Every parent expects their child to do well academically and be accepted into a good university. Such expectations are commonplace.
For this reason, many parents go to great lengths to support their children's learning at all costs, even from the time the child is still in the womb, and they do their best to provide their children with the best educational resources.
Some parents get their wish, but most find that their expectations have been disappointed – they have hired one-on-one tutoring from the best schools for their children, only to find that their children's grades have never improved.
Some parents feel angry and blame their children for not trying hard enough, making them feel that they have been disappointed by their tremendous efforts, so they put more pressure on their children, only to find them tragically regretted.
If these parents had seen Professor Li Meijin's speech at the 2023 Education Forum for Asia Annual Conference earlier, they would have realized that grades depend more on IQ and thus avoided tragedy.
At the annual meeting, Li Meijin delivered a keynote speech entitled "Psychological Parenting Based on Psychological Development", which particularly emphasized the issue of children's academic performance.
According to Professor Li, "hard work" can never surpass "genetic IQ", and no matter how hard you work to brush up on the questions, you can't surpass those who have talent.
Professor Li Meijin stressed that it is no longer easy to believe that as long as you put in enough effort, you can achieve academic success. At the same time, don't simply force your child to learn, because doing so will only have the opposite effect.
All teachers actually agree with this, because we have seen many examples of students who can quickly grasp and master on their own, while others who simply can't.
Most people agree with Professor Li's view, but there are others who disagree. For example, the one in the picture below argues that knowledge at the elementary and junior high school levels simply cannot be relied on to be gifted, and that success can be achieved with the right methods and effort.
Professor Li Meijin pointed out that it is true that differences in human talents begin to show soon after birth and can be seen at the elementary and junior high school levels. Therefore, the claim that there is no need to focus on giftedness at the elementary school level is completely layman's rhetoric.
Whether the talent of primary school students needs to be divided should be the primary school teacher. Even if they have just been promoted to the first grade for less than half a semester, it can already be seen which children are smart and which children are struggling to learn, and children with low IQs may be found in just a few classes.
Of course, most students have similar IQs, and it's up to them to see who is more diligent. Lazy students have a gradual decline in grades, while hard-working students are comparatively better, but still not as good as those who are smart.
It wasn't until I entered an excellent high school and experienced the crushing of geniuses that I began to believe that there was indeed a huge difference in IQ. It's like what is said in the image below. Although the words mentioned at the bottom of the picture below are a joke, the facts cannot be ignored, and you can see the level of IQ in kindergarten.
Ultimately, however, I would like to emphasize that while Professor Li Meijin is right, this does not mean that we should let some students choose to "lie flat". In fact, although the level of IQ is reflected in early childhood, the development of an individual's IQ is not fixed until around the age of 15, so the effort is still meaningful.
In my opinion, the most important meaning of education and teaching at the elementary and junior high school levels is to develop the intellect, which can be said by the ancients, "enlightenment". Some children may not have low intelligence, but they may still be in a state of "ignorance" and may not be able to show it if they are not developed.
There is a saying that sooner or later there is enlightenment, which actually shows the importance of thinking development, which is closely related to the diligence of students. Even if a student's IQ is not low, if he is lazy and does not pay attention to external development, he may end up becoming a "smart poor student". This phenomenon is quite common at the moment.
However, while effort is beneficial for IQ development, care needs to be taken to grasp moderation. In other words, more effort is not more effective, and there is no point in overexerting too much. The so-called moderation refers to the child's normal tolerance, not the limit tolerance.
What do you mean by "normal endurance"? It means that the child does not feel bored, does not reject, does not get tired, and can still gain something. When the child is dissatisfied, the practice is ineffective, and the learning is not progressing, it means that the limit has been reached, and then he should not continue to be asked to work hard, otherwise continuing to push him will only lead him to a dead end.
Students are already working very hard at school, and it is a bit too much for parents to give them extra tasks. Some parents are even irrational, thinking that there is no point in their children participating in grade remedial classes, but they are still willing to spend money to let their children take such courses, in fact, they are just using money to comfort themselves.
Let your child sign up for an art class, learn some art courses, cultivate hobbies, cultivate sentiments, and relax your mind, even if you fail to become a talent in the end, it is much better than going to a cram school to pass the time.