It starts the same way in so many classrooms. A student leans back, eyes scanning, hand halfway up before the question is even finished. There is a quiet smile, a quick connection, an answer that feels just a step ahead of everyone else. We write it on report cards all the time. “A very clever student.” It feels like praise, and it is. Yet it also holds more potential than we often unpack. What Does “Clever” Really Mean? Clever is a doorway, not a destination. It signals poss
