Hi all,
this is a politically loaded paper. Should we explicitly
tell people that they are not born equal? At the of the day,
when they grow up. they weill realize that not everyone is
born equal, but when they are kids, lets let them believe
that they are all equal.
What do the others think
Jason
P.S. By the way, thanks Paul for the hints about nice
articles every now and then. Keep on good work.
----- Original Message Follows -----
From: Paul Barrett <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask]
Subject: Charles Murray on Intelligence and Education
Date: Fri, 19 Jan 2007 16:18:59 -0600
> Hello
>
> Charles Murray has published a 3-part opinion-piece in the
> Wall Street Journal over the past three days. The
> full-text of each piece is available from the American
> Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research where he
> is the W,H, Brady Scholar in Culture and Freedom
>
> http://www.aei.org/publications/pubID.25452
> ,filter.all/pub_detail.asp
>
> Part 1: Intelligence in the Classroom
> Part 2: What's wrong with Vocational School
> Part 3: Aztecs vs Greeks
>
> Whatever you feel about these issues - and about
> intelligence measurement - these are a suite of
> provocative and thought-provoking articles. As ever, he
> sometimes speaks with an authority about intelligence
> which belies the imprecision of its definition and
> measurement. But, within the clever weaving of fact and
> assertion, there are some critical questions posed about
> the role of education and the current fad for everyone to
> gain a degree in something.
>
> For me, one of the most "stand out" and chilling
> paragraphs (in terms of what it implies from many
> competing perspectives) is from Part 3 ...
>
> "In short, I am calling for a revival of the classical
> definition of a liberal education, serving its classic
> purpose: to prepare an elite to do its duty. If that
> sounds too much like Plato's Guardians, consider this
> distinction. As William F. Buckley rightly instructs us,
> it is better to be governed by the first 2,000 names in
> the Boston phone book than by the faculty of Harvard
> University. But we have that option only in the choice of
> our elected officials. In all other respects, the
> government, economy and culture are run by a cognitive
> elite that we do not choose. That is the reality, and we
> are powerless to change it. All we can do is try to
> educate the elite to be conscious of, and prepared to meet
> , its obligations. For years, we have not even thought
> about the nature of that task. It is time we did".
>
> ______________________________
> Paul Barrett
> Chief Research Scientist
> Hogan Assessment Systems Inc.
> Tulsa, Oklahoma
>
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