On January 17th, The Guardian published an article regarding a recent Icelandic study that found the rate of genes that predispose certain people to pursuing high levels of education were diminishing.
The study went on to reveal that subjects with these genes were also predisposed to having fewer children, regardless of the level of education they ultimately reached. Combine this with the fact that birth rates are at a historic low and you may find that essentially, as the research infers, natural selection is resulting in less intelligent humans.
It’s a wonderful “told you so” result for those who argue that the latest generation is nowhere near as capable as those that preceded it, even if it only results in the estimated loss of 0.3 IQ points over a decade. Whatever the case, it’s important to realise that these findings do not offer a clear picture of how intelligence works. In fact, the study is little more than a piece in a complex puzzle; one that seems unlikely to be completed in the period in which the solution will even be relevant, as we are only now starting to make the genes that define intelligence are distributed throughout our genetic code.
While researchers claim their findings describe “…a substantial effect if the trend persists for centuries”, they admit that they could not factor in relevant modern phenomenon that would impact their findings. Specifically, they mention The Flynn Effect. First described in 1994, the Flynn effect claims human intelligence has risen an average of 3 points decade upon decade thanks to the evolution of technology and modernisation of the learning environment.
That alone would seem to make the study moot, but what’s most troublesome is what both the study and, to a degree, The Guardian article suggests: that education and intelligence equate to the same thing.
The debate over whether IQ is a valid measurement for intellectual capability, or a social construct designed to nurture privilege rages on. Regardless of the conclusion, however, the impact is the same: IQ is being used as an excuse for why traditional education works for some and not for others. Such attitude threatens to isolate students who struggle at school even further, by suggesting that focused or alternative methods of teaching will not solve the problem.
No, we are not breeding stupidity. We are breeding ignorance. We are now at a point where the capability of those studying under a popular education system is perceived to be undervalued by natural selection.
Natural selection. A process that occurs slowly over many generations. For that to be true, it would mean that all of the social and cultural changes that have unfolded over the last 150 years of industrial schooling have had no impact on how education is carried out.
It’s no wonder that we are where we are today, with the fog of obsession over what determines a student’s ability to learn obscuring the path to what really matters: the how.
Industrial schooling has served its purpose, but we now face a radical future in which the purpose of an education will change. The method of educating must change to accommodate this.
Now is the time to treat the student as the individual. As the human, with all their ability, possibility, and flaws. We must embrace it, accept them, and help them understand that their value isn’t determined by an IQ number or score on a test or report card.
Failure to do so will mean more students will be left behind, and the cracks formed by social disparity will widen. A new age of inequality will be summoned, and we will truly prove ourselves the fools.
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