Schooling the Young 1: Tor Arne Jorgensen on the Educational Basics

Author(s): Scott Douglas Jacobsen

Publication (Outlet/Website): In-Sight: Independent Interview-Based Journal

Publication Date (yyyy/mm/dd): 2022/06/15

Abstract

Tor Arne Jørgensen is a member of 50+ high IQ societies, including World Genius Directory, NOUS High IQ Society, 6N High IQ Society just to name a few. He has several IQ scores above 160+ sd15 among high range tests like Gift/Gene Verbal, Gift/Gene Numerical of Iakovos Koukas and Lexiq of Soulios. Tor Arne was also in 2019, nominated for the World Genius Directory 2019 Genius of the Year – Europe. He is the only Norwegian to ever have achieved this honor. He has also been a contributor to the Genius Journal Logicon, in addition to being the creator of toriqtests.com, where he is the designer of now eleven HR-tests of both verbal/numerical variant. His further interests are related to intelligence, creativity, education developing regarding gifted students. Tor Arne has an bachelor`s degree in history and a degree in Practical education, he works as a teacher within the following subjects: History, Religion, and Social Studies. He discusses: education; a new cohort of students; build a rapport; identifying the more astute students; teaching; teachers get good or stay bad at teaching young students; the most difficult; encourage good behaviour; and deal with highly difficult students.

Keywords: education, schooling, the young, Tor Arne Jorgensen.

Schooling the Young 1: Tor Arne Jorgensen on the Educational Basics

*Please see the references, footnotes, and citations, after the interview, respectively.*

Scott Douglas Jacobsen: Education is a fundamental aspect of the long-term health of a society. You happen to work with the next generations in teaching. You have two kids. I wanted to explore a bit of the background in education within this context. “How?” in general. “How to do it properly?” in particular. We have touched a bit upon these things in parts of interviews at times. Although, I would like to cover some more of this. So, let’s cover some of the groundwork, what is your fundamental stance on educating the next generation of Norwegians?

Tor Arne Jorgensen[1],[2]*: My basis for educating or explaining the future, as well as proclaiming the bearing generation and then whether or not their imprint as to what extent is influenced by the scholastic institutions can hopefully here be valued in some sense. The broad discrepancies of the like-minded kind of today’s academic institutions are to be considered an offspring’s fallacy and should according to what I now proclaim hereby end in their current state of form. The way forward is rather to embrace in the notion of change through adaption away from today’s obsolete form, towards a more fluid state inclined towards structural changes at the pace that will be considered viable by tomorrows standards. Thus, leading in accordance above and beyond today technologically advances not only limited to one own country but in a conglutinating state on a global scale.

Today’s schools are so mind-bogglingly far behind that it’s an embarrassment to be behold, the Norwegian academic institutions specifically directed toward the primary and secondary schools must start listening to what’s going on out there on the international scene, by reforming themselves towards the more pruned; intellectually, innovative, and creative people in any way possible in the near too far future. When schools find themselves relying solely on highly educated academics, who have completed the formation of a failed and obsolete system that again will only pass on the same shipwreck system to the next generation, what then will this result in…? If one bothers to gaze in the direction with regards to most brilliant innovators of our time, men like; Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and previous Steve Jobs etc. then the same thing is said repeatedly, “you must hire innovators who see the world differently.” Their brilliant minds that were, and still are today reinvent an entirely new systems that are directly adapted to the ongoing developing societies, find themselves thrusting forward in quantum leaps, but not so much by the educational institutions, why is that…?

What is explicitly clear to me, is the need for a completely new mindset by and of tomorrow’s educational institutions. A clear comparison is according to space travel, NASA was about to throw in the towel, their overpriced misuse and chuck away mentality was completely disconnected, until for example Elon Musk came along and reinvented a completely new way of thinking in terms of cost savings toward a competitive space industry, today space travel is at full speed ahead with the right kind of innovator at the helm. So, look I say, at those with innate talent far beyond what an everyday academic can comprehend.

Today’s schools in Norway and beyond are putting all their eggs in the wrong basket, I can only hope that the institutional directories will one day wake up and maybe just maybe look outwards at the real people who can actually get the educational direction on the right course again, and not keep their current course straight into the iceberg.

Jacobsen: When you get a new cohort of students, how do you introduce yourself?

Jorgensen: The introduction process is relatively simple, as one emphasizes what is expected of oneself and what is to be expected of the students in return. That is, what can the students expect from me according to academic content, further, what a class leader commits to, as well as social understandings. Who I am privately for the sake of what I do and my abilities in that sense does not matter in any sense. The students, on their part, present at the request forwarded by me about their expectations of me as a teacher, regarding both academic and social.

