How to raise a genius
According to Harold G. McCurdy, a professor at the University of North Carolina, the first step was to not send your kids to public school.
Not that he had anything against public schools, having sent his own kids to one. And he questioned whether raising kids to be geniuses was a desireable goal, since he believed that geniuses often led isolated, unhappy lives.
Nevertheless, based on his study of the childhoods of 29 geniuses, conducted back in 1960, he determined that "three striking factors seemed to be typical of the childhood pattern of genius":
"Public school education," he declared, "works against these three things."
Apparently McCurdy's study has been embraced by some proponents of home schooling. Although I don't get the sense that it was his intention to promote that.
You can read McCurdy's full study here: The Childhood Pattern of Genius
Not that he had anything against public schools, having sent his own kids to one. And he questioned whether raising kids to be geniuses was a desireable goal, since he believed that geniuses often led isolated, unhappy lives.
Nevertheless, based on his study of the childhoods of 29 geniuses, conducted back in 1960, he determined that "three striking factors seemed to be typical of the childhood pattern of genius":
one, close association with an interested adult; two, relative isolation from other children; and three, a great development of imagination and fantasy.
"Public school education," he declared, "works against these three things."
Apparently McCurdy's study has been embraced by some proponents of home schooling. Although I don't get the sense that it was his intention to promote that.
You can read McCurdy's full study here: The Childhood Pattern of Genius
The Oklahoma Daily - Feb 17, 1961
Comments
#4 Don´t come from a cracker state.
Posted by F.U.D in Stockholm on 10/15/20 at 05:52 AM
It's not exactly dependent upon which state you grow up in, F.U.D. I am a native of California and the school system in that state was beginning a downhill slide during the era reported here, the mid 1960s.The situation described here is succinctly wrapped in the observation that was applied to the our federal government's education policy of "No child left behind" was actually "No child gets ahead" some twenty years ago.
The tendency of institutions applying good intentioned policy, (After all, who is against education?) is that everyone is treated the same and that the outstanding individuals are beaten down to conform to the ability of the majority.
The tendency of institutions applying good intentioned policy, (After all, who is against education?) is that everyone is treated the same and that the outstanding individuals are beaten down to conform to the ability of the majority.
Posted by KDP on 10/15/20 at 09:16 AM
KDP: I too grew up in California and went through the school system there (from 1956 to 1971) and in no way do I agree with your viewpoint.
Posted by F.U.D in Stockholm on 10/15/20 at 10:37 AM
I escaped from California some twenty five years ago and I'm living in a cracker state, that's why I wanted to sound off. No offense taken.
Posted by KDP on 10/15/20 at 03:19 PM
Seems to me that it's no good whining about individual provinces when it's the whole country that's the problem.
Posted by Richard Bos on 10/17/20 at 01:40 PM
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Category: Education | Intelligence | School | 1960s