Let's Start a Revolution

I've been listening (at last) to an audiobook that Basie passed on to me over a year ago that is called Emotional Intelligence by renowned psychologist Daniel Goleman. The thesis of his work centers around the idea that there is a second (or, if you're a subscriber to Gardiner's theory of multiple intelligences, a third/fourth/fifth/whatever) type of intelligence which may be a more significant predictor of success than IQ or standardized test scores. Since I have always been inclined to believe that there is more to intelligence than aptitude at a handful of acquired skills, I am not terribly surprised by his conclusions. They do set me at a slight disadvantage, since I would tend to place myself in the category of less socially and emotionally intelligent people, but we all have areas we need to grow in. It's called maturation, and everybody has to do it sometime.

What if we didn't hand out grades? What would that kind of a system look like? As I was filling out an application for a job today, I was asked to respond on a scale to a variety of statements. Among them were several regarding motivation through praise versus negative criticism. A grading scale is all about perspective and can kind of go either way, so it's not a terrible thing until it is placed in the hands of some poor child's parents. I'm pretty sure my mother and father had no feelings either way about what grades I would get - they would have liked me just fine if I had gotten straight Cs rather than straight As. But given the right slant, even an A can be short of the mark if it's not a 100. I know that's a rather indirect accusation, but let's just call it a vague dissatisfaction with the way things are and leave it at that.

I can feel myself preparing to ramble about the lack of personalization, the need for more teachers and smaller classes, whatever happened to community? and for that matter, let's just all go back to 1807 and be traditional families that homeschool and apprentice. Actually, apprenticeship is still a great idea. Anyway, suffice it to say that there is a flood waiting to burst forth. Why do I have to have so many opinions without the diligence to see them through?