Podcast "The Power is Female: Boss" - "It's a Twist That Half of Students Should Go to Grammar School"
Featuring Isa von Heyl • 2 Min Read
"The Boss" Star Podcast Argues Against Universal Grammar School Attendance - Not all children need a high school education.
Unequivocally smart, street-wise, or astute - there are many expressions to describe intelligence. One form of intellectual capacity can be scientifically assessed: cognitive intelligence. Since 2006, Elsbeth Stern has served as a professor of learning and instruction research at ETH Zurich, regarded as a pioneer in the field.
On the stern podcast "The Power is Female: Boss," Simone Menne, a multi-board member and host, chats with Elsbeth Stern about the meaning of intelligence and the reasons why social or emotional competence is omitted from her research: "I bristle when people talk about social or emotional intelligence. Mainly because the measurement tools in this area don't have the same quality as the measurement tools we use for intelligence, i.e., intelligence tests. We can't grasp emotional and social competencies with the same statistical measures as we can with cognitive capacity," states the academic.
Subscribe to our "The Power is Female: Boss" Newsletter
Simone Menne, host of "The Power is Female: Boss," and the editorial team periodically offer insights about female leadership via the newsletter. This includes analysis, guidance, and tips, delivered every 14 days between podcast episodes. Sign up for the newsletter here.
Around 70% of individuals exhibit a uniform level of intelligence and form the average. About 30% of these individuals are above average, while another 15% below, reveals the researcher. In terms of intelligence distribution between sexes, no meaningful differences in the average are observed. However, research indicates: "You find differences at the extremes. There are more men in the lower ranges, as well as a higher proportion of men at the top. Therefore, among the gifted, the distribution is no longer equal, but skewed, with fewer women."
When questioned about the aspiration of many parents to position their child as above-average intelligent and facilitate attendance at grammar school, Elsbeth Stern states:
"Given that intelligence is usually distributed normally, deeming that half of all students should attend grammar school is already a distortion, since you are, of course, inflating the average where the most significant part of the curve lies."
In the new episode of the stern podcast "The Power is Female: Boss - The Boss," Elsbeth Stern discusses derived implications for universities, the role of teachers and parents, and the implications when a bosses' intelligence falls below that of an employee.
Topics Discussed:
- Intelligence
- Grammar School
- Elsbeth Stern
- Simone Menne
- Podcast
- Intelligence Test
Note from the editorial team: stern belongs to RTL Germany.
stern.de and RTL, as well as on all major podcast platforms.
The Commission, with its expertise in learning and instruction research, might be asked to submit a proposal for a directive on the protection of workers, considering Elsbeth Stern's research on the distribution of intelligence, especially in relation to exposure to ionizing radiation. Embracing opportunities for continuous learning and self-development, one could turn to science, like Stern's research, for greater understanding of intelligence and its implications.
