But He's Really Smart?

I am tired of hearing this: "He's gotten himself in so much trouble. It's such a shame because he's really smart."

Why do we assume that anyone who gets himself in trouble is really smart? Does it take really smart people to get themselves in trouble? I think we are rewarding really stupid behavior.

The teacher takes Johnny out of the classroom because he has been acting out. She says, "Johnny, I think you are really smart. You don't need to do these bad things?" So, Johnny understands that he gets complemented by doing something wrong.

Yes, I have also heard, "No, he doesn't have a steady job and still lives off of his parents and it's such a shame because he is really smart." I want to add, "But his parents are not that smart because they are allowing him to live off of them."

Why can't we have a new way of figuring I.Q.? The new way would include hard work and making good decisions. It would take into account being responsible and productive.

I wish everyone would say, "That guy works hard. He provides for his family. He pays his bills. He takes responsibility for the things around him. He tries to help others when he can. He is really smart."

This is my system of determining intelligence. In it anyone can be really smart. However, you can't be really smart by doing something really stupid.