I’ve always found the idea of IQ, or ‘Intelligence Quotient,’ interesting. My Father valued it highly and often hinted that his was very high.
I remember being a first year Psychology student at Uni many years ago. We all had to be the guinea pigs for the third years and have our IQ tested. I was mortified when they asked me to name five Australian Prime Ministers and I could only name two! (I could blame this on being a child migrant, I knew all the names of Henry the Eighth’s wives?! Sad that I still try to justify.) I felt incredibly stupid and worried that this would forever scar me with a low score and my life wouldn’t amount to anything.
Then I was the third year, and I tested friends, family and my fair share of first years. (I still remember testing my mum. We got to the Maths section and she said, ‘I’m terrible at Maths’, and became a self-fulfilling prophecy by freezing and getting them all wrong.) I gave each person a number, out of 200, based on general knowledge questions, and being able to spot patterns, and repeat numbers backwards and a variety of other tasks. People who scored well were very pleased with themselves and those who didn’t do so well were embarrassed and seemed to agree with the test that they weren’t very clever. Interestingly my father never allowed me to test him.
I just googled IQ tests and was immediately offered about three free online tests. I know on Facebook regularly they seem to show up and lure you with the line, ‘Only a person with a high IQ could complete this test perfectly.’ But ultimately it has been proven that a high IQ score is NOT an indicator of future success, or happiness in life, or a good job. Even the tests as a measure of intelligence is being questioned in a number of recent articles I read.
So, if IQ is flawed as an indicator of success, what are the qualities of a person, a child, a student, that can indicate future success and can these be predicted, or measured, or even taught?
“If IQ is flawed as an indicator of success, what are the qualities of a person, a child, a student, that can indicate future success?”
The word ‘GRIT’ has been used in conversations around me over the last few years. In this article I’d like to explore it a bit more with the help of a book by Angela Duckworth, ‘GRIT: Why passion and resilience are the secrets to success.’
At the beginning of the book she shares her own story of growing up with her father who often said to her, “You know, you’re no genius.” Apparently her father was impressed by the ideas of genius and talent and regularly told his children they didn’t measure up. He was sad he didn’t have ‘smart’ children. And was worried about what they would achieve in life. Interestingly Duckworth, two years before writing her book, was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship, which is sometimes called the ‘genius grant.’ She received it for her work on GRIT. Work which has proved that what we accomplish in life may depend more on passion and perseverance, GRIT, than our innate talent.
GRIT is a great measure of future success. It is passion and perseverance for long term and meaningful goals. It is the ability to persist in something you feel passionate about and persevere when you face obstacles. It is approaching life as a marathon, not a sprint.
Teachers and parents alike can learn about it and attempt to encourage it and model it in their own lives. We can help our young ones to discover their passions for the future and encourage them to persevere when faced with challenges. To be okay with failure and keep going when faced with challenges.
So, IQ is a measure that can be archived. It tells us one thing; how well we can score on an IQ test. It is not a good indicator of our future success in life. GRIT is.
To understand more about GRIT you can watch Angels Duckworth’s Ted talk or watch this animated summary of her book.
Annie Joy — Primary Co-ordinator