What does it mean to be intelligent? Cambridge Dictionary defines the word as someone “showing intelligence, or able to learn and understand things easily”, which is similar to other definitions online. I used to think that intelligence was simply inherent, something that someone was born with that gives them an advantage over those who just do not have it. But during Form 3, one person, my maths and history teacher, would change my perception with a piece of advice that I still remember to this day.
A crucial period for my classmates and I, Form 3 marked the year before we would move on to becoming senior high school students, with the grades that we got for every single piece of classwork, homework, quiz and exam being prominent as well as anxiety-inducing. One maths test proved to be particularly challenging for everyone, most of whom were already tired and had broken spirits when reaching the end of Form 3.
When it came time to discuss the tests and make corrections with our teacher, my group of friends and I were whispering to each other not only about how challenging the test was, but that we were never going to get better grades than what we already had as we were simply not born smart enough. At that point, we felt our teacher’s gaze. She had started going around the classroom while we were engrossed in our own discussion, which she overheard. Instead of scolding us or being angry, she simply said that that wasn’t the case at all.
Being inherently smart simply was not going to be enough to get through school, she said. Taking a low or a failing grade and not making an effort to do something about it was not going to do anyone any favours either. Although being unhappy about a bad grade was normal, she pointed out that it shouldn’t limit anyone to thinking that’s all that they’re ever going to be able to achieve. She emphasised one point the most, which was that “intelligence is learnable”.
Upon hearing this, I realised that a bad score wasn’t a brand, but something that can still get better given the opportunity, and that anybody could achieve it so long as they exert effort. This piece of advice completely changed the way I perceived school work and what it means to be intelligent, even well after graduating.
One can be born smart, and that can prove to have advantages over others for work and academic studies, among others. However, my teacher’s advice taught me that people can actually learn to catch up. They can learn enough to excel and be good at something once they can let go of the “I’m not smart enough” to do this and that mindset, or thinking that someone’s capabilities lie in their circumstances and what they were born with. These are just excuses. Instead, intelligence is like a skill. It can be improved and will get better over time with continuous effort and learning.
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