I didn't see any Bible references here.

The highly accomplished athletes you mention were all born with extremely high athletic ability. That combined with hard work is what got them to where they are. A person could swim all day but without the underlying ability and correct body type, that person is not going to transform into a Michael Phelps. One can be a pretty good swimmer, but not a Michael Phelps. And from reading bios of Olympic athletes, it appears many of them were identified by coaches as extremely talented at an early age and put into select training programs. Kids still join swim teams even though they know they can't be Michael Phelps because swimming is a healthy activity that helps a child to be fit and also learn a lot about discipline and persistence.

It is good to read extensively and explore academic interests because we can be learning new things our entire lives even without being a "global intellectual star." Some people learn more quickly and more easily than others, just as some people swim or run faster than others.

Athletes practice a whole range of skills needed for their sport, not just one. An athlete who is really, really good at only one aspect of a sport will not be successful in the long run. A young student needs to engage in many different types of learning to be successful in the long run. A student who spends all his or her time on standardized test prep will become very good at taking standardized tests, but won't necessarily be successful at other types of academic endeavors. Why not spend some of that time reading extensively, going to a concert or a play, walking through a park, or gazing up at the night sky with a good pair of binoculars? Pick up a flyer at your local library and see all the programs and events they have available.

There are lots of choices on the continuum in between practicing standardized test questions and "clutching a remote." No need for expensive test prep books or courses that are limited to a particular set of test taking skills. There are so many free things that can be done with children to engage and encourage their love of learning.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:
Anonymous wrote:
Scoring well in the second grade may mean intelligence.

But prepping does not help intelligence (it may help the score though).

Of course, preparation and mental exercise improves intelligence. Sounds like the pathetic junk science logic behind the raped can't get pregnant.




Intellectual development will allow a child to grow to there full potential. Just like training allows Bryce Harper to be good. With that said, no amount of training will turn someone with average intellect into a genious. Nor will I ever be able to play baseball like Bryce Harper.

Prepping for the CogAT or NNAT will not improve your childs intellectual ability. It may improve the test score. If you want to improve your childs intellectual ability, on on a walk out side, get the child to observe nature, and understand what they are seeing: why are streams at the bottom of the hill? why does moss grow on the north side of trees? Take them to museums. Teach them that it is ok to wonder why, and try to teach the how to answer the why.

Spend your summer studing for a test, and it is a lost summer.

Well said.

Well said by the bible clutching preacher!

I wonder why children and young adults spend hours upon hours in the pool, baskeball court and track trying to become the next Michael Phelps, Kobe Bryant (Michael Jordan)or Usain Bolt (note all the latter athletes spent an inordinate amount of time as children honing their craft). I doubt any of them knew, at such a young age, this intense training and preparation would bring global stardom. Did you PP?

How do you measure a child's or fully mature adult's intellectual ability?

You can't and you don't know who will be smart and reap the rewards of global intellectual stardom. Mental exercise (training and preparation) will at least give you a sporting shot ... just like it did for Phelps, Jordan and Bolt. Without this training and preparation each would have amounted to a hill of beans in their respective sports!!!

Constant reach for and intensely clutching the remote and the TV at your peril. This will most definetely decrease your intellect. You can take that to the bank.

I didn't see any Bible references here.

The highly accomplished athletes you mention were all born with extremely high athletic ability. That combined with hard work is what got them to where they are. A person could swim all day but without the underlying ability and correct body type, that person is not going to transform into a Michael Phelps. One can be a pretty good swimmer, but not a Michael Phelps. And from reading bios of Olympic athletes, it appears many of them were identified by coaches as extremely talented at an early age and put into select training programs. Kids still join swim teams even though they know they can't be Michael Phelps because swimming is a healthy activity that helps a child to be fit and also learn a lot about discipline and persistence.

It is good to read extensively and explore academic interests because we can be learning new things our entire lives even without being a "global intellectual star." Some people learn more quickly and more easily than others, just as some people swim or run faster than others.

Athletes practice a whole range of skills needed for their sport, not just one. An athlete who is really, really good at only one aspect of a sport will not be successful in the long run. A young student needs to engage in many different types of learning to be successful in the long run. A student who spends all his or her time on standardized test prep will become very good at taking standardized tests, but won't necessarily be successful at other types of academic endeavors. Why not spend some of that time reading extensively, going to a concert or a play, walking through a park, or gazing up at the night sky with a good pair of binoculars? Pick up a flyer at your local library and see all the programs and events they have available.

There are lots of choices on the continuum in between practicing standardized test questions and "clutching a remote." No need for expensive test prep books or courses that are limited to a particular set of test taking skills. There are so many free things that can be done with children to engage and encourage their love of learning.