Looking through photos on my iPad today I came across a photo of Albert Einstein and a statement attributed to him. I wrote a short post about it on my Facebook page, and I'm reposting it here (kind of backwards from what I usually do).
Reportedly, Albert Einstein once said, "Everyone is a genius." I love that. I've not read too much about him; however, what I have read paints him as an encourager. Not someone hogging the limelight.
The remainder of his quote is a paraphrase of what I've said about tests. (Tests only test what the test maker wants you to know. In other words, if you know 97% of all there is to know about the subject, but the test only covers the remaining 3%, then it could appear that you don't know the subject.)
Mr. Einstein said it this way, "If you judge a fish on its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing it is stupid."
That's the problem with standardized tests and teaching to the test.
Don't get me wrong, it's great to have a wide knowledge base of facts, but more important are critical thinking and problem solving skills. These skills can be applied to problems long after the rote memory stuff is forgotten. These are skills students likely won't ask, "Is this going to be on the test?" Or, "When am I going to use this?"
I don't have a closing. Just a reminder that I'm a genius. Albert says so, so it must be true!
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