Intelligence and Ender's Game

I have been reading Ender's Game and it has gotten me thinking. In the introduction written by Orson himself, he included part of a letter written by a woman who claims that she works with gifted kids and she emphasized that gifted kids don't think the way Orson describes in his book. I feel sorry for the kids she worked with. I remember having so-called teachers that were boring and useless because they didn't understand how we thought - or at least how I thought. I also had major issues with the popular snotty, spoiled upper middle class kids that were in the program with me. It colored my opinion enough that I couldn't wait to leave and be with my friends again, and ended up begging to be dropped out of the 'gifted' program - I did eventually get my way when I was 11 and figured out how to make them allow me out.

At the beginning of Ender's Game I had doubts about kids being able to think and talk the way that Orson described, but then I thought of my own childhood. Growing up I always observed situations before getting involved in them. I could tell you little things about people, places and situations that very few outsiders could know, just from observation. I remember being able to do so as young as 4 or 5 years old. No, I take that back, I remember an incident at around 1 year old (based upon the outfit I was wearing when the picture was taken) where my cousins and brother were teasing me with a toy and I was frustrated and knew that as soon as I got the toy from them I was going to put it where they would not take it from me. From pictures and hearing my mom tell the story, that place was in my mouth. I just remember being embarrassed when all the big people were laughing at me, and I knew I had handled things incorrectly. I may not have had the words to express my observations, feelings and thoughts, but I knew based upon the actions of those around me that I had misjudged my reaction - the boys were still wrong/mean in my mind, it was just my action that was wrong. Even my description of the incident is off a bit because I remember thinking in feelings, there was no calculated planned action or reaction as you would see in an older child, it was feelings and actions that expressed those feelings. Not an easy thing to describe. As I got older I became better at understanding what I saw and felt as well as what the expected reaction was. It was a very useful tool in school - being able to always give the answer that was wanted, whether I believed it or not.

That made me realize that it wasn't the kids in the book that made it feel off, but the way the adults acted towards the kids. If you have adults who are willing to speak to children as if they can reason and think, then they learn how to speak intelligently at younger ages. I'm sure the Wiggin children are quite a bit beyond me as far as intelligence goes, but it was the idea of what children can achieve if they are expected and allowed to think and share their thoughts. I still have trouble with my immediate reactions to comments made, in part because as a public school kid I learned that the best way to get through is to not be noticed and to above all not react (offering me very little practice to draw on today) - the kids in my school were particularly cruel. Being in a metro area full of very intelligent people, the children were naturally more likely to be intelligent and we could run circles around the teachers and yard supervisors who were one step above bumbling idiots. Well, that's not entirely fair. Every now and then there was an intelligent teacher, but I don't think they had the time nor inclination to actually pay attention to how the kids treated each other. My siblings did not handle the cruelty well and still are scarred from it. I created my own gang of outcasts (few of whom were in the 'gifted' class) and when we were together no one teased us. I think the teasing was all that much more insidious because these bright kids knew how to find a kids weakness and then exploit it - much like the 6-9 year olds in Ender's Game. Looking back, it really amazed me how well he did at describing intelligent children.

Taking that thought one step further, I realized how sad it is that we as a society feel only the "gifted" kids should be given opportunities in school to be removed from the classroom/jail cell to learn in new ways using teamwork and problem solving. There is a program in Washington that I have heard amazing things about that offers kids a real education - hands on, problem solving situations where they must use their intellect to find solutions (including studying on their own time to prepare for the next challenge). As neat as it sounds, I'm sure that even the most 'average' child would be able to excel in such an environment.

Just as Orson points out in Ender's Game, the real learning was in the Battleroom where kids had to think in order to win. There is no reason to force kids to "learn the basics" before being able to use them. You don't spend years teaching a child about music: what it is, how it is made, the meaning behind certain songs, how to compose songs, etc before ever allowing them to hear a song! Just the opposite. They listen to music and almost all will sing long before they understand melody, instruments, etc. Then once they have a firm grasp of what something is, they will learn more about it out of natural curiosity. Some kids will learn more than others based upon desire or need (if you have a musical parent or siblings you have a vested interest in understanding what they are talking about). Other kids are content to know just the name of certain instruments they see and a few definitions they will hear others throw around and that is it. Even if you took said unmusical child and forced them into years of musical schooling, they would still not be interested and would probably end up hating music. It is impossible to force someone to learn something they don't care about.

Unschooling has nothing to do with not learning or forcing learning, but everything to do with need. If you want your child to value reading, then show them why it is valuable. Same with science, math, art, music, etc. Different kids will take things to different levels and you as the unschooling educator must be paying attention to where they are so that you can help them find more information on what they are interested in at that time.

More on unschooling next time I can sit and type.

I am very much enjoying Ender's Game.