But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid" - Albert Einstein. .
This quotation by Albert Einstein really got me thinking. Fish can't climb trees so if you tell a fish to climb a tree, the fish will think it is possible and try it and fail then it will think it's stupid because someone asked them to do something they couldn't do. It's like, asking an uneducated person what is 8x5, they will feel stupid if they can't answer it. Just because somebody isn't skilled in one area doesn't mean they are not skilled in another. Instead of putting them down for their weakness, find their strength. Some people are good at math while others language. Some can run fast while others are better swimmers. There are many ways people learn; logically, abstractly, geometrically, perceptually, methodically, mechanically, and more. If a person is not approached in the way that they learn, the assumption is that they are stupid. But just because you get bad grades doesn't mean that you're stupid, and just because you get good grades doesn't mean that you are a genius.
Although most people are aware that everybody learns in different ways, most schools fail to recognize that, expecting everyone to adapt to the same learning pattern. If a student fails to conform to the educational system, they are considered unintelligent. According to the dictionary, the definition of intelligence is the ability to acquire and apply knowledge and skills, yet today's society seems to define intelligence by what grades you get. Good grades don't always mean that you are a genius, they just mean that you have learned how to play the game; meaning you have learned what you need to do in order to succeed. Good grades do not measure intelligence, what they do measure is your ability to understand what adults want from you and give it to them, your ability to regurgitate information in the way others want you to, obedience, tolerance, and discipline.