IQ tests are an important tool to help educators and
parents determine what paths their young children might take. The problem,
however, exists if ONLY the IQ test is used. There are different types of
intelligence that cannot be measured simply by a test. Although lacking in what
others perceive as intelligence, a child could be emotionally intelligent
or overflowing with creativity. I think that the if a holistic
approach to child development is used, an IQ test should be only a small aspect
to consider. People are not just computers that you can fill the hard drive
with information, rather people, especially young children, are dynamic and
always growing. Case in point, it is accept that IQ's change as people get
older. They can rise or they can fall. A child who is slightly delayed could
end up being the most gifted of adults and the opposite is true as well.
There was an interesting study done
in Kenya about intelligence. The Luo people in Kenya measure intelligence using
four categories:
"rieko, which largely corresponds to the Western idea of academic
intelligence, but also includes specific skills; luoro, which includes social qualities like respect,
responsibility and consideration; paro, or practical thinking; and winjo, or comprehension. Only one
of the four--rieko--is
correlated with traditional Western measures of intelligence."
(Benson 2003)
I
think the Luo would be hard pressed to come up with an intelligence test that
would measure these aspects of intelligence, nor do I think they would want to.
I think having a system like this in our culture would alleviate some of the
pressures associated with education and intelligence. If a child is a little
behind in one aspect but a little more advanced in another, that child is not
ostracized but rather praised. I think there is a lot of undue pressure from
parents, schools, teachers, governments in the US for students to achieve at a
basic level according to a standardized test. If things were like in Kenya,
would we have the educational problems we have?
Reference
Benson,
E. (2003, February) Intelligence
across cultures: Research in Africa, Asia and Latin America is
showing how culture and intelligence interact. American Psychological Association. Retreived August 5, 2012 from http://www.apa.org/monitor/feb03/intelligence.aspx.
