Re: Thinking Level of students

["John S. Denker" <jsd@MONMOUTH.COM>]

At 08:23 PM 9/8/01 -0700, Wes Davis wrote:

> Shocking as it may be, most
[ college ]
> students are intrinsically unable to grasp ... relationships
[ such as the earth/moon/sun geometric relationship ]

Well, we can agree that it's shocking.  I'm shocked.

In particular, here's where I'm coming from.  Please take a moment to 
consider the following hypotheses:

  1) There is a general skill category called "geometric relationships".

  2) Within this skill category, there is a lot of transference.  That is, 
the ability OR INABILITY to learn one skill in this category is correlated 
with other skills in this category.

  3) Geometric relationship skills are necessary (but not sufficient) for 
learning any of the following activities:
 -- playing volleyball or basketball or practically any other team sport, 
since it involves visualizing where the ball is going and where other 
players are going.
 -- playing chess.
 -- folk dancing.
 -- sewing, macramé, origami, ....
 -- riding a bicycle or driving in traffic.
 -- et cetera.

  4) The assertion that "most" college-age kids are intrinsically 
incapable of learning the geometric relationships involved in such tasks is 
highly implausible.  Some of these tasks are hard, but the geometric 
relationships are not the hard part.

Indeed, most !blind! children, well below college age, can learn geometric 
relationships.

  5) Visualizing the earth/moon/sun geometric relationship is no harder 
than any of the other tasks mentioned.


> I really don't want to get into a big argument /discussion

Fine.  But in the absence of evidence to the contrary, I will continue to 
believe that assuming "most" college students are "intrinsically incapable" 
of learning basic geometric relationships does the students a disservice.

Others are free to believe whatever they want.