Intellectual Character

In what way, if any, as you recall your own educational experiences, have dispositions been intentionally cultivated?

In many ways, dispositions have been present almost as a stereotype.  It seems that if one hangs out with a certain group of people, then that person will start to act like the group, even if that one person drifts between groups.  The experience is the same inside the classroom.  If someone gets a good grade at the beginning of the quarter, then the disposition is that the same person is expected to get a good grade at the end of the quarter, even though the material is progressively harder to grasp and understand.

It's the same with the teachers themselves.  The students always believe the teacher to be correct, but if a teacher makes a mistake, not many students believe they can correct it.  We've always been told to treat adults with respect no matter what, and some think that to correct said teacher would come across as challenging him/her.  In this light, the disposition would be that teachers are always right, and should always be treated with respect.

What is this reading about, and what should others be concluding from it?

The excerpts from Intellectual Character was about how as a society, we have a notion of 'smarts' and 'intelligence'.  Yet we base those notions on someone being smart, instead of someone acting smart.  We as a community have come to believe intelligence can only be added to a certain point, and once that point is reached, there's no point in continuing because nothing more will be gained.

But then the excerpts continue and challenge the reader to change this; instead of sticking with what society has taught us, we should realize that an IQ score (while a good predictor of performance) is not a predictor of ability.  When tested in real-world situations, the score didn't seem to matter at all, and that in many situations, the individual can simply learn the task.

If you could ask Ritchhart questions about what he's written, what would you ask him?  How would you explain to him the motivation for your asking these particular questions?

I would ask Ritchhart how he came up with the idea that voters would rather have a leader who is considered 'street smart' rather than 'book smart'?  Referencing the top of page 15, I would ask him if he thinks, to help our children become more wealthy, we should tell our children they aren't smart?

My motivation for asking these questions is simply that I am interested and have an internal drive to satisfy my curiosity.