I started reading the book IQ: A Smart History of a Failed Idea by Stephen Murdoch, and he mentions Sidwell Friends School in Washington, D.C. in a discussion in the opening chapter of the book of schools requiring IQ testing for preschoolers. I looked at the Sidwell Friends School website and found there this statement:

We seek students who demonstrate the potential to meet high academic and personal standards and contribute to the vitality of the School. As a Quaker school affiliated with the Religious Society of Friends, we are committed to promoting the basic testimonies of Friends (Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship) and providing all of our students with opportunities to “let their lives speak” of excellence and caring.

Doesn’t it seem deliciously ironic that a Quaker school, committed to “equality” and “simplicity” would be among the most elite private schools in the nation and would require that preschoolers take an IQ test, not to mention that if they are admitted, their parents pay over $25,000 in tuition per year?

From Wikipedia:

“Friends believe that all people are created equal in the eyes of God. Since all people embody the same divine spark all people deserve equal treatment. Friends were some of the first to value women as important ministers and to campaign for women’s rights; they became leaders in the anti-slavery movement, and were among the first to pioneer humane treatment for the mentally ill and for prisoners.”

It all just sounds a bit contradictory to me. But then I’ve never been a fan of elite private schools, nor have I ever understood all the fuss in the East, particularly Washington D.C., about getting your preschooler into the best private preschools that money and connections and IQ scores can buy.

To each his own, as my mom would say.