In May 2002 an article titled ‘My child’s IQ is bigger than yours’, written by Carol Sarler, was published in the newspaper ‘The Observer’. The article expresses a harsh critique of the IQ measurement in general, especially the problems concerning measuring children’s IQ, and the newly snobbery behind this tendency. ‘The Observer’ is a major British newspaper, published on Sundays. As its sister newspaper ‘The Guardian’ it is known for its left-of-centre political stance. The newspaper’s readership is generally on the mainstream left of British political opinion, which is represented by the Labour Party and the Liberal Democrats.
The article is a reaction to the BBC television programme called ‘Test the Nation’, which appeared on television the night before the article was published. The author of the article, Carol Sarler’s, opinion on the idea of testing our IQ is unequivocally presented in the subtitle of the article: “The parents who see their bright offspring as status symbols really do need their heads examined.” She thinks that it is absolutely wrong to measure intelligence – especially children’s intelligence. Because of the article’s subjective point of view, it is a feature article. In this article Carol Sarler shares her opinion on the topic by using a sarcastic, and slightly sophisticated, language. The purpose is to make the reader laugh and at the same time get disgusted by the image she gives of parents being pathetic. Throughout the article Carol Sarler balances between the laughable and the serious aspect of the topic, she addresses in the article. While the title and subtitle of the article is rather humoristic, the article’s opening story about a highly intelligent young man, who committed suicide, is deeply tragic. In this connexion it is important to note that this article is written in extension of the author’s earlier article about this specifically intelligent young man, who committed suicide only two