Suggested Answers to Short Quiz

[johnkarls]

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Question 1

Do inner-city children, according to "identical twin studies," have the same intelligence as suburban children?

Answer 1

Yes. Indeed, posted in the “Reference Materials” section of our bulletin board (http://www.ReadingLiberally-SaltLake.org) is a recent NY Times OpEd Article by Nicholas Kristof discussing two new books that re-affirm the results of the “identical twin” studies that have demonstrated this for two decades.

Question 2

How do genetics and environment affect IQ?

Answer 2

Genetics appear to determine the individual’s initial potential, and environment appears to determine whether that potential is even approached. (After all, if communication had never been established with Helen Keller, she would have continued to be viewed as unintelligent as, indeed, she had been in many respects – so why would we expect inner-city kids who have no intellectual stimulation (please see Answer 5 below) to develop their potential???)

Question 3

Can IQ be increased? What would the average person in 1917 score on today's IQ tests?

Answer 3

Yes. 73 (the difficulty of IQ tests is continually increased so that the average score is always 100 for the current population)

Question 4

Can the number of brain cells be increased? Or is the "conventional wisdom" from when we were young correct that their number is limited and will even be reduced by, for example, drinking alcohol?

Answer 4

Yes. Unlimited, though their number can be reduced by, for example, drinking alcohol.

For more than a decade, research has confirmed that (1) only a small portion of the brain’s capacity is actually used but, more importantly, (2) the brain is like a muscle in that its size (including the number of brain cells) increases with exercise.

Question 5

What is the typical environment facing an inner-city child?

Answer 5

99% of households headed by a single adult.
90% of total households headed by a single adult who was a drug addict.
75-80% of total households headed by a single-adult addict who turned over any receipts (welfare, etc.) to the pusher, so the kids had to steal just in order to eat.

The only “intellectual” stimulation is a TV, if the kids have been able to steal one.

A public school system that immediately classifies them as “Special Ed” regardless of testing – this places them in de facto non-intellectual incarceration until they drop out. (In contrast, “Special Ed” in smaller cities and in non inner-city areas is often quite good.)

Recruitment at the age of 7-8 as “runners” because the “pushers” don’t want to be arrested themselves. The “runners” will make more than Wall Street lawyers until they are busted.

A society in which inner-city kids already “know” by the time they are 5 years old that they are not eligible to be anything (doctor, teacher, chef, fireman, etc.) because of the color of their skin.

Question 6

What is the typical inner-city H.S. graduation rate and why do official statistics grossly understate the problem?

Answer 6

Single digits.

Official statistics usually measure from a baseline of how many students entered H.S. vs. how many finished.

This ignores how many have already dropped out before the beginning of high school.

The only honest way of actually measuring the real statistic is with a baseline comprising a census of the population of the H.S. attendance district to ascertain how many individuals of H.S. graduation age are present – AND THEN ADDING THE NUMBER OF INDIVIDUALS OF H.S. GRADUATION AGE WHO HAVE BEEN INCARCERATED OR OTHERWISE REMOVED FROM THE POPULATION (e.g., death after dropping out at an early age).

Question 7

What is the only factor that consistently transforms inner-city H.S. graduation rates from single digits to 65%-70%?

Answer 7

A surrogate parent who actually cares deeply about the child and makes it clear that it would “break the heart” of the surrogate parent if the child does not make something of her/him-self.

The surrogate parent is often a mentor, tutor or clergy person.

The surrogate parent is almost never a teacher, because the one-year relationship is not long term.

Question 8

Does this factor have the potential to transform inner-city H.S. graduation rates from single digits to 90%?

Answer 8

Yes.

The experience of the first 180 “I Have A Dream” programs in 51 American cities (tutoring and mentoring of inner-city kids –- adopting them in third grade and following them through H.S. graduation with a guarantee of college tuition) was that the honest single-digit H.S. graduation rates for kids a year older and a year younger were transformed to 65-70% for the kids in the program.

But, too late for the first 180 programs, it was discovered that roughly 50% of the females became pregnant because they had never had anybody in their lives who cared for them and they decided to create something that would have no choice but to love them. (A follow-up study of the 50% of females who had not become pregnant discovered that a tutor, mentor or other surrogate parent had connected with the Dreamer and had expressed how it would "break the heart" of the surrogate parent if the Dreamer did not make something of herself.)

It would appear that if such a program could emphasize to its mentors and tutors how important it is to express love and hope that the child will continue with her or his education, the results will be truly astonishing rather than merely astounding.

Question 9

How many "I Have A Dream" programs were there in the Chicago area?

Answer 9

More than a dozen in the 1990’s when Barack Obama was a community organizer there.

Question 10

Why don't President Obama and Education Secretary Arne Duncan seem to be aware of the "I Have A Dream" record in Chicago?

Answer 10

God only knows!!!

Question 11

What can we do to help President Obama and Secretary Duncan to avoid "missing the boat" on what appears to be a "chance of a lifetime" to do something significant about inner-city education?

Answer 11

Re-direct our 6-degrees-of-separation campaign of last January from President Obama to US Education Secretary Arne Duncan because he does NOT seem to “have gotten the memo”!!!