Why not close the achievement gap from the top down?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:School achievement is mostly a genetic issue. Once we allow people to choose the embryo with the best genetic potential, or provide free sperm/eggs of good genetic potential, the percentage of kids with low iq and major behavior problems will go down a lot.

It's not, though. IQ is only 40% heritable. That means the vast majority of our intelligence stems from our environment and epigenetic impacts on brain development. Wealthier children with educated parents grow up in environments that promote intelligence. Proper prenatal care, no drug exposure in utero, good postnatal nutrition, warm responsive caregivers, proper sleep routines, enriching environment with lots of verbal stimulation and low screen exposure. The majority of brain development happens before kids ever enter a school building, and that includes preschool.

Too many children don't have access to the above because their parents did not plan their conception and/or don't have the material or emotional resources to create a brain-nurturing environment.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School achievement is mostly a genetic issue. Once we allow people to choose the embryo with the best genetic potential, or provide free sperm/eggs of good genetic potential, the percentage of kids with low iq and major behavior problems will go down a lot.

It's not, though. IQ is only 40% heritable. That means the vast majority of our intelligence stems from our environment and epigenetic impacts on brain development. Wealthier children with educated parents grow up in environments that promote intelligence. Proper prenatal care, no drug exposure in utero, good postnatal nutrition, warm responsive caregivers, proper sleep routines, enriching environment with lots of verbal stimulation and low screen exposure. The majority of brain development happens before kids ever enter a school building, and that includes preschool.

Too many children don't have access to the above because their parents did not plan their conception and/or don't have the material or emotional resources to create a brain-nurturing environment.

DP. Citation for the bolded?
This researcher says that it's 80% genetic. https://www.mensafoundation.org/about-the-mensa-foundation/news/dr-danielle-posthuma-interview/

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean isn't this what schools are already doing!? They ignore top performers and have the top performers help the other kids.

What school does that?

My kid's FCPS school did exactly that. Even as young as first grade, the above grade level reading group saw the teacher at most once per week for 15 minutes. The below grade level groups saw the teacher every day for 30 minutes. For any group projects, the above grade level kids were paired with struggling kids. This dynamic continued through 6th grade, with the above grade level kids getting even less of the teacher's time and much more independent work.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean isn't this what schools are already doing!? They ignore top performers and have the top performers help the other kids.

What school does that?

My kid's FCPS school did exactly that. Even as young as first grade, the above grade level reading group saw the teacher at most once per week for 15 minutes. The below grade level groups saw the teacher every day for 30 minutes. For any group projects, the above grade level kids were paired with struggling kids. This dynamic continued through 6th grade, with the above grade level kids getting even less of the teacher's time and much more independent work.

That describes the harmful “cooperative learning” model perfectly:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_learning

Sorry for your daughter’s experience. Cooperative learning harms so many advanced learners by intentionally holding them back.

[Anonymous]

By age 18, IQ is 80% genetic. The rest of the influence is random effects and noise. There is very little influence of family behaviors on adult IQ.

Hence we need to improve learning and health at the root cause: Higher quality DNA.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I mean isn't this what schools are already doing!? They ignore top performers and have the top performers help the other kids.

What school does that?

My kid's FCPS school did exactly that. Even as young as first grade, the above grade level reading group saw the teacher at most once per week for 15 minutes. The below grade level groups saw the teacher every day for 30 minutes. For any group projects, the above grade level kids were paired with struggling kids. This dynamic continued through 6th grade, with the above grade level kids getting even less of the teacher's time and much more independent work.

That describes the harmful “cooperative learning” model perfectly:

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cooperative_learning

Sorry for your daughter’s experience. Cooperative learning harms so many advanced learners by intentionally holding them back.

But since the school can't make families prioritize learning, the only way they can close the gap is by sabotaging the advanced students.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:By age 18, IQ is 80% genetic. The rest of the influence is random effects and noise. There is very little influence of family behaviors on adult IQ.

Hence we need to improve learning and health at the root cause: Higher quality DNA.

OK, Dr. Mengele.

[Anonymous]

FCPS’ equity program, SBG program and now restorative justice program are doing exactly what the OP has suggested. Sadly they are doing it to great effect. So now everyone in FCPS suffers. Congratulations Superintendent Reid, mission accomplished!

