The Aptitude Myth

How an Ancient Belief Came to Undermine Childrens Learning Today

By (author) Cornelius N. Grove

Publication date:

21 June 2013

Length of book:

208 pages

Publisher

R&L Education

Dimensions:

263x184mm
7x10"

ISBN-13: 9781475804355

The Aptitude Myth addresses the decline in American children’s mastery of critical school subjects. It contends that a contributing cause for this decline derives from many Americans’ ways of thinking about children’s learning: They believe that school performance is determined very largely by innate aptitude. The Aptitude Myth traces the deep historical origins, the spread and elaboration, and the eventual triumph of the belief in the determining power of mental abilities “given” at birth and therefore fixed. Covered is 600 B.C.E. until 1926 (when the S.A.T. was first administered).
The belief in aptitude, assumed by many Americans to be the modern view of learning ability, is revealed as an archaic way of thinking that originated in the imaginations of our ancient forebears and gradually gained credibility over 2,500 years. In recent times, the belief became elaborated to include the fanciful notion that more-than-modest academic study injures a child’s health. Having inherited this mindset, Americans don’t know how to insure that children gain mastery. A new mindset is needed. The final chapter offers a transformative mindset.

Introduction
Part I: European Antecedents
Chapter 1 A Perspective on Teaching Out of the Depths of Time
Chapter 2 Greek Philosophers Focus on a World Beyond the Senses
Chapter 3 New Views of the Natural World
Chapter 4 New Views of Human Consciousness and Learning
Chapter 5. New Views of Children and Childhood
Chapter 6. New Views of Authority in Societies and Schools
Chapter 7. New Ideals for Human Life and Learning
Chapter 8 An Influential Educator Reflects the Currents of His Time
Chapter 9. New Views and Ideals All Coalesce in One Man’s Mind
Chapter 10 Basic Guidelines for the Western-Contemporary Paradigm
Part II: American Responses

Chapter 11 Evolving Notions of Child-Rearing in Pre-Civil War America
Chapter 12 Emerging Social Currents in Post-Civil War America
Chapter 13 Emerging Intellectual Currents in Post-Civil War America
Chapter 14 American Educational Metamorphosis I: Socially Efficient Education
Chapter 15. American Educational Metamorphosis II: Child-Centered Teaching
Chapter 16 American Educational Metamorphosis III: A “Given” Joins the Establishment

Part III: Tomorrow’s Opportunities
Chapter 17 Which Problems Is it Now More Significant to Solve?
Chapter 18 Toward a New Paradigm: Seven Assertions to Think With

Index

About the Author

What are our goals in educating children, and what is the nature of human learning? Americans typically answer these questions in ways that differ from the answers given in other nations. In The Aptitude Myth, Cornelius Grove reveals that ancient Greece was the source of key underlying themes in American education, and traces these down through European and American history into the early 20th century. He then proposes alternative ways of thinking about children and learning. Addressed to parents and educators, The Aptitude Myth offers a fascinating panorama, and will challenge the thinking of all who are interested in education.