In light of the recent game show on Fox, “Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader,” local fifth-graders are getting in on the action and wondering: Are Clarkston adults smarter than Clarkston Elementary School fifth-graders?
Each of Jennifer Brykailo’s fifth-grade students took their noses out of their books for a few minutes to supply The Clarkston News with questions from subjects they have been studying this year.
“We were really excited to share our questions,” said Brykailo. “They’ve been watching the show and said the questions weren’t that hard and thought they could have been harder in some instances. We’ve talked about it in class and they’ve realized that nobody is smarter than a fifth-grader.”
With questions such as “Why was the colonial militia named the Minutemen?” and “What was the name of the act, passed in 1767, that taxed tea, paper, paint, glass, and lead?” it’s hard to imagine anyone being smarter than these fifth graders, said Brykailo.
“I found that sometimes I was not smarter than a fifth grader. But it’s so much of a ‘what you don’t use, you lose’ kind of thing. If you haven’t thought about these things in 30 years, you’re not going to know many of the answers.”
Brad Erlandson agreed.
“The longer you’re away from the material, the harder it is to connect to it.?
David Shook, an attorney from Independence Township, agreed.
“It’s amazing how much we lose from the fifth grade 30 plus years out of it.”
Many of those questioned were more than happy to take part in the survey, but when they were asked to share their names and photos, they were apprehensive.
Others thought they were smarter than a fifth grader at the beginning of the experiment, but soon found out the opposite.
“The adults on the show ought to be ashamed of themselves,” said Tina Moyle. Yet, when she was asked the question, she couldn’t answer.
“They teach so many different things now,” she said.
Nancy Riddle shared the same sentiment.
“I’m not smarter than a fifth grader today,” she said. “They’re teaching more today than I ever learned in my one room schoolhouse.”
To see how local residents faired against the fifth graders, check out A5, and the People Poll on B1.