The connection between IQ scores and life outcomes is not as clear cut as Jordan Peterson suggests. Boys fall behind girls in academic achievement even though they have similar IQ scores. Affirmative action for males has helped the situation, but it has not been enough to close the gap.There is evidence that outreach programs for boys improve their chances of enrolling and succeeding in college.
To Anonymous: I think schools have been increasingly boy-unfriendly for the past few decades; group work, removal of competition, focus on emotions, lack of reading on topics boys like, lack of recess and other opportunities to burn off energy (older kids teachers would let them do laps around playground if they finished work early) etc.
When my kids (30s-40s) were in ES-MS, the older teachers recognized that boys and girls are different, appreciated both, and incorporated that into classroom and instructional practices. As they retired, the young teachers who replaced them clearly saw boys as defective girls and their classrooms were increasingly focused primarily on girls’ preferences. One MS teacher openly stated that she did not like boys and boys suffered in her class. I had to fight hard to get permission for both my younger son and my daughter to read something other than girl-drama, navel-gazing, academically worthless books: classics, historical fiction, biographies of males etc.
The connection between IQ scores and life outcomes is not as clear cut as Jordan Peterson suggests. Boys fall behind girls in academic achievement even though they have similar IQ scores. Affirmative action for males has helped the situation, but it has not been enough to close the gap.There is evidence that outreach programs for boys improve their chances of enrolling and succeeding in college.
ReplyDeleteI don't think he said that IQ is the only factor determining success. In fact, he said the opposite.
ReplyDeleteWell, IQ does have some pretty serious effects. I don't imagine anyone two standard deviations below the norm will successfully complete Calculus.
ReplyDeleteEven 1 standard deviation below the norm.
Can they succeed? Sure. But define success.
Yes, I do this for a living.
To Anonymous: I think schools have been increasingly boy-unfriendly for the past few decades; group work, removal of competition, focus on emotions, lack of reading on topics boys like, lack of recess and other opportunities to burn off energy (older kids teachers would let them do laps around playground if they finished work early) etc.
ReplyDeleteWhen my kids (30s-40s) were in ES-MS, the older teachers recognized that boys and girls are different, appreciated both, and incorporated that into classroom and instructional practices. As they retired, the young teachers who replaced them clearly saw boys as defective girls and their classrooms were increasingly focused primarily on girls’ preferences. One MS teacher openly stated that she did not like boys and boys suffered in her class. I had to fight hard to get permission for both my younger son and my daughter to read something other than girl-drama, navel-gazing, academically worthless books: classics, historical fiction, biographies of males etc.