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Want to learn math but come from a poor neighborhood? Good luck. You’re probably locked in a school system with bad teachers and few if any math courses beyond
by stcredzero 8y ago
Want to learn math but come from a poor neighborhood? Good luck. You’re probably locked in a school system with bad teachers and few if any math courses beyond calculus.
I've read and listened to a number of accounts about how peers in poor neighborhoods are the biggest barrier to academic achievement.
Even if you’re talented you probably know 0 people that can help you. Now your growth is prematurely stunted.
Or worse, your peers punish you for your ability. In my personal experience, they can even tell you that you are sexually inadequate and somehow less essentially human. This feedback is all the worse, because it is genuinely believed by the one giving it.
That kid from a better off family that shows talent in math? Probably get recognized for it from an early age and gets tutors and advanced training. Probably already completed proof based courses in analysis, algebra by the time they completed high school. They get into better schools and have ahead start. Even if they are just as talented as you the poor kid.
There are cultural contexts where children form groups and help each other and offer moral support. Such social interaction seems to be attached to high performance in just about every human endeavor where skill and knowledge are important. One study found that Asian kids were very good at forming such peer groups to study math, and that African American children were much more prone to studying alone. Asian cultures are noteworthy, in that academic achievement is prized even by the poorer segments of society, though I've also known African Americans who are from families with such a subculture which prizes knowledge and academic achievement.
- tptacek 8y agoHold on, let me catch up here: your poor-neighborhood peers tell you you're "sexually inadequate" and therefore you go on to not be a mathematician? Can you connect those dots for me?
- afiori 8y agoThey are really easy to connect. Ex addicts that keep addict friends do not fare that well. Peer pressure can push you up but can also pull you down, calling you to engