Search Results for: blog when the student is smarter than the teacher

When the Student is Smarter than the Teacher

Or in this case, smarter than standardized test designers. Seventeen-year-old Geoffrey Stanford royally schooled some test makers in Kansas recently, and his efforts not only sent him to the head of the class, but he also got a free ride to Hollywood to appear on various talk shows. It all started when the high school junior saw something that didn’t make sense while taking his state writing test earlier this month: The word “emission” — as in “the emission of greenhouse gases” — was spelled “omission.” Remembering a lesson about test-taking that his teacher drilled into him years ago-—”Read every … Continue reading →

Does Being A Parent Make You Smarter?

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Have you ever felt that becoming a parent has made you smarter? I do. As the parent of a young gifted child, I have had to step up my game, so to speak. I have to stay three steps ahead of him, anticipating his every question and being able to come up with an answer to the many questions he might ask. If I don’t know the answer, then I have to find out post haste. I was an honor student throughout school, graduated number nine in my class in fact. But Tyler is so smart it’s scary. And it … Continue reading →

The “What If” Thought

I’ve been talking about writing papers recently. If you’ve been reading along thinking “yeah, that’s a good idea to get started this early,” but you haven’t yet done it — then get to it! Time is only disappearing (despite the new sci-fi possibilities of the CERN neutrinos — at least for sci-fi authors). So get started today. “… how do I do that?” That’s a good question. Today I’m going to talk about the “what if” thought. You’ve probably had one (and you’re lucky if you did). You’re sitting in class having a discussion and you get a crazy thought. … Continue reading →

The Learning of Teaching

Here is one of the most important things I’ve learned about teaching: it teaches you to learn. So, so simple but so, so true. I recently showed my students my notes for class one day. They were shocked. Pages and pages of notes. Most of my students just though that teachers were naturally smart or went to school so long that they just learned what they knew one day and simply regurgitated that information to their students. (Well, some do it that way.) At any rate, this is important information for students, not just teachers. I typically learn more teaching … Continue reading →

College Professors- Are They Worth More Money?

Teachers are not known for making a lot of money. While some states and districts are giving pay raises and incentives for teachers to remain in their areas, the respect is still not there. Although teaching is a profession and teachers are professionals, they usually are not paid and held in the high regards of other professionals such as doctors and lawyers. I think in society’s eyes, college professors are the most prominent of teachers. This is likely due to the difficulty of the academic materials that they usually teach. In addition, many college professors hold a doctorate degree. This … Continue reading →