Who will bell the curve?

"The future of the nation depends on being able to educate the top 10% of the population and to civilize the rest. We are not doing a very good job of either task." Jerry Pournelle PhD, Oct 2011

This is quote taken completely out of context, but it refers to the horrible state of American education at all levels. I won't be smug about that for two reasons; one, we're not much ahead of them in our system and results, and two, 300M+ uneducated cretins on our southern border is cause for significant concern.

Now that "top 10%" thing. Anybody who believes that all people are created equal is an imbecile, and it is a simple fact that we are not all equally gifted in all areas. I might say "top 20%" but it depends what we're talking about when we say "educate".

When I was in high school, if you had any academic potential at all you were pushed toward University, and at the same time they were cancelling the Shop classes for the more mechanically minded. In the former case getting a Trade wasn't even mentioned, and in the latter, the possibility was taken away, or at least not facilitated.

I read a lot of science fiction (and I live here, now), so the challenges of the post-industrial economy are not a complete mystery to me. A particularly dystopian future has arrived however, as the cost of post-secondary education has increased radically at the same time that rampant credentialism has made it essential to a decent job. A whole lot of people (I've been in class with them) who had no business graduating high school with the academic deficiencies they displayed are pushed or guided to university.

Some drop out, but many more take "easy" Arts degrees simply to get the "credentials" essential to open the door to white collar work. I'm not a fan of Social Sciences in terms of accomplishing anything useful, so we can write off all of those degrees as "High School +" diplomas.

That was provocative, but I have an "Arts" degree, and it was mainly the science electives which taught me things useful for anything other than arguing with people, so I stand by it. At a time when the Public Service is swinging the axe around, that Psych or English degree isn't going to open a lot of doors for you.

That said, the "10%" in this case are the brightest people we have, and who will disproportionately innovate, create and generally not be worker bees. They are the people who can do the Calculus for that Science degree, and more importantly, they UNDERSTAND it and can use it for stuff. I can write but I can't do that, so if I even make that 10% I'd be right at the bottom.

The point here is that gearing your education system to achieve the same result for all will hold bright kids back far more than it will advance dull ones, average kids being fairly comfortable. Advances are created by an elite of humanity, the smart ones who can do stuff. Gadgets, innovations and improvements can come from a wider range, but still most of them will come from the top tier. Making a lot of money is certainly NOT limited to those of "gifted" intelligence, so there's hope for the rest of us.

As for "civilizing" the other 90%? Education with purpose, to enable you to function in society, get a trade, start a business, understand what's happening in the world and roughly why, that should be the goal. When you force square pegs into other-shaped holes you encounter resistance, and that should be avoided as far as practical. Giving students positive but appropriate (to them) options should be the job of our education system.