Thailand plans to boost IQ in children
I found this story to be interesting because the average IQ of Thai children in this story (87-8 
is about the same as the average of African Americans (85) and they are taking steps to solve the problem. If only someone here in the US would take up the mantle here to correct this problem.
The average intelligence quotient (IQ) of Thai children, somewhere between 87 and 88 points, remains in the “low average” category when ranked internationally, Vice Minister for Education Watchara Phanchet said on Wednesday.He said this at a seminar on how to make children smart, and cited a survey conducted in 2002 as the source of his information.
“We have to develop children both intellectually and physically because they are our country’s future,” Watchara said.
[...]
The 2002 survey found that only 80 per cent of children under five years old had normal visual, muscular and touchperception development, he said. It also found that the average IQ of children between six and 12 was 87 points.
The average IQ for children between 13 and 18 was 88 IQ points, the study found.
In a 2001 survey, children from six to 12 were found to have low levels of patience, discipline, concentration and self-reliance, while those between 13 and 18 had insufficient creativity, analytical ability, conscience, problem-solving skills and emotional control.
Watchara said these problems were the result of parents leaving teachers in charge of their children’s development. Teachers are not trained to maximise children’s potential at the right age, he said.
“We plan to raise Thai children’s [average] IQ to at least 100 by 2008,” he said.
[...]
In a bid to boost children’s IQ, Somchai said his department last year launched a five year intellectual development plan for children in 20 provinces. “We have passed on useful know-how to nursery and kindergarten teachers,” he said.
Somchai said mothers could boost their children’s IQ by eating nutritious food during pregnancy and stimulating their children’s development at the right age.
Link: Thai children’s IQ average low
Link: IQ of Thai children must be boosted, says Minister
Additional Reading: Lower IQ And Impaired Neural Development Due To Poor Nutrition
Additional Reading: Why Breastfeed? Your child will have higher IQ
Filed under: Children's Issues, Race
Assalalamu Alaikum,
I’m not sure where you are going with these posts. I mean what does it matter that Thailand improves its IQ if they dont have spiritual improvement, there are plenty high IQ westerners coming there for the child sex trade. I think maybe you are focusing too much on dunya issues in order to find solutions to some problems that exist in the African American community. I think Abu Noor’s comments about WD community and the immigrant community are important. Although those Muslims tend to be more middle class there is a loss of Islamic identity in many cases. Not all obviosly. But there are many who just kind of assimilate into the American culture and being Muslim is more of an afterthought. I dont think our goals should be weatlh at the expense of deen. As metioned in the post about Muslim Banks, in general practicing Muslims will probably be less wealthy than non Muslims or less practicing Muslims because there are many industries that we can’t morally work in. And its not just Muslims most moral people sacrifice some wealth for their principles.
IMHO the problems that exist are spiritual problems. Most communties need teachers who are learned in the spiritual sciences. The major areas that are lacking are emphasis on hard work, the extreme importance of family life, and developing good character along with the other basic tenents of Islam. If these were the only things taught, the poverty issue would be moot. Because the main reason for poverty and the negative effects of it in the USA is weak families. There are plenty healthy happy families who are poor. And they usually tend to not stay poor more than one gen. because the family works together to improve the situation. To me the breakdown of the family unit is the most pressing issue in the African American community (Muslim and non).
Ultimately the question is what is our primary goal, success in this life or in the hereafter
Um Abdillah:
I agree 100%. It seems that I have been misunderstood again. One of the unfortunate knee-jerk reactions I get when talking about these issues in person is that they initially think that I am calling for us to throw away Islam or something when I have said nothing like that.
My only point about Thailand was that they are actually taking steps for that particular problem while African-Americans are still ignoring it. As I told Abu Noor, of course we should concentrate on Islamic issues as well and that should be the center of our lives. To me that goes without saying.
