so much more important that they read
Keats."
> But I am convinced that teenage silliness, and the artifical importance
teenage
> things hold, are just as vital to development as any other stage of
> development, as learning to walk or the terrible twos are.
>
> I've wandered far afield, because as a child pushed to the limits because
I had
> a bit of brainpower, I know the damage that can do.
>
> To try to get back on track, I guess in a nutshell what I mean to say is,
when
> I holler how excited I am that my grades were decent, it's the excitement
of
> realizing a dream that I am trying to convey, and maybe the hope that
someone
> else who has a dream will realize it's never too late to pursue it. It's
> sharing that excitement with others. I don't tell y'all to say "nyah
nyah, I'm
> better than you." If I did, I'd have posted my class rank, invitation to
join
> law journal or the fact that I got accepted to that top tier school I
wanted to
> transfer to, which I deliberately kept by myself because I knew everyone
one
> was sick of hearing it.
>
> I think that's what's ruffling a few feathers. Trust me, it's not jealousy
that
> you're so smart that is getting you these responses. It's the attitude
about
> it, how it is the defining factor in who's better than who. In short,
it's the
> lack of tact and humility everyone is crowing about. At least that's my
take
> on it.
>
> Sandi
>

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