From the Archives - Nov. 16, 2006

IQ Test Score

I am taking a class about special education. I didn't know this before but in order to be classified into special ed you have to have a low IQ score in most cases. So I thought I would take an IQ test and find out where I fall. Now the interesting thing about IQ tests is that many people believe they are biased toward white middle class Americans. So, if the test is biased in that way then how do you think low income black kids do? How about children of immigrants? You see where this is going? There is a disproportionate number of non-white kids getting classified into special ed. One might say, "Well that's okay, they'll get better help and be smarter in the long run because they have extra help." But the statistics don't agree with that. Forty percent of special ed students drop out of school. So we are fueling the poverty cycle by misclassifying non white students into special education. Why is special ed placement such a large predictor of career/life success? Because being in special ed is stigmatized and because the curriculum and expectations are much lower than that of the general student population. The whole system is broken. It is fixable, it is very fixable and people that are much smarter than me are advocating for change in the system. Hopefully it will come sooner rather than later.

So I am a white middle class suburban raised person. My IQ score is 116. I am considered above average intelligence, by 3 percentage points, so just barely. What is your IQ? What do you think about this debate?

Evie Speaks!

Missed but not forgotten

I had a miscarriage last weekend. It is very sad. We are sad. But it is what it is. This time wasn't right for the baby to come. We'll try again some day and hopefully that will be the right time for all of us.

Because I won't be taking care of a newborn in the Fall I have started applying for full time teaching positions in the surrounding counties. I am hoping to get a job teaching kindergarten or pre-k. I am nervous and excited about having my own classroom so soon. Having the experience will be great for me and a welcome distraction from what should have been in the Fall. Also having the extra income will help us a lot. We will be (hopefully) buying land adjacent to my parent's farm in the next few months. With the added income we will be able to start building our house sooner and we will be able to go to Japan to visit BigBro and DocRom. And I will be able to visit my best friend Jen in Hawaii.

So with this sad news comes some hope and new opportunities. Life is so unpredictable sometimes. But I still think everything happens for a reason.

Can't resist the cute...