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"It's obvious now that he was on the list because he was black (and for that matter that Marie Curie was on it because she was a woman), but as a kid I was conf
by wumi 18y ago
"It's obvious now that he was on the list because he was black (and for that matter that Marie Curie was on it because she was a woman), but as a kid I was confused for years about him. I wonder if it wouldn't have been better just to tell us the truth: that there weren't any famous black scientists. Ranking George Washington Carver with Einstein misled us not only about science, but about the obstacles blacks faced in his time."
(I would comment about Curie but someone already did)
Not sure if any school I know of raises GWC on the same pedestal as Einstein. For better or for worse, most people in America regard Einstein as one of the smartest people that ever lived, and the same is definitely not true for Carver.
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Public school textbooks represent a compromise between what various powerful groups want kids to be told. The lies are rarely overt. Usually they consist either of omissions or of over-emphasizing certain topics at the expense of others."
What powerful groups in America wanted a black scientist to be seen on the same level as Einstein? Carver is usually seen as a very smart black man, which if anything, belittles blacks as if this was the one and only black who could achieve anything in an advanced field.
- Prrometheus 18y agoDuring Black History Month, children will learn about nothing but black scientists. As far as I can recall, the most important one did something with blood types. >What powerful groups in America wanted a black scientist to be seen on the same level as Einstein? Identity politics runs very strong in classrooms, which tend to be politically controlled by left-wing teacher's unions. I've spent years of my life learning about the lives of various Indian tribes, for example.
- wumi 18y agonot any school I went to did we spend BHM learning about black scientists. That's a very broad brush your painting, and I wonder if you have some actual data to back that statement up, other than you personal experiences learning about Native Americans.
- LogicHoleFlaw 18y agoWell, this is just anecdote, but I'm a 25-year old from North Carolina where in elementary school we did spend at least part of February (Black History Month) doing a unit on GWC.
- aaronsw 18y agoI suspect a black scientist was included not because of powerful groups but because of guilt on the part of teachers who wanted to appear racially-sensitive. I remember that as a kid, between PBS and the racial sensitivity of my all-white suburban school, I lived in complete terror of doing or saying something that could be seen as racist.
- wumi 18y agoReally? I went to a predominantly white suburbia school, and have plenty of friends who use the term ¨dirty jew¨ as a derogatory comment without second thought. Totally Acceptable. I don´t know if ya were livin in a utopia, but I imagine racism is higher with people forced to pretend PC. I still don´t understand why PG is taking his school experiences and painting that brush as what all schools are like, but apparently quite a few here have had the same experiences ...