During last night’s debate, there was a moment when the President weaponized the word “smart” against the former Vice President for a presumed lack of “smartness.” The word “stupid” also came up to describe people at one point. As an educator and fervent consumer of education research, I am always trying to stay away from both of these words. I don’t find them productive. I believe most rational people would agree that calling someone “stupid” is simply wrong and serves no purpose. It’s mean. So, I want to reflect instead on the use of the word “smart.” I think of it a little differently than most. I really don’t like the word “smart.”
“You are so smart!” “I am not smart” or expressions like such are really not all that helpful. Smartness is a label. People who aim to be smart often do so for the wrong reasons, for extrinsic rewards. Then, their learning is limited because once the reward has been received, what they thought they learned will likely disappear. People whose goal is to be smart often hold fixed mindsets because they think some people are smart, others are not, and they need to maintain their “smartness.” There is one way to be smart. In doing so, they will avoid struggle and deeper learning in exchange for doing whatever they need to do to be smart, typically defined by grades. 4.0 = smart. 2.0 = not smart.
Now, what about those people who engage in learning that do not rely on extrinsic rewards to guide their learning? They want to learn for intrinsic reasons – for empowerment, to understand a phenomenon, to use what they learn for a purpose, to solve problem etc. Learners who are less focused on smartness often have more malleable mindsets; they embrace struggle when they learn something and grow in that learning. Learning involves personal growth and we can all grow, we can all be intelligent. I am not saying that people labeled as smart are not intelligent. But, smartness is not equivalent to intelligence. Intelligence is the ability to reason and understand and then apply that knowledge. Learners can be intelligent in so many different ways however, in education and society, smartness is a label that is used and is not productive because what does it do? Smart separates people into groups of assumed abilities and that differentiation does not account for people’s diverse intelligence.
People have always called me smart. Thanks? What does that mean? I do not want to be smart. Am I finished because people think I am smart? Well, then, I am wasting my time in this doctoral program. I want to be intelligent! My goal for all people is the same as my personal goal, to strive to grow their intelligence. What will you learn and how will you use what you learn? Can you reason through situations with your knowledge? Are you a critical thinker who can explore issues and create discourse about your topic based on what you have learned?
Stop focusing on smart.