IQ 101 (Career Calamity: Special Edition)
I was tuned in Channel 7 and watched “100% Pinoy,” which featured a few past and present “gifted” kids. I have learned about Shaira Luna, a former Promil user who discussed the cardiovascular system over a 15-second commercial several years back. She went into De La Salle University at the age of 12. However, she shifted from her pre-med course to other courses several times and eventually discontinued her college education. She is now working as a freelance photographer.
A La Salleian friend said that they were seeing Shaira in La Salle and were making fun of her. When she passed by them, she was teased by saying, “Uy, ayan na ang mga planets! Wooooh…” (pointing a finger up and forming circles).
“What are you helling at?” said Shaira (as what my friend claimed).
“HELLING naman pala eh! Akala ko ba Promil kid ka, bakit ang bobo mo?” Enough about La Sallian culture.
Poor Shaira - pressured by a society that tagged her as a young genius. Entering college at an early age, and with very high expectations from everyone, I believe she was burned out. Now, like any other young adults, she is faced with a dilemma of what career path to take. The end point: she did not graduate in spite of her high IQ. I don’t say that having a college degree is the best measure of achievement, but in her case, she could have at least finished her course, and then get exposed to other career possibilities after. Like me. I hope it won’t happen to my cousin/sister, Sophia, who was in the same situation where she could not choose what course to take. Not that she's a genius, but she is multi-talented, and can go to any course she want, based on her aptitude test. I hope she will finish her currently chosen course, environmental biology, and if she needs to venture in other tracks, she will do that after graduating. Like me. I do not favor "ningas-kugon" mentality when it comes to career undertaking.
Anyway, moving on. “100% Pinoy” also mentioned MENSA (I forget what it stands for), an association comprised of the top 2% highest IQ in the country, or in the world, in which each member made good on a particular IQ test and had proven that he's a genius. So what’s the purpose of MENSA anyway? Makakuha nga ng exam hehehe.
But seriously, am I a wiz kid, err, person? When my doctor aunt first saw me as an infant, she feared that I might have hydrocephalus. No, I only had an enlarged brain. And as what I remember, my IQ test result in high school was superior. Ano na kaya ngayon? Will I have the same IQ if I now take the exam? But what I know is I’m a Jack of All Trades. I know how to do a lot of things aside from the sciences: I can draw, paint, sing (ahem) dance (ahem-ahem) and play the violin (harrrgh!). A master of none? I’m not quite sure.
Sayang. If I only had a more encouraging environment to better improve my skills and talents when I was a growing kid, or in short, if only my parents were richer, I could have been brainier. For instance, I should have started learning how to play the violin when I was, say, four. That is why I envy rich and motivated kids.
Poor country. If only every Filipino kid had his opportunity to grow up thinking of no other concerns except enhancing his skills and, well, EQ, we would be a country full of wiz kids. Eh di uunlad sana ang bansa.
But although poor, I believe there are a lot of smart and talented Filipinos. Despite our environment, there still are venues in which Filipinos were able to enhance their skills and talents. I think it is better to be passionately struggling for survival and achievement in a repressed environment than to live in an overflourished one where one can hardly think of necessity for improvement. The only issue is the Filipino attitude to respond to that necessity.
I’m now hearing opinions that the Filipino youth nowadays, whether with high or low IQ, do not know what to do after graduating in college. In other words, they lost track of their ambitions. Is it because of the scarcity in human-development-friendly career opportunities? I think so. Kasi naman. In terms of the scientific world, how is the society responding to new local innovations in research and technology? In terms of the arts, how are we responding to our countrymen’s artistic achievements? I do not see that in the media, except in the “society” pages. Is it because of Filipino’s inferiority complex, that only foreigners or the rich can do whatever they want?
Like the “ningas-kugon” mentality, I do not favor tolerance of human degradation due to inferior environment. I believe in the competence of the human mind amidst adversaries. Man should dictate the necessity of his environment, and not vice versa. And going back to the IQ subject, I disagree that those with higher IQ will have greater achievements. All that is needed is motivation and extra effort.
At this moment, I am in a state of brain drain, like this country.
A La Salleian friend said that they were seeing Shaira in La Salle and were making fun of her. When she passed by them, she was teased by saying, “Uy, ayan na ang mga planets! Wooooh…” (pointing a finger up and forming circles).
“What are you helling at?” said Shaira (as what my friend claimed).
“HELLING naman pala eh! Akala ko ba Promil kid ka, bakit ang bobo mo?” Enough about La Sallian culture.
