Question

What do we hear socially about intelligence at school?

Answer 1

Answer:

Every year hundreds of grade school students converge on Washington, D.C., for the annual Scripps National Spelling Bee. The “bee” is an elite event in which children as young as 8 years old compete to spell words like “cymotrichous” and “appoggiatura.” Most people who watch the spelling bee think of these kids as being “smart.”

What makes a person intelligent? Is it heredity (two of the 2014 contestants in the National Spelling Bee have siblings who have previously won) (National Spelling Bee, 2014a)? Is it interest (the most frequently listed favorite subject among spelling bee competitors is math)(NSB, 2014b)?