Why Nathan Cofnas Is Wrong About Race and IQ

Values matter and how you raise your kids matters.

This is what is missed in the false dichotomy between the left and the right.

Is it racism? Is it all biology? And we then ignore everything to do with values and how we raise our children, and I think that's a huge mistake.

[upbeat music] Hello and welcome to Strictly Education with me, Katherine Birbalsingh, Britain's strictest headmistress.

So last week I spoke about white guilt and the tragic case of Professor Jason Arday.

If you wanna hear what I said, you can go back and watch it.

Lots of people have told me that they really enjoyed that episode.

I think that white guilt is a major problem in all of our Western institutions, and Cambridge is sadly just one example of it.

But this week I want to focus on a problem on the other side of the conversation.

And that's the growing idea on the further right that if we want to understand disparities in society between different races, the real explanation is biology.

Race realism or race science says that people from different racial groups are just born on average with different traits and abilities.

They call themselves race realists because the idea is that they are realistic about the differences between races in terms of things like IQ.

So if, say, Black kids are struggling in American schools, the explanation is that African origin people are just less intelligent.

That's what the race realists or race scientists say.

Now, I've been very critical of the left over white guilt, but the left aren't the only problem here.

What I want to convince you of is that it's okay to look at some of the craziness of the left and look at some of the craziness on the edges of the right and think neither of them has a clue about the problems in our society or how to fix them.

So I have some sympathy with those who react to certain voices on the extreme right and think, "Maybe I do need to become an anti-racist and be woke.

I mean, I don't wanna be a racist." I also have sympathy with people who hear the white guilt from the left and think all of the people on the right who are trying to expose this insanity must be the good guys.

If you're not woke, you're probably sane.

You know, that sort of thing.

I get it.

I get both sides, right? But I don't think it's necessary to side with one or the other.

There's a nuanced position in between, and that's where I stand.

In fact, it makes total sense.

When you get insanity on one political extreme, it usually provokes a hardened craziness on the other side, and that's what I think is happening here.

So let's get into it.

Values matter and how you raise your kids matters.

This is what is missed in the false dichotomy between the left and the right.

Is it racism? Is it all biology? And we then ignore everything to do with values and how we raise our children, and I think that's a huge mistake.

[upbeat music] Hello and welcome to Strictly Education with me, Katherine Birbalsingh, Britain's strictest headmistress.

So last week I spoke about white guilt and the tragic case of Professor Jason Arday.

If you wanna hear what I said, you can go back and watch it.

Lots of people have told me that they really enjoyed that episode.

I think that white guilt is a major problem in all of our Western institutions, and Cambridge is sadly just one example of it.

But this week I want to focus on a problem on the other side of the conversation.

And that's the growing idea on the further right that if we want to understand disparities in society between different races, the real explanation is biology.

Race realism or race science says that people from different racial groups are just born on average with different traits and abilities.

They call themselves race realists because the idea is that they are realistic about the differences between races in terms of things like IQ.

So if, say, Black kids are struggling in American schools, the explanation is that African origin people are just less intelligent.

That's what the race realists or race scientists say.

Now, I've been very critical of the left over white guilt, but the left aren't the only problem here.

What I want to convince you of is that it's okay to look at some of the craziness of the left and look at some of the craziness on the edges of the right and think neither of them has a clue about the problems in our society or how to fix them.

So I have some sympathy with those who react to certain voices on the extreme right and think, "Maybe I do need to become an anti-racist and be woke.

I mean, I don't wanna be a racist." I also have sympathy with people who hear the white guilt from the left and think all of the people on the right who are trying to expose this insanity must be the good guys.

If you're not woke, you're probably sane.

You know, that sort of thing.

I get it.

I get both sides, right? But I don't think it's necessary to side with one or the other.

There's a nuanced position in between, and that's where I stand.

In fact, it makes total sense.

When you get insanity on one political extreme, it usually provokes a hardened craziness on the other side, and that's what I think is happening here.

So let's get into it.