Aptitude Test

 

Could you complete (successfully) an aptitude test?

You may remember the SAT to get approved to the college of your choice?

Scholastic Aptitude Test and had two components, Verbal and Mathematical, each of which was scored on a range from 200 to 800. Schools of higher learning to evaluate the applicant for acceptance or rejection used these.

Parents were responsible to teach you how to walk, talk, eat, and poop outside your pants before you attended schooling. Whether public or private or home schooling from K-12 most children were assigned to a school building, classroom and a teacher. Reading, writing, arithmetic, science, history were the basic training disciplines. Books were assigned to read and occasional test were assigned to evaluate the progress of the class. Other subjects in art, music, sports expanded social and cultural assimilation. Breakfast was consumed before the first bell rang and parents provided their child with money to go to a cafeteria for a prepared lunch or a lunchbox with enough nutriment to get them through the afternoon lessons. A break time was also scheduled to get some exercise and team building. If school was beyond walking or bicycle distance, a yellow bus would come to pick up and deliver to guarantee every desk was filled. Attendance was monitored and if too many days were missed, the student could have to repeat a grade before graduation.

It seems, today, there are aptitude test to be hired for employment. It makes sense because so many jobs now are technical.

Aptitude is a natural or acquired capacity or ability. Aptitude is a tendency, capacity, or inclination to learn or understand.

I’ve also read there are two types of jobs: Decision makers vs. Mechanical workers. Innovative thinkers opposed to repetitive manual labor. College grads vs. Trade School or military trained recruits are all sorted and evaluated by the human resource department.

Every job has a ‘job description’ giving the requirements to perform the task. How much do you have to lift? Can you drive a forklift or a 16-wheeler? How many breaks? Shift hours worked? Lunch breaks? Vacations? Holidays? Medical benefits? Sick leave? Inclement weather? Dress code? Pay? Bonuses? Promotions?

Every day you use what aptitude available from training and life experience. You drive a 2,000 lb. machine at a high rate of speed among many others and hopefully get to the distention and survive. You can choose your shelter, clothing and food and can communicate with the seller and math skills to pay the correct price. You hopefully have the aptitude to come in out of the rain and dress warmly in winter.

 Many jobs have a training period after an employment contract has been signed. Some are internships, apprenticeships or probation period to see how you fit in with the rest of the team. Since most jobs have more than a title, there are particularities that must be shown and approved by a mentor that you can perform the task. Along the career path, the requirements may change and the associate must adapt or become unsuitable for future employment.

Some of our species are naturally curious and enjoy finding new skills and techniques, if not in the employment, tinkering in a hobby like working on the car, some artistic expression, writing or dancing or searching the world for adventure. Others may be satisfied to work the 9-5 without any expectations of opinions or complaints stated to others over a beer at the local drinking establishment but never confident in your expressions to change.

The school system of the time gave me two pieces of paper to declare I was educated. I probably picked up a few tidbits along the way but could (and would) stammered at an aptitude test. Just being a body to fill a chair until I realized there was a lack of aptitude in the building starting my career. Not only were the common skills of etiquette missing, but the foresight and direction of a staple in the community were restricted to making monetary goals over innovation.

Recently I read that educational scores are dropping. With tele-teaching, schools closed due to fires, snow or bus driver strikes and the results are a generation not prepared for the technical knowledge to start an automobile without a degree from MIT or the skill to charge a phone without the background in quantum physics. From the looks of our political standing in the world, aptitude must be declining as well. When our entertainment has turned from mystery and adventure to sex and violence, doesn’t support much aptitude expansion.

I intend (hope) to explore new bounties while maintaining a sense of decorum and ethics. I try to avoid distractions while multi-tasking and clear my mind of useless information.

Now, onto my aptitude test: the 1040 form.