Garth Rattray | Is it aptitude, attitude, or both?

The school term is in full swing once again and, although a child’s performance in school depends on a wide variety of external influences, I can’t help thinking that more children could do better if the education system paid closer attention to them by observing their performance holistically.

I recall a boy who left his primary school very near the top of his class. When he entered high school, he and all the other children were given a test to determine where they should be placed. He ended up in the top class of that grade.

However, by the end of that year, because of the ‘culture shock’ of the new school, his academic performance was nothing short of dismal. None of his teachers or the administrative staff sought to ascertain why he performed badly over several school terms.

Another year went by and his grades were horrible until he met a teacher who he looked up to and found worthy of emulation. His grades skyrocketed. Again, no teacher or member of the administrative staff tried to find out what caused the positive change in his performance.

That teacher moved on, and the subject matter that had been covered by that teacher was taught by a new individual, one whom the youngster found difficult to understand and exceedingly distracting. At the end of two years, his grade in that subject, the one in which he had been so good, plummeted.

Although, just two years before, he had been top of the class in that subject, he was now at the bottom of the class in the same subject. Yet, no teacher or member of the administrative staff asked what was happening.

That same young man excelled beyond his classmates in a new subject the following year. He did so well that he outperformed the entire grade once again. This see-saw phenomenon in his grades never raised any red flags and was never investigated so that others could learn from, and benefit from, the factors that caused his grades to fluctuate so dramatically.

The obvious question is whether his academic performance was highly influenced by his aptitude in some subjects or by his attitude towards studying them. The answer could be used to improve the learning of academic and vocational skills for other children.

Aptitude speaks to the natural ability or innate capacity to learn, acquire skills, or perform a specific task, often in a particular subject area. It is representative of a natural talent or readiness to do or learn something.

Some educational institutions and companies use aptitude tests to place students or to employ and appropriately place workers.

Psychological attitude is not innate or passive; it depends on the emotions applied to a subject matter or the emotions evoked by it. Some authorities describe attitude as the resolve or grit to get something done.

I see aptitude as the hare and attitude as the tortoise. The hare has the natural talent but the wrong attitude towards the race, so he loses. The tortoise is very deficient when it comes to the aptitude for racing, but his resolve earns him the win. In real life, the two are often complementary.

Hard work

Thomas Edison once said, “Genius is one per cent inspiration and 99 per cent perspiration.” In other words, it was his view that any remarkable achievement is attributable to one per cent aptitude and 99 per cent attitude and hard work. Aptitude may take you to the beginning of the road to success, but the long and winding road will require discipline, hard work, the willingness to fail at times, and perseverance.

Despite their natural abilities and aptitude for a particular sport, some of our greatest athletes of all time would remain unknown if they did not adopt an attitude of hard and consistent work to achieve greatness. Usain Bolt said as much, and so did Michael Jordan.

Obviously, there is little doubt that aptitude matters. Students differ in their cognitive abilities, prior knowledge, memory, reasoning skills, and the speed with which they grasp new concepts. Some appear to have a natural affinity for mathematics, languages, music, or other disciplines. Research has consistently demonstrated relationships between cognitive ability and educational achievement. A student who can understand a difficult mathematical concept after one explanation has an advantage over another student who requires repeated explanations.

But aptitude is only potential, not accomplishment. A naturally gifted student who rarely studies may perform worse than a less naturally gifted student who consistently works. Intelligence cannot answer questions such as: Who does the homework? Who reads beyond what is required? Who revises after receiving a poor grade? Who continues studying when the subject becomes difficult? Those questions concern attitude.

Because hard work is known to be extremely productive, motivational speaker Zig Ziglar opined that “Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude.” Despite this, some authorities assert that the evidence suggests that neither aptitude nor attitude can fully explain academic achievement. Both matter, but their roles are different, and attitude can determine how much of one’s aptitude is actually converted into achievement.

There is evidence that aptitude and attitude can reinforce one another. A student who works hard may improve, and improvement can create confidence, which encourages further effort.

I wonder how many talented and potentially productive citizens have gone unrecognised because of a lack of close monitoring and guidance by teachers, school administrators, and parents. We can and should do more for our future leaders.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.