Thought your readers would find this interesting:
Educators cannot overlook the persistent achievement gap between black boys and their peers. “These patterns are not going away and are not limited to one local area,” says Education Trust Senior Associate Carlton Jordan. “Wherever I go, African American boys are at the bottom.” Now that school systems must report and analyze disaggregated data about student groups, educators have begun “a new conversation” to find solutions for black boys, notes Jordan
Click here for entire article
I know this has nothing to do with the topic, but I just want people to know that there are people out here like me that are suffering and have no one to turn to.
I feel like I a rejected and dispised pariah. An outcast from the world. It’s psychologically destructive, extremely traumatizing, and indescribably painful. I don’t know what to do to get out of this feeling. I feel defeated.
I don’t even know anything else anymore. I’ve completely forgotten what it feels like to have a normal life. In fact what is normal?
I have given myself to various movements through the years looking for some fantacy and for what? To learn at the end of the day that I would have better spent that time investing in myself. Now I am nearly worthless to the myself, my family and to the Ummah.
So here I am today, and I’m almost going into a state of shock today, just reflecting, utterly speechless and at times motionless. So confident at one time. Now my life is in flames
It is interesting to look at a listing of nations and rankings in IQ. However, I think a casual glance might reinforce racism from some quarters. If you do not take in the idea that nutrition can play a major role, some would conclude it is solely racial and genetic reasons as to why one group scores higher than others.
I know my score because I was tested when I was a child because my parents wanted to place me in the gifted program at my school. A minimum IQ was required to be a part of it, I think it was 120 or above.
When I looked at the international averages it got me worried, because I know my score and I know how often I do stupid things……..lol
IQ is just a starting line, nothing more. A high IQ does not mean a person is educated, does smart things, or will use it. For more important is the drive to learn and succede. Without that you can have a 160 IQ and it doesnt matter.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IQ_and_the_Wealth_of_Nations
Abu Sinan:
Without a doubt. My only point is that we as parents need to take as many steps as possible to maximize our children’s potential.
I was just reading an article that states basically what you just said in a nutshell: that a child with a high potential IQ still must be in a good environment for that potential to be maximized.
It is really sad to meet children who you can see are smart, but they have been told that they are stupid and believe it and block their own potential. And without being taught proper morals, that child just might become a “Lex Luthor” type (i.e., evil genius)
A lot of it is proper home enviroment. I didnt do well in school because I was more worried about what was going on at home, then ran away and left school as a teen.
It took me years to get back into school and to start to develop my own potential. I think it is the same in many sections of the African American community. The home life is no condusive to learn, doesnt matter if you have the IQ of Albert Einstein. Unstable home life with no value placeed on education or intelligence.
Like I have said before, my step-son aged 15, once told me that learning, being smart, reading, those were all “white things.” Like many young Arab Americans he had adopted some of the worst segments of African American culture. This is what the young black kids around him were telling him, being smart, going to school, reading, speaking properly were not things blacks and other non whites should do because it made you white, or showed that you wanted to be white.
He is slowly getting over that, but it isnt because of the stuff I told him, it is because life hit him hard and he realised that these guys were a bunch of loosers, and so would he if he continued to hang out with him.
Too bad he didnt realise that 2 years ago when I tried to tell him that this wasnt the case, that I worked with many African Americans, scientists and engineers who were just as smart as anyone else and did not “sell out”.
Why cannot the engineers, scientists and writers of our times be role models and not 50 Cent?
Um Abdullah is right that without a spiritual base IQ does not matter; but the issue needs to be addressed. In America this will never happen because we live under a cloud of PC fallacies.
[...] - UK lecturer says that Africans have lower IQs. Why is it that seemingly so few people have explored the possibility that a poor diet and bad environment could lead to a lag in cognitive development? The environment and diet in poorer places lead me to believe that there could be some merit to this and that it could be fixed.(Thailand is a good example) Instead of screaming about the results, why not get to the bottom of it and try to fix it? The London School of Economics is embroiled in a row over academic freedom after one of its lecturers published a paper alleging that African states were poor and suffered chronic ill-health because their populations were less intelligent than people in richer countries. [...]