Name: ______Date: ______Class: ______
Malleable Intelligence
Many sports fans would say that Michael Jordan is one of the best athletes of all time. With accomplishments like 6-time NBA champion, 5-time Most Valuable Player, 10-time scoring champion, and 14-time NBA All-Star, it isn’t surprising that some people consider him to be the best player in the history of the NBA. If you look at these impressive numbers, you might think that Michael Jordan was a perfect basketball player. As Jordan himself said, though, this was certainly not the case. “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions I have been entrusted to take the game winning shot... and missed. And I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why... I succeed.”
Everyone makes mistakes, even legends like Michael Jordan. And legends certainly are not born with their legendary status. As a child, Michael Jordan was cut from his high school basketball team because he wasn’t good enough. At that point, he could have decided to give up on basketball. Fortunately, he did the opposite by practicing harder. "I think that not making the Varsity team drove me to really work at my game, and also taught me that if you set goals, and work hard to achieve them—the hard work can pay off,” Jordan said.
Today, most people agree that the only way to get good at something is topractice and dedicate yourself to whatever you are doing. Whether you are an athlete, musician, scientist, or surgeon, you have to work hard if you want to be successful. As Lil Wayne (rapper) said in “The Carter” documentary, “Repetition is the father of learning.”Wayne certainly speaks from experience – he started rapping when he was only eight years old. Michael Phelps (swimmer), who has won 14 Olympic gold medals and broken 38 world records, swims for five or more hours every day of the year. Avery Coffey, a 13-year-old boy who won the 2010 Washington Informer City-wide Spelling Bee, practiced for at least three hours a day to prepare for the competition.
Just like these people had to practice a lot to get good at what they do, students need to practice a lot in order to “get smart.” Just like Michael Jordan was not born a basketball superstar, kids are not
born “smart.” The only way to get smart is to learn.
The only way to learn is to practice over and over again. For example, kids who get good grades in math aren’t just naturally “good at math.” They memorized all of their addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division facts by practicing. They aced tests because they did practice problems that were just like the problems on the actual test. Likewise, kids who are good readers weren’t born that way. To be a good reader, you need to read as much as you can in school and at home.
Why does practice make people better at things? The answer lies in your brain. Your brain is made up of billions of little cells called neurons. These neurons are connected to each other through long cables called axons. Neurons send electrical signals down the axons, and these signals eventually reach different parts of your body. When the signals reach their destination, the signal causes something to happen in your body. For example, neurons that send signals to your arm make your arm move. Neurons that send signals to your leg make your leg move. When you are doing a physical activity, like playing a sport, a bunch of neurons are firing off signals at the same time. In basketball, your arms, legs, and fingers have to move in a very specific way to put the ball into the basket. When you practice, the axons that connect the neurons that control these body parts become more strongly connected to the neurons. These stronger connections allow you to gradually become a better shooter. Soon, the connections between the neurons are so strong that shooting a basketball becomes almost automatic. At this point, you have learned how to shoot a basketball.
The same types of connections are made when you learn new things. Say that you need to learn that the first four planets are Mercury, Venus, Earth, and Mars. First, the neurons that control your reading let you say the names of the planets. Some neurons let you read “Mercury” and others let you read “Mars.” At first, there are only very weak connections between these two groups of neurons. However, if you write or say the names of the planets in the correct order over and over again, stronger connections are made. With practice, axons from the “Mercury” neurons connect strongly to the “Venus” neurons, and the “Venus” neurons connect strongly to the “Earth” neurons. If you practice saying the names of the first four planets enough, the connections will become so strong that you will eventually be able to name all four planets off the top of your head. The same thing happens when you learn any type of content, whether it is math, reading, science, or social studies. The more you practice, the stronger the connections between neurons become.
Just like athletes exercise to make their muscles stronger, students need to work as hard as they can in school to learn new things. Athletes aren’t born strong – they need to get strong by training. Similarly, students are not born smart. They need to get smart by working hard in school and at home.
The idea that your intelligence is determined by how much time and effort you put into learning new things is called malleable intelligence. The word “malleable” means “flexible” or “moldable.” So basically, malleable intelligence means that your intelligence is always changing. If you are always doing your work, answering questions during class, and reading at home, then your intelligence will increase. On the other hand, if you rarely do your work, never answer questions, and never do your homework, your intelligence will either stay the same or go down.
Post-Reading Questions
1. What sport did Michael Jordan play? ______
2. What happened when Michael Jordan tried out for his high school basketball team?
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3. Lil Wayne said that ______is the father of learning.
4. How long does Michael Phelps swim per day? ______
5. The only way to learn is to ______over and over again.
6. What are cells in your brain called? ______
7. What cable-like structures connect neurons together? ______
8. What kind of signals get sent down axons? ______
9. When you practice something (like sports or school work), what happens to the connections between neurons?
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10. Describe what “malleable intelligence” means.
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11. According to the idea of malleable intelligence, what are some things that you can do to make yourself smarter?
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