In the chapter relating to the army’s means of measuring aptitude, I remember a story my mom shared about her father, my grandfather. He was a farmer, newly married with a baby on the way. The U.S. entered the war and young men were drafted. He was the first draftee from Carroll County, Missouri. The U.S. drafted him and then questioned his intelligence by administering IQ tests. It seems strange that first the military made a person join up and then questioned their intelligence. Apparently, he must have made the grade, because he served courageously during the war and was stationed at IE-Shima, Japan, one of the lesser-known islands, but close to the fighting. It seems that the War Department prejudices were discriminatory against many groups of people. The chapter refers to the confusion, delays, and waste that were associated with the department in their attempt to determine the aptitude when it really did not make any difference, because after all was said and done, the recruits became just a number.
2 comments:
In some cases I think that the intelligence tests did not have much to do with intelligence at all. It was a way to pick and choose and divide people. As we have learned these tests were skewed and inaccurate. It is just something to consider. Part of me still can help but wonder what they were thinking because intelligence should not have been that important. So many people could be taught so many things. The military should have spent their time trying to train people what to do. I think this would have been more effective.
No doubt you are right Maria. IQ tests have little or nothing to do with good soldiership. Apart from knowing how to read, there really wasn't any benefit to the time and material used to administer these tests.
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