Jacobsen: How long does it, typically, take to build a rapport with them?

Jorgensen: This process of uncovering any structural intrigues, class compositions etc. Is a time-consuming task, where one must look at each individual student and their roles in the class society. Who are “the shakers and movers”, and who are not? What type of pupil characteristics goes together and who does not, who is comes forth as rootless and who creates group affiliation from within for the sake of calm structural balance. The social aspect is probably what must be continuously worked on to be adjusted throughout the school year by order to meet the best possible academic benefit for all students.

Jacobsen: We have talked about identifying the more astute students. Those who are intelligent and disengaged, or intelligent and motivated. The former, maybe, needing a bit more of a prod. Let’s cover that again, here, so it’s in one place, thematically appropriate too. How do you identify them? In Norway, there’s a culture of negation of arrogance, which can be healthy in a lot of ways.

Jorgensen: The process by which identification in the innate state of natural brilliance of the intellectual supreme being has several well-known and thus recognizable trademarks, and as there are a lot of these trademarks to be identified as such, I will just name a few of them in this brief section. Short summarized as; evasive, restlessness, and reflective characteristics of what is deemed above normal relative to age level of that particular student as well as the innate metacognitive affiliations are decided factors for me valued as unavoidable and inalienable characteristics of higher characteristics within the field of the student-based intelligentsia.

Jacobsen: Why, of all professions, choose teaching? It’s underpaid, lacks as much respect as medical doctor, and requires significant patience in working with the young.

Jorgensen: If my mindset had been in this direction, then my choice of profession would never have fallen onto the teaching profession.

Yes, there is a lot of distress that is not taken care of according to most things within my field of work. That said, there are many more rights that in turn outweighs the wrongs.

I am not an idealist in the sense of being blinded by utopian silliness, nor am I a capitalist go doer as this surly fall on its own unreasonableness.

My wish is to work with people where a possible outcome in the end, is to be able to see that one has brought through the academic line a person who can and will become a meaningful individual for a future oriented society in the most positive sense. That one is able to see that one’s own efforts has led to an improved condition for our surroundings, an all-purpose environment improvement to benefit us all in the long run. Lastly, to direct the future generation to be the bearers of society after our own turn is done, to pass the torch on in the faith that all will be ok…

Jacobsen: How do teachers get good or stay bad at teaching young students?

Jorgensen: In the quest for appliance by “get good”, the answer is simple. You must develop yourself both professionally and emotionally. Being aware of the aspect of the developing society that surrounds us, is now more crucial than ever before. The teachers who prove able to see that this adaptation as an undeniable imperative, will then be the mainstay for the teachers who see this as their absolute obligation.

Those teachers who in some way seems to be unable to reinvent themselves or adapt themselves and are thereby stuck in their rudimentary traditional structures, where upon there is no room for innovative initiatives, nor any attempts of adaptation towards society’s normative, fall at the risk of becoming permanently passive in their learning initiatives regarding the students’ weathering of academic requirements for the proper competence.

Jacobsen: What ages for teaching can be the most difficult?

Jorgensen: All ages can bring with them their own uniquely challenging qualities, but what usually presents itself is in terms of general challenges across the entire emotional scale of your average student, is probably thus most promptly disposed around the age of 12-16 years.

Jacobsen: How do you encourage good behaviour in students?

Jorgensen: Through some simple positive directed concepts listed as follow: Accountability, self-perception, self-esteem, social acceptance, general recognition, and finally overall acknowledgement as to how they the students want their general environment to view them as…Here the main focus is positive input into every category listed above, this is done to give the students the proper initiative for a focused based and innated direction toward a meaningful adult productive existent that is beneficial for the whole community.

Jacobsen: Also, how do you deal with highly difficult students?

Jorgensen: By confirmation and acceptance. These students need to be understood and supported, put forward through a secure social framework, only then can one to a certain extent expect professional competence development. But the theme around challenging students is never easy, some you can help, and others you cannot.

All Norwegian schools have a support system that helps them if the schools themselves should deem it as an aperitive incentives by fear of falling short regarding their original contract obligations.

Footnotes

[1] Tor Arne Jørgensen is a member of 50+ high IQ societies.

[2] Individual Publication Date: June 15, 2022: http://www.in-sightpublishing.com/teaching-1; Full Issue Publication Date: September 1, 2022: https://in-sightjournal.com/insight-issues/.

*High range testing (HRT) should be taken with honest skepticism grounded in the limited empirical development of the field at present, even in spite of honest and sincere efforts. If a higher general intelligence score, then the greater the variability in, and margin of error in, the general intelligence scores because of the greater rarity in the population.

License

In-Sight Publishing by Scott Douglas Jacobsen is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at www.in-sightpublishing.com.

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