In the Russell Crowe film Master and Commander, young midshipmen were 12 year olds who learnt complex skills. Their entire adolescent energy was spent learning to perform complicated tasks. These 12 year-old midshipmen were learning to pilot ships around the world, to manage the complexity of a warship and to think on their feet. For hundreds of thousands of years boys have been initiated into manhood by performing complex tasks, expending physical energy and leading others. How does this fit into the paradigm of Year 7 where tasks are simplified for boys, they are made to sit quietly for 47 minute periods and their opportunities for leadership of others are negligible?
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Robert Sternberg argues that successful intelligence shows three skills: critical thinking about the issue at hand; creatively thinking about a solution; and finally, finding a practical way to implement the solution. Midshipmen applied all three these skills. Perhaps, in our modern pedagogics, our emphasise on imparting knowledge comes at the expense of developing successful intelligence.
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