Disagree. It is helpful to know that different cultural groups have different IQ averages. The point of the Bell Curve was that IQ (which is a measure of the ability to learn) is not genetic but cultural.
Thomas Sowell made the same point; black households in comparison to whites and Asians expose children to fewer spoken words in the first 3 years of life and tend to read to their children less than other cultures. Focus in the household is often not on education. This impacts the child’s ability to learn new concepts later.
Differences in IQ averages among ethnic groups is not genetic, but reflects cultural differences in the approach to knowledge, language and learning. If we don’t begin to acknowledge the problem and its causes, we will not address the ethnic achievement gap that plagues us. Pouring more money into public education won’t solve the problem until we have black households focusing on education as a valuable goal and institute changes within the household to address it.
> Differences in IQ averages among ethnic groups is not genetic, but reflects cultural differences in the approach to knowledge, language and learning. <
Yes. I agree. The problem is that too many people stop after saying, “Blacks have a lower IQ.” Such a stand-alone comment (true or not) is nothing but divisive.
Much better: “Blacks test lower, and here’s how to fix it. Make school work more demanding and rigorous. Push for excellence.”
Family life is important, as you noted. Changing that would be a difficult and slow process. A new schooling approach would be easier, and faster.
As I said elsewhere, I’m a retired urban school teacher. And it was always the “progressive” administrators who refused to demand excellence from every student.
My high school has a relatively low graduation rate. The sane solution would be to offer tutoring sessions during school, and after school. Reward good behavior and good attendance.
Instead, our woke administrators simply lowered the requirements to pass a course. It was infuriating.
Some of it is cultural, but a lot is genetic.
See Minnesota Transracial Adoption Study.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minnesota_Transracial_Adoption_Study
Black kids, adopted as babies into white middle class households, going to white middle class schools, given every white advantage.
Black adopted kids IQ tested at 17: 89
White biological kids: 109
Kinda strongly suggests genetics plays a big role.