Cognitive vs character hypothesis

“After a recent presentation, somebody asked me what I considered to be the “best investment?” I responded after some thinking that I considered the best investment to be the education of one’s children. Later that day I thought that the answer might not have been interpreted the way I meant it. What I meant in terms of education was not the University or School that mattered, but the values parents can teach their children. And by values I mean tradition, culture, manners, ethics, humility and also - politeness, integrity, punctuality, reliability and dependability - as well as compassion and generosity toward people who are less fortunate.” ( Marc Faber, a famous investor)

What makes a person successful? The “cognitive hypothesis” is based on the belief that success depends primarily on cognitive skill, the kind of intelligence that gets measured on I.Q. tests. The best way to develop these skills is to practice them as much as possible, beginning as early as possible. Paul Tough in his book, “How Children Succeed,” argues that the “character hypothesis” which is based on non-cognitive skills, like persistence, self-control, curiosity, conscientiousness and self-confidence, is more crucial than sheer brainpower to achieving success. I agreed with him wholeheartedly. We witnessed from the human history how smart people started well in their early lives but crumbled later on because of their character weaknesses.

The sad thing is that children from both rich and poor family backgrounds are facing stresses from different sources that hinder them from developing non-cognitive skills. For the rich children, the main cause of distress comes from excessive achievements pressures and isolation from their parents, both physically and emotionally. They are also largely insulated from adversity in life even when they reached young adulthoods. A moderate amount of adversity is a good thing for kids as they build character and resilience.

On the other hand, poor children are facing endless challenges in life- poor nutrition and medical care, dysfunctional home. Growing up in stressful environments made them generally harder to concentrate, harder to sit still, harder to rebound from disappointments and harder to follow directions. They are also easily overwhelmed by impulses and negative feelings. The only way to counter such stresses these children faced is by providing them with attentive, responsive parenting, which unfortunately is absent.

Since character is the key to children succeeding in school and in life, can it be taught? I believe so but it is going to take longer time and efforts from my own experience. To improve academic performance is easier than for character development. Take for example, my student was able to improve his maths score within 6 months from a pass to almost A* through intensive practices. However, I have a hard time in his character development which has to come from lessons in his real life situations and relationships which cannot be taught overnight. I am glad that government has intervened through the introduction of ‘Character & Citizenship’ education and Edusave Award for Character. This is the right direction to take. Though we are not sure whether we would succeed in such initiatives, at least we try.

Hopefully through all these interventions and efforts, we can mitigate stressed early relationships experienced by these children. As a tutor to a child coming from a dysfunctional home, I should have known better- educating a child without character development is incomplete.