Is Intelligence Genetic?

           I was at work and my boss (white) said something that shocked me. She thinks intelligence is genetic. Now at first this statement did not bother me. However, once I thought about it I related the statement to the past slave owners and supporters of Jim Crow laws back in the United States history. When there was a nation of slaves that were forbidden to read or write whites thought we were unintelligent. However, it was our environment that caused blacks to appear unintelligent. However, a lot of inventions that blacks did not get credit for were out of intelligence of black people. Fast forward to today, a large percentage of our black children are reading below their grade level. Why? It is not because of a lack of intelligence gene. It is because of the education system not conducive to how a lot of black children learn. Everyone has a form of intelligence that is a skill that each individual has developed. We could be intelligent in medicine, mechanics, farming, teaching, engineering, etc. What is a person mostly interested in and passionate about? That could be their intelligence once developed (Runston & Jensen, 2005).          

Runston, J & Jensen. A. (2005).Thirty Years of Research on Race Differences and Cognitive Ability. Retrieved from https://www1.udel.edu/.../30years/Rushton-Jensen30years.pdf

Culture and Diversity

According to Debra, culture is the traditions, values, and the way of life. Debra pretty much summed up the same definition I would have come up with. Janet Gonzlez-Mena takes it a bit further by defining culture as rules that are made up as we grow that makes us diverse with so many different perspectives of life. However, culture can go much deeper because culture can be made up of individual characteristics and experiences of that particular person’s life.

Debra’s definition of diversity is what make us different as people. I can see her point of view of diversity. For example, this country is full of diversity. We all come from different walks of life that maybe different from our own. People might say we are a country that is a melting pot but actually we are a tossed salad because we tend to keep our identity such as a tomato or a cucumber. However, we are tossed around in the same bowel influencing each other taste and texture (Evans, 2009). Diversity is often looked at by what race, ethnic group, gender, age abilities, social class, etc. We can categorize ourselves through these characteristics of diversity.

Considering the racial tension that has been going on today, this is one aspect that has been omitted because people did not want to talk about the division of race especially between blacks and whites. Racism has been forced to be discussed and to open the dialogue between two races of people in order to hopefully seek understanding. For example, Alston Sterling, Philando Castille, and police officers have been shot and killed because of this verbal omission (Donella, 2016).

After asking about the different definitions of culture and diversity, I now can see its importance in my job. Parents have different views and traditions that are important to them. We as educators have to respect that.

  

Donella, L. (2016).Two Days, Two Deaths: The Police Shootings of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile.Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2016/07/07/485078670/two-days-two-deaths-the-police-shootings-of-alton-sterling-and-philando-castile

Evans, J. (2009). America as Melting Pot? We’re Really More of a Tossed Salad. Rerieved from http://www.ethicsdaily.com/america-as-melting-pot-were-really-more-of-a-tossed-salad-cms-14446