Gilbert Said:

Anyone here agree that top students are not really naturally smart?

We Answered:

Well, I agree with you that it is easier, by far, to do well in a subject or any topic if you're highly interested in it. And I also agree that an average student, who is gaga about calculus or history, or whatever, can excel in it. As far as I know, it is the speed and depth at which it is understood, the younger the age, the more gifted, that indicates high intelligence. The average student will eventually learn everything the gifted kid can, but the gifted kid just has a "higher level processor", if you will, than an average student and will be a step ahead. The topic is much too broad to answer completely here, but there is much information and many studies that have been done that show there is a difference in the ability to learn, of a gifted kid than an average kid.

From another tack, perhaps the kid who is wild about football is also gifted but hasn't been identified or found his place in academics. Maybe he will not be an academically (per se) gifted individual ever yet still gifted in whatever way he is. Perhaps he will go on to be a top sports commentator. One of the signs of giftedness is high interest in a topic at young ages, incredible memories, high levels of energy. Sounds like the football kid has these.

There are also other kinds of giftedness than just academics. Physically gifted, as in Michael Phelps, swimmer, artistically, as in Picasso or Rachmaninov, and creatively as in Hemingway or Edgar Allen Poe.

I sense a feeling of irritation over the label of giftedness, yet we all celebrate people like Michael Jackson or Michael Jordan who were/are obviously highly gifted in their areas. Really, labeling people this way just puts their feet on the right path to make the best of who they are, no one is trying to be better as a human being than someone else......

But as to your last statement, you will probably do well in school if you love it. (But why do you love it?)

Juan Said:

Anyone here agree there is no such thing as natural gifted intellect and only interest?

We Answered:

I didn't read everything but I agree.
Someones interest in a subject has a lot to do with their difficulty understanding it.

Terry Said:

Anyone here agree that top students are not really naturally smart?

We Answered:

I agree completely. The only thing that I would like to add to your essay :) is that success also has to do with organizational and time management skills. However, if you truly enjoy the subject and make an effort to actively learn it, time management and organization in regard to it increase. I was a C and D student in high school (except of course in my art and sewing classes), but when I got to college and took classes that I actually enjoyed and had subjects that interested me, I was pulling grades I never thought possible.

Dorothy Said:

Anyone here agree that top students are not really naturally gifted with intelligence?

We Answered:

yes i agree very much. it disappoints me when people only look on either the up or downside of a person but not the whole picture.

Marjorie Said:

Anyone here agree there is no such thing as natural gifted intellect and only interest?

We Answered:

There are some children who are naturally gifted .In other words, eventhough all are potentially talented, some have a more prominent flair to express talent. Doing well in school is different from 'naturally gifted'. There are many examples of a poor(in studies) student coming out in flying colours in some other field of activity. For example, all cannot sing harmoniously. One should have the innate capacity like good voice, eagerness to learn music and urge to develop that capacity.The same is the case with other fields of fine arts.Memorising capacity alone will not make a good artist or achiever.Talent is very important. And in some cases that talent is helped by natural ability.

Zachary Said:

Anyone here agree that top students are not really naturally gifted with intelligence?

We Answered:

Yes I think so as there are so many stories of millionaires who were not 'good ' at school - When you get to uni after all that hard graft remembering facts it comes as some surprise to be allowed to think for yourself the ones who 'got' school and enjoyed it often don't 'get' life as its not the same trick. I went to uni as a mature student having not done well at state school as I had been at a free school for six years where we were learning to love learning for its own sake and how to learn for ourselves and not others . I found at uni that brilliant A level students were incapable of having their own thoughts and were annoyed about even being asked. yes I agree although free school was brilliant for me - we had to be seen to be working but could work at what we wanted I left at 9 years old not knowing my times tables but it has been the best life experience I could have had. State school was like a mind prison as krishmanurti said it is no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society - I think this applies well here.

Dorothy Said:

Anyone here agree that top students are not really naturally gifted with intelligence?

We Answered:

I think that part of what you are saying is true. People are more interested in learning when they can relate to the subject and somewhat enjoy what they are learning. That is why as a teacher, we must find out about our students, their likes, dislikes, hobbies, home situations. Then we must find a way to integrate this with the curriculum.

For example one guy loves football and memorizes all the stats about players. For math, I would arrange problems so he is calculating average yards run or the miles traveled throughout the season. (I don't know Football well, but i would take time to learn it or have him explain it to me. That would let the student know that I care about him and his hobbies, so a relationship is being built between us. This could make him more comfortable in the classroom)

Doing this lets the student know that they can do the work, it just needed to be arranged differently. Not all students learn the same. This would be hard to do of course with 26 students in a classroom, but you don't have to have different work for every student everyday. Just make sure that each student feels like they are a part of the curriculum, whether it be their hobby or their culture that is being researched for history.

This kind of went off on a tangent, so I apologize if it was not the answer you were looking for. And I do think that some students are naturally talented where they can perform well in any subject without working at it. Then there are ones who only perform well in subjects they enjoy. I don't totally agree that they are memorizing, maybe they study harder in that subject to understand it.