Biotech Values

[Biowatch]

Lead paint and poor nutrition can lower IQ, plus incompetent teachers don't help. Remember my telling you about an elementary school where the person "in charge" of the chess club didn't know how to play chess? It was kind of them to volunteer their time to be there so the children who wanted to could play chess, but clearly the teacher wasn't helping teach the students chess skills.

Yes, people with low IQs will never excel, but they can still achieve very impressive results by doing what they do well. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to build a rocket or repair a road or keep the plumbing working in a school or create art. It does take someone who cares about their work.

The "no child left behind" approach may be missing the big picture, because "teaching to the test" won't work for everyone, but it doesn't mean that education is not important, even for those with low IQs.

"It's no use coming up with the example of a child who was getting Ds in school, met an inspiring teacher, and went on to become an astrophysicist. That is an underachievement story, not the story of someone at the 49th percentile of intelligence."

There are also many stories of people inspired by a teacher to believe in themselves and not give up on life, regardless of what they wind up doing.