A long time ago my blog subtitle identified me as a “conservative hippie”. I am sort of a middle of the road kind of gal, who leans a little more right, than she does left and enjoys referring to herself in the third person. However, one day it was very strongly pointed out in a discussion and it caused me to think long and hard about how I felt about the self-proclaimed label. So I took it down. Many people may have thought I took it down because of someone else, but I didn’t. I took it down because it was too pointed and may have been giving off the wrong idea. I decided that even though unschooling and politics intertwine in my world, I didn’t want people to be turned off from unschooling or me, because of my perceived political ideology.
Unschoolers everywhere have a very different take on politics. I know who I feel is the loudest group, the quietest group, and I know many don’t say anything at all (out of fear). I know who I identify with politically, socially, and (new word I just made up) unschoolingly. I do nothing that seeks to divide anyone any further and I do my best to have discussions of a political nature in an intelligent and friendly manner. If I feel I can’t do it, for any particular reason, I politely bow out. It’s not that I’m backing down, it’s that I am not looking to divide a community that is so tightly knit because of something so important as raising our children.
Yesterday, an article was posted on Facebook. Then it got reposted, and reposted, and reposted. The article from Satoshi Kanazawa’s blog on Psychology Today is called, Why Liberals are More Intelligent than Conservatives. Just the title alone makes me want to vomit. It’s inflammatory and from what I can tell a gross misconstruing of data in order to get a certain result. Then again, maybe it’s true. Maybe all you liberals have a statistically insignificant larger IQ than your conservative counterparts. Both averages, still fall within the average IQ range. Still, so much data seems to be missing, even from his article. Kanazawa’s results were about liberals, atheists, and sexually exclusive males, but he left that out of his post. What about the fact that children in school, usually identify themselves as liberal? Kanazawa himself said that liberals run all institutions. What about religious liberals or conservative atheists? I’m really feeling like he was looking for a certain result and made certain he got it. First of all, he has been shown to be biased in past studies and second of all, the timing of his blog post article tells me there was more in it for him then producing some silly results.
From an unschooling point of view, I can’t imagine myself putting any weight on this article, even if the tables were turned the other way. It’s inflammatory, misleading, and divisive. There is no good reason in unschooling that an IQ score matters. It’s important to me to question everything, studies, history, religion, the list goes on. I check my sources and I put it up against my values. IQ is of no value to me since I feel no need to prove my intelligence and I would never want my children to feel like they have to prove theirs. That is what school is for. I am surrounded by people who no doubt have varying IQ’s, some with very low IQ’s and some very high (a right leaning person very dear to me qualifies for Mensa). I can’t figure out why some people think someone who has a high IQ is somehow better than another. It’s the American way though isn’t it? Bigger is better and the proof is in the measurement.
Alfred Binet developed the Binet-Simon test in order to identify children who were possibly mentally challenged in school so that they could be helped to improve their intelligence. He invented the test, but he didn’t invent the term Intelligence Quotient. He said, “The scale, properly speaking, does not permit the measure of intelligence, because intellectual qualities are not superposable, and therefore cannot be measured as linear surfaces are measured”. I find this very interesting, especially since it is primarily the government who has had an interest in the IQ of its population over the last 100 years. Many researchers believe that IQ is fixed and only goes down as brain matter changes as we grow older. That goes against everything I believe.
I wrote in a facebook comment that the article was inflammatory, misleading and divisive. That the language only serves to keep our nation divided right down the middle, just as it always has been. I am not insinuating that we all must agree, but maybe that we learn from each other and stop and think about the values of those who do not agree with us instead of just believing we are more intelligent. Stephen Jay Gould, in The Mismeasure of Man, writes that these tests are based on faulty assumptions and are a basis for scientific racism. I agree 100% and I’ve not even read the book… yet.
Related Links:
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
Excellent observation Heather!
I agree with you.I found how different unschoolers are politically but we do have the main commonality of unschooling. I have realized that I’m pretty much a conservative libertarian bordering on anarchism
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Heather Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 5:31 pm
Thanks guys!
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I tend to stay out of any political discussions for a couple of reasons.
First, I honestly don’t feel I know enough about any of it to have an intelligent conversation about it. That is my choice. I tend to get too riled up. So, while it can be considered irresponsible, I just don’t care enough to stay on top of the info.
Second, I feel so honored to be a part of a group of people who are on the same page about parenting and respecting children that I am. That is my biggest passion. It is my #1 priority. So, other than that one issue, I am all for agreeing to disagree.
