The aptitude myth : how an ancient belief came to undermine children's learning today / Cornelius N. Grove.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Grove, Cornelius N.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Academic achievement--United States.

Academic achievement.

Achievement motivation in children.

United States.

Achievement motivation in children--United States.

Learning ability.

Education--United States.

Education.

Physical Description:

xviii, 189 pages ; 27 cm

Place of Publication:

Lanham [Maryland] : Rowman & Littlefield Education, [2013]

Summary:

The Aptitude Myth addresses the decline in American children's mastery of critical school subjects. It contends that a contributing cause for this decline derives from many Americans' ways of thinking about children's learning: They believe that school performance is determined largely by innate aptitude. The Aptitude Myth traces the deep historical origins, the spread and elaboration, and the eventual triumph of the belief in the determining power of mental abilities "given" at birth and therefore fixed. Covered is 600 B.C.E. until 1926 (when the Scholastic Aptitude Test was first administered). The belief in aptitude, assumed by many Americans to be the modern view of learning ability, is revealed as an archaic way of thinking that originated in the imaginations of people in ancient times, then gradually gained credibility over 2,500 years. In recent times, the belief became elaborated to include the fanciful notion that more-than-modest academic study injures a child's health. Having inherited this mindset, Americans don't know how to ensure that children gain mastery. A new mindset is needed. In the final chapter of The Aptitude Myth, Cornelius N. Grove offers a transformative mindset for parents and educators. Book jacket.

Contents:

I European Antecedents 1

When, Why, and How Did Americans' Current Ways of Thinking Originate? 1

1 A Perspective on Teaching Out of the Depths of Time 3

Family-Centered Subsistence Societies in Prehistoric Times 3

Selecting a Teacher in Prehistoric Times: A Thought Experiment 4

The "Time-Honored Paradigm" for Thinking about Teachers 5

The Six Elements of the Time-Honored Paradigm 6

The Rise of the "Western-Contemporary Paradigm" for Thinking about Teachers 7

Musings and Speculations 8

Why Chapter 1 Is Important 8

What to Remember: Bullet-Point Lists of Key Learnings from Chapters 1-16 8

Notes 8

2 Greek Philosophers Focus on a World Beyond the Senses 9

The Contribution of Pythagoras to the Paradigm of Plato's Times 9

Transmigration of Souls and the Dawning Belief in the Power of Intuition 10

Elements of the Greek Paradigm into Which Plato Was Born 12

Plato Posits that the Most Valuable Knowledge Is Inside Each Person 14

Aristotle Adjusts Plato's Concepts and States Flow Mental Development Occurs 16

Musings and Speculations 18

Why Chapter 2 Is Important 18

Genealogical Chart: Tracing the Path to a Modern American Paradigm 18

Notes 19

3 New Views of the Natural World 21

Life, Learning, and Logic in 15th and 16th Century Europe 21

New Views Begin to Emerge Late in the 16th Century 23

New Views Encounter Scholarly Skepticism Before Gaining Credibility 25

Europe in the 15th and 18th Centuries: Comparing Old and New Paradigms 26

Musings and Speculations 27

Why Chapter 3 Is Important 27

Notes 27

4 New Views of Human Consciousness and Learning 29

Humanism and Realism during the Renaissance 29

Comenius, Locke, and the Rise of Sense Realism 30

Philosophic Trends in Europe between the 16th and 18th Centuries 32

Musings and Speculations 33

Why Chapter 4 Is Important 33

Notes 34

5 New Views of Children and Childhood 35

Younger Children Are Better Children 35

The Enduring Impact of Rousseau's Emile 37

The Emergence of Childhood and Two Views of How to Regard It 38

Musings and Speculations 39

Why Chapter 5 Is Important 40

Notes 40

6 New Views of Authority in Societies and Schools 41

Thought Leaders Question the Basis of Authority 41

Changes in the Texture of Europeans' Daily Lives 42

Authority in Classrooms Enters the 18th Century Discussion 43

Musings and Speculations 44

Why Chapter 6 Is Important 44

Notes 44

7 New Ideals for Human Life and Learning 47

Intellectual Streams Feed a Romantic Flood 47

Literary Romanticism's Love Affair with Children and Nature 48

Three Literary Romantics in Their Own Words 50

Tire Assumptions, Beliefs, and Ideals of Literary Romanticism 52

Musings and Speculations 54

Why Chapter 7 Is Important 54

Notes 54

8 An Influential Educator Reflects the Currents of His Time 57

From Obscurity and Bankruptcy to Pan-Western Influence 57

Psychology Enters the Discussion about Children and Teaching 58

Protestant Perspectives- Calvinism and Pietism-Enter the Discussion 59

Musings and Speculations 60

Why Chapter 8 Is Important 60

Notes 60

9 New Views and Ideals All Coalesce in One Man's Mind 63

A Man with a Prodigiously Restless Mind 63

Spencer's View of Evolutionary Development: Homogeneous-to-Heterogeneous 64

Spencer's "First Principles": Inborn, Intuited, Scientifically Accurate Truths 66