Poor Shaira - pressured by a society that tagged her as a young genius. Entering college at an early age, and with very high expectations from everyone, I believe she was burned out. Now, like any other young adults, she is faced with a dilemma of what career path to take. The end point: she did not graduate in spite of her high IQ. I don’t say that having a college degree is the best measure of achievement, but in her case, she could have at least finished her course, and then get exposed to other career possibilities after. Like me. I hope it won’t happen to my cousin/sister, Sophia, who was in the same situation where she could not choose what course to take. Not that she's a genius, but she is multi-talented, and can go to any course she want, based on her aptitude test. I hope she will finish her currently chosen course, environmental biology, and if she needs to venture in other tracks, she will do that after graduating. Like me. I do not favor "ningas-kugon" mentality when it comes to career undertaking.
Anyway, moving on. “100% Pinoy” also mentioned MENSA (I forget what it stands for), an association comprised of the top 2% highest IQ in the country, or in the world, in which each member made good on a particular IQ test and had proven that he's a genius. So what’s the purpose of MENSA anyway? Makakuha nga ng exam hehehe.
But seriously, am I a wiz kid, err, person? When my doctor aunt first saw me as an infant, she feared that I might have hydrocephalus. No, I only had an enlarged brain. And as what I remember, my IQ test result in high school was superior. Ano na kaya ngayon? Will I have the same IQ if I now take the exam? But what I know is I’m a Jack of All Trades. I know how to do a lot of things aside from the sciences: I can draw, paint, sing (ahem) dance (ahem-ahem) and play the violin (harrrgh!). A master of none? I’m not quite sure.
Sayang. If I only had a more encouraging environment to better improve my skills and talents when I was a growing kid, or in short, if only my parents were richer, I could have been brainier. For instance, I should have started learning how to play the violin when I was, say, four. That is why I envy rich and motivated kids.
Poor country. If only every Filipino kid had his opportunity to grow up thinking of no other concerns except enhancing his skills and, well, EQ, we would be a country full of wiz kids. Eh di uunlad sana ang bansa.
But although poor, I believe there are a lot of smart and talented Filipinos. Despite our environment, there still are venues in which Filipinos were able to enhance their skills and talents. I think it is better to be passionately struggling for survival and achievement in a repressed environment than to live in an overflourished one where one can hardly think of necessity for improvement. The only issue is the Filipino attitude to respond to that necessity.
I’m now hearing opinions that the Filipino youth nowadays, whether with high or low IQ, do not know what to do after graduating in college. In other words, they lost track of their ambitions. Is it because of the scarcity in human-development-friendly career opportunities? I think so. Kasi naman. In terms of the scientific world, how is the society responding to new local innovations in research and technology? In terms of the arts, how are we responding to our countrymen’s artistic achievements? I do not see that in the media, except in the “society” pages. Is it because of Filipino’s inferiority complex, that only foreigners or the rich can do whatever they want?
Like the “ningas-kugon” mentality, I do not favor tolerance of human degradation due to inferior environment. I believe in the competence of the human mind amidst adversaries. Man should dictate the necessity of his environment, and not vice versa. And going back to the IQ subject, I disagree that those with higher IQ will have greater achievements. All that is needed is motivation and extra effort.
At this moment, I am in a state of brain drain, like this country.
Comments
There's another MENSA-like org for those with even higher IQ (ooh, how, uh, exciting). The members number less then five, I think.
Kawawa naman si Shaira. Whatever potential she had/has is for naught. Ano naman ang sabi ng nanay niya na siyang malamang nagpasok kay Shaira sa commercial years back?
In the end, people fall prey to the stupidity, ignorance and cruelty of society kapag hindi naalagan. Sayang. Hmm, naalala ko tuloy kapatid ko. Tsk.
sayo, high EQ ka on other things, pero low EQ when it comes to having a high IQ. do i need to give an example? hehehehehe.
ang problem sa mentality ng mga tao sa pilipinas nag-iisip na dahil matalino ka ok ka na sa buhay. pero andaming matatalinong tao na tamad. at totoo un. dahil masyado na silang egoistic. period.
about mensa, makapag-exam nga. pandagdag angas points, pambawi sa panget kong grades, at para mailagay sa resume. hehe. or baka mas-bagay ako dun sa tinutukoy ni lara. hehe.
Sayang naman si Shaira... nung nakita ko cia personally sa isang resto... that was 7-8 yrs ago, ang taba nia... ngaun parang anorexic n cia... tpos d p pala cia nk-grad ng college... tsk tsk...