Lastly, I love reading about you in the third person, as well as learning your new made up words. Who could argue with you about politics when you are so thoroughly entertaining?
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Heather…..this is beautifully well-put. Somehow, you touched on all the niggling little voices I heard when I read the article. I lean more toward liberal, myself, but I also feel there is more benefit in learning from others than trying to force them to see things my way.
I like the Vulcan concept of IDIC – Infinite Diversity in Infinite Combination.
shan
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Heather Reply:
March 23rd, 2010 at 7:22 pm
_\\// <—- see my vulcan salute??? I’ve never heard the IDIC concept. I'm not a Trekkie… but I do like it. I also like surrounding myself with lots of different people who make lots of different choices. I learn by watching and being around and talking to others. If we were all the same and had all the same ideas, it would be a boring monotone world wouldn’t it?
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Heather – I love “conservative hippie” – really brought me a happy little morning smile.
I missed this article – was for the best from the sounds of things. Interesting you mention your conservative friend w/ mensa status – mine is almost high enough and I am far more conservative in a lot of things than liberal – although, it really does depend on the issue at hand – I just can not follow a party line – isn’t in me (sure did make me stick out as a Mormon girl child though!) -
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Heather Reply:
March 24th, 2010 at 10:52 am
Thanks Deb. I liked the term as well… until it started being misconstrued as die-hard conservative! These labels and terms are so negative these days, my playful expression went awry. What conservative means to me, is vastly different then what it means to say, a liberal democrat. So I lost the term. However, there is a book out there called Hippy Cons or something like that. I want to read it but it isn’t priority at the moment. I can’t seem to find it to link it for you, if your interested I’ll ask the person who pointed it for me. I can’t walk a party line either, that would mean subscribing to a doctrine. And I don’t.
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I agree wholeheartedly. I think that article was to point out the fact that (at this time) the majority of name-callers, etc. happen to be conservatives (at this time) and they appear to be “losing’ and get frustrated and do all this “bad stuff.” This article just allows the left to point a finger and say “What do you expect? They’re intellectually inferior!” And forget that just a few short years ago, the other side was acting immature and so on.
Just for the record, I’m a tree-hugging, share the wealth with everyone, left-leaning liberal. And yes, I qualify for Mensa according to tests and such… but eh, I don’t think that plays a part in making me a better person… or whatever the point of that other article was supposed to be.
Also, I’m not an unschooler. I’m a writer who writes about unschooling sometimes (and who interviewed Heather) and it’s a topic I’m interested in.
I also like Heather’s writing style, voice, made-up words and that she refers to herself in the third person.
I like reading about her family’s outings and seeing the pictures.
I’m sure she and I would disagree on many things within the political realm, but I still read her stuff even when it stated she was a “conservative hippie.” Being open to hearing other’s points of view and so on does teach a person so much and allow us to exercise those all-important IQ muscles
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Heather Reply:
March 24th, 2010 at 3:13 pm
Well, I’d have to disagree with you Heather. I think they all do a lot of name calling and finger wagging at each other. To me, neither side sticks out more than the other. Oddly, the article was written by a scientist who claims to be libertarian.
Thanks for all your kind words and I’ll be sure to talk about myself often, in the third person.
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Beautifully said… I usually enjoy the Psychology Today articles that float around Facebook, so this one surprised me.
Here’s to choosing to focus on the important things that bring us together, and not all the other junk that divides us
Peace & Abundance, Cid (tiedye wearing, military wife and unschooling mama who chooses to NOT support any specific political group)
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i wouldn’t change or add a word to this; i simply can’t say it any better than you did yourself.
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Heather Reply:
March 24th, 2010 at 6:24 pm
Thanks Tara, I really appreciate that a lot.
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Ahhhh, a conflict about unschooling mapped against IQ,sociopolitical ideology, religion, and sex. What a relief from the drawn-out multiple threads on unschooling and racism I’ve recently been involved in. (grin)
Unschoolers arguing about IQ! It’s just kinda… nonsensical. But most of us who are now unschooling came up through the school system and we have those knee-jerk gut reactions to this kind of article. I confess that despite my current disinterest in the value of IQ numbers, I was, like Deb, tempted to crow my own “performance credentials” in that area. Sigh. It’s always toughest to let go of our own old shit. I’m so happy that my kids are saner than I am, even now, and infinitely saner than I was at their age.
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