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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

would you say that intelligence is..............

28 replies

stoppinattwo · 25/02/2008 20:45

a measure of a childs ability to pick up a language??

the reason i ask is this, DS's school have picked the top 4 in the class to study spanish after school. Now DS wasnt picked and yes i am a bit peeved, only because it would be nice for him to have had the choice. He does well in all his classes he doesnt struggle and when I asked him if he would have liked to have done it he said "well yes, my friend X is doing it" (not the best reason in the world i agree but hey)

I just question thier selection process, I suppose they have to draw the line somewhere but at the same time i figured that intelligence isnt a measure of how well you can pick up a language...or am i wrong??

I seriously am not a pushy mum btw, i just thought it a shame that not all the children in the class were given the same opportunity

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coastalmum · 25/02/2008 20:49

I was also way top in most subjects but am absolutely appauling at learning languages. I can clearly remember a couple of girls at school who were in the lowest sets for maths and english being in the top group for French. IMO has nothing to do with intelligence more of an aptitude.

Hulababy · 25/02/2008 20:51

I don't think so. Think languages is like most things - some people are good at them, others not. IME it isn't linked to overall intelligence.

Original poster

stoppinattwo · 25/02/2008 20:51

I tinhk at the age he is (9) you need a good memory to remember all the words and how to spell them...........some tihng he is good at!! but I dont want to make a big song an dance about it with the school, i just think it is a shame, the clever ones will get more skills and leave a bigger gap between them and the ones that show less ability

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Pruners · 25/02/2008 20:55

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cat64 · 25/02/2008 20:58

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Desiderata · 25/02/2008 20:58

It would be necessary for certain areas of the brain to be wired correctly in order to read and write a foreign language, but to be understood, one must be great at mimicry.

mrsruffallo · 25/02/2008 21:01

I suppose if others can't afford to neglect their coursework they must choose the 4 who are doing the best acadamically?

Original poster

stoppinattwo · 25/02/2008 21:02

pruners granted DS only wanted to do is because his mate does....but i couldnt see another reason why he would want to do it he has no burning desire yet but He might have enjoyed it

Cat, there are more doing the spanish, it was just 4 from DS's class (18 in the class) I think there were 7 picked from his other year class and some picked from year 3.

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Celia2 · 25/02/2008 21:14

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Message withdrawn at poster's request.

Original poster

stoppinattwo · 25/02/2008 21:19

Oh possibly Celia, Im not sure...I want to ask the school but dont want it to sound like sour grapes...I am genuinly interested in their selection process (god listen to me i sound like a nightmare )

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cat64 · 25/02/2008 21:46

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Pruners · 26/02/2008 07:22

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Original poster

stoppinattwo · 26/02/2008 08:20

I am glad I have had a positive reaction from all of you that have responded.......I no longer feel like i would be seen as a pushy mum because really that wasnt what it was about. I just wanted a reasoning behind their selection process...

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cory · 26/02/2008 10:25

I think it's silly to reserve language learning for a select few. In countries whose language is not so widely spoken, everybody learns foreign languages and there is no argument about who is clever enough to do it.

Besides, I think it's really silly to select for anything on aptitude at such a young age- you simply cannot know where these children will be in 5 years time. I can tell you, among the children I know, there have been some surprises!

Sorting the kids into sets is different, because then you don't miss the chance, you can move up the sets as you develop.

branflake81 · 26/02/2008 12:14

I have always been good at languages and went on to study them at university. I was always "intelligent" at wordy things - history, English etc but compeltely bottom of the class for maths and science. So I think it's a case of either being good at them or not.

RedJools · 26/02/2008 12:16

I would question the fairness of only some children getting picked!!

Gemzooks · 26/02/2008 12:32

what a pity, why can't they all learn it together! Ridiculous..

Original poster

stoppinattwo · 26/02/2008 12:38

I spoke to someone from the school.......she wasnt entirely sure about the selection process however her thoughts were that if there was a pot of money available then surely if a few benefitted from learning something was that not a good thing.........which i am inclined to agree with, I would hate to deprive anyone of the opportunity to learn something new just because money was short. (ie if we can do it for all then we wont do it at all) She thinks it might have something to do with the G&T programme but is not 100% sure...anyway am waiting for th HM to come back to me as she wasnt available today.

Think im just a bit put out that my DC is not getting the opportunity (am being a bit selfish i suppose) I do pay for out of school activities and encourage my kids to have other interests, I know that some of the parents sit back and dont pay too much attention, and I know that the children of some of these parents are on the programme......god i sound like a right so n so I know that it isnt the kids fault, I just think that everyone should be given a chance at such an opportunity.......

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Original poster

stoppinattwo · 26/02/2008 12:39

i meant "if we cant do it for all then we wont do it at all" sorry

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SlugsNSnails · 26/02/2008 12:47

Intelligence and language def not related.

I remember my GCSE German teacher (grammar school) telling me that I spoke German worse than any student at a "normal school"

Me being good at other stuff was no indication whatsoever about my ability to do languages (my French was even worse )

cat64 · 26/02/2008 22:52

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dingdong05 · 26/02/2008 23:12

My high school only let you do latin if you were in the top 4 or something for maths and english as they took a period from each subject to do the latin. It made some sense but pissed me off as I quite fancied it but didn't make the grade as was middle of the class for maths (but was ok for english)

On the lines of intelligence and languages- no i don't believe the 2 are necessarily linked. I do think that some people have a special synapse, or summat, that makes them good at it, and some (like me) just can't.

Original poster

stoppinattwo · 28/02/2008 07:31

I am still waiting for the HM to get back in touch with me...I spoke to his form teacher who indicated that this was a trial run and the G&T kids had been selected as the best candidates for now. She is not sure if it going to be rolled out to the other pupils yet as she has not organised it. (left and right hand not talking methinks)

I asked DS how he felt........he said he wasnt too worried that he isnt doing it but would have liked to have given it a try.

Im in school this afternoon so am going to nab the head when I get a chance and see what the programme is.

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Original poster

stoppinattwo · 08/03/2008 13:22

ok so now he has been invited to the spanish class ............he went last night and loved it

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Piffle · 08/03/2008 14:37

great that he's involved. Bloody hell any kid showing desire and committment should be encouraged!!!
At ds1s boys grammar, they offered mandarin after school to the more able but also to those who asked to do it, whose homework and disciplinary record was good.
Three years on most of the G and T kids dropped out. The solid workers are still there and going to earn an extra gcse in it next year (yr 10) ds1 says its hard but its good.

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