[Anonymous]

I don't think school is the driver for financial success nor wisdom. I don't think ultimately any of this matters because public school is for the masses. You have to want to succeed and/or be educated. Cream rises to the top and always will find a way. Ultimately, you'll never construct a society where everyone is going to be equal. I do wish trades were more celebrated and encouraged but you know, there's a lot of money to be made there even if you aren't academically inclined so that's an example of it's not academics that lead to success 100%. I think people need to realize that desire to succeed, to learn, to want better is always a minority. It doesn't really matter how we set up the system, those who want better and are able to do well will always do so but the reverse is true too. No matter how strict we make the system and hoping kids are pushed up to calc, it won't ever be enough kids who will get there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I don't think school is the driver for financial success nor wisdom. I don't think ultimately any of this matters because public school is for the masses. You have to want to succeed and/or be educated. Cream rises to the top and always will find a way. Ultimately, you'll never construct a society where everyone is going to be equal. I do wish trades were more celebrated and encouraged but you know, there's a lot of money to be made there even if you aren't academically inclined so that's an example of it's not academics that lead to success 100%. I think people need to realize that desire to succeed, to learn, to want better is always a minority. It doesn't really matter how we set up the system, those who want better and are able to do well will always do so but the reverse is true too. No matter how strict we make the system and hoping kids are pushed up to calc, it won't ever be enough kids who will get there.

OK

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School achievement is mostly a genetic issue. Once we allow people to choose the embryo with the best genetic potential, or provide free sperm/eggs of good genetic potential, the percentage of kids with low iq and major behavior problems will go down a lot.

It's not, though. IQ is only 40% heritable. That means the vast majority of our intelligence stems from our environment and epigenetic impacts on brain development. Wealthier children with educated parents grow up in environments that promote intelligence. Proper prenatal care, no drug exposure in utero, good postnatal nutrition, warm responsive caregivers, proper sleep routines, enriching environment with lots of verbal stimulation and low screen exposure. The majority of brain development happens before kids ever enter a school building, and that includes preschool.

Too many children don't have access to the above because their parents did not plan their conception and/or don't have the material or emotional resources to create a brain-nurturing environment.

DP. Citation for the bolded?
This researcher says that it's 80% genetic. https://www.mensafoundation.org/about-the-mensa-foundation/news/dr-danielle-posthuma-interview/

Of course they say it's 80% genetic; they want to feel superior and their organization is based on intellectual superiority. The truth is there are many other factors. Their studies only look at a subset of factors. Other professionals argue otherwise. You know it's not an exact science.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:School achievement is mostly a genetic issue. Once we allow people to choose the embryo with the best genetic potential, or provide free sperm/eggs of good genetic potential, the percentage of kids with low iq and major behavior problems will go down a lot.

It's not, though. IQ is only 40% heritable. That means the vast majority of our intelligence stems from our environment and epigenetic impacts on brain development. Wealthier children with educated parents grow up in environments that promote intelligence. Proper prenatal care, no drug exposure in utero, good postnatal nutrition, warm responsive caregivers, proper sleep routines, enriching environment with lots of verbal stimulation and low screen exposure. The majority of brain development happens before kids ever enter a school building, and that includes preschool.

Too many children don't have access to the above because their parents did not plan their conception and/or don't have the material or emotional resources to create a brain-nurturing environment.

DP. Citation for the bolded?
This researcher says that it's 80% genetic. https://www.mensafoundation.org/about-the-mensa-foundation/news/dr-danielle-posthuma-interview/

Of course they say it's 80% genetic; they want to feel superior and their organization is based on intellectual superiority. The truth is there are many other factors. Their studies only look at a subset of factors. Other professionals argue otherwise. You know it's not an exact science.

Citation for the bolded? You've already been asked for evidence and seem incapable of providing any.

[Anonymous]

California has implemented “equity math,” reasoning:

“At the time, news reports highlighted features of the CMF that struck me as dubious. That draft explicitly promoted the San Francisco Unified School District’s policy of banishing Algebra I from middle school—a policy grounded in the belief that teaching the subject only in high school would give all students the same opportunities for future success. The document also made a broad presumption that tweaking the content and timing of the math curriculum, rather than more effective teaching of the existing one, was the best way to fix achievement gaps among demographic groups. Unfortunately, the sheer size of the sprawling document discouraged serious public scrutiny.“


https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2023/10/california-math-framework-algebra/675509/


Certainly looks like closing the gap from the top down.

[Anonymous]

Genes are the single largest contributor to school achievement. Nothing else comes close, assuming you aren't starving and abusing a kid and hitting them in the head with a hammer on a daily basis.

People need to start advovating for more genetic equity. It is not fair at all that only already privileged people have access to higher quality DNA.

[Anonymous]

We should submit this thread to The Onion.