The Rise and Fall of Herbert Spencer 67

Musings and Speculations 69

Why Chapter 9 Is Important 69

Notes 69

10 Basic Guidelines for the Western-Contemporary Paradigm 71

A Ringing Declaration about Children, Learning, Teaching, and Parenting 71

Aristotle, Spencer, and the Biological Model of Human Mental Activity 73

Herbert Spencer's Prescriptions for the Classroom Teaching of Children 74

Musings and Speculations 80

Why Chapter 10 Is Important 80

Notes 80

II American Responses 83

How Did Americans Apply the European Ways of Thinking, and Why? 83

11 Evolving Notions of Child-Rearing in Pre-Civil War America 85

The Culture and Mindset of Colonial and Post-Colonial America 85

Varieties of Protestantism: Calvinism, Pietism, and Quakerism 86

The Values and Patterns of American Parenting Gradually Evolve 87

Assumptions about Children's Mental Fragility Strengthen and Spread 88

Two Assumptions about What Children Are Innately "Given" 89"Common Schools," Horace Mann, and the Practical Perspective on Teaching 90

Musings and Speculations 92

Why Chapter 11 Is Important 92

Notes 92

12 Emerging Social Currents in Post-Civil War America 95

Rapid Social Changes Transform the Context and Concerns of Schools 95

A Visit to Public Schools and Classrooms during 1892 96

Society's Response to Immigration, Industrialization, and Urbanization 97

A Review of Critical Challenges and Society's Responses 99

Musings and Speculations 100

Why Chapter 12 Is Important 100

Notes 101

13 Emerging Intellectual Currents in Post-Civil War America 103

Humans as Reflection of a Spirit World: Four Belief-Based Views of Consciousness 103

Humans as Grounded in Their Biology: An Evidence-Based View of Consciousness 106

Humans as Grounded in Their Society: An Evidence-Based View of Consciousness 108

James Argues that the Learner, Not the Teacher, Is the Critical Success Factor 109

Musings and Speculations 110

Why Chapter 13 Is Important 111

Notes 111

14 American Educational Metamorphosis, I: Socially Efficient Education 113

Public Secondary Schools during the Last Decades of the 19th Century 113

Public Secondary Schools during the First Decades of the 20th Century 115

The Shift in Educational Authority around the Turn of the Century 117

Documenting the Course of Educational Reform: 25 Years of NEA Reports 118

Musings and Speculations 121

Why Chapter 14 Is Important 122

Notes 122

15 American Educational Metamorphosis, II: Child-Centered Teaching 125

Child-Centered Education and Its Grandfather Figure, Col. Francis W. Parker 125

The Child Study Movement and Its Champion, Dr. G.

Stanley Hall 127

The Message: Passivity in the Face of Assumed Inborn Inequality 130

Other Factors Strengthening the Shift toward Child-Centered Teaching 131

Musings and Speculations 133

Why Chapter 15 Is Important 133

Postscript: Did John Dewey Join the Shift toward Child-Centered Teaching? 133

Notes 135

16 American Educational Metamorphosis, III: A "Given" Joins the Establishment 139

European Antecedents: Early Thinking about General Intelligence 139

American Responses: Interest in General Intelligence Takes Root in the United States 142

Intelligence Tests Enter the Mainstream: Sorting Recruits for War Service 143

Intelligence Tests Join the Establishment: Sorting Applicants to Colleges 145

Three Proponents of General Intelligence Recant Their Views 146

Musings and Speculations 147

Why Chapter 16 Is Important 147

Notes 148

III Tomorrow's Opportunities 151

Can We Transcend Our Inherited Mindset to Give Mastery the Highest Priority? 151

17 Which Problems Are Now More Significant to Solve? 153

Missing from Our Unpacked Beliefs and Values: Mastery and Effort 155

20th Century Wake-up Calls about Our Neglect of Mastery 158

Our Value Propositions about Mastery and Effort, Unpacked and Elaborated 159

Confronting the Inevitable Outcome of Our Inherited Beliefs and Values 160

Learning to Think on a Graduated Spectrum 161

Learning to Shift Moderately But Significantly toward the Goal of Mastery 162

Notes 163

18 Toward a New Paradigm: Seven Assertions to Think With 165

A Paradigm to Solve the Problem That, Here and Now, Is Most Significant for Us 165

1 Accountability for Learning Rests More with the Parents than with the Teacher 166

2 Accountability for Learning Rests More with the Student than with the Teacher 167

3 A Child's Mental Apparatus Is Vigorous, Robust, Resilient, Curious, and Absorbent 168

4 A Child's Mental Development Involves Intentional Adaptation to Its Environment 169

5 A Child's Competence Grows More Strongly and Swiftly with Authoritative Guidance 169

6 Learning Attainment Is Determined Far More by Perseverance than by "Givens" 170

7 Increasing Mastery of Skills and Knowledge Depends on Skill- and Knowledge-Focus 171.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9781475804355

1475804350

9781475804362

1475804369

OCLC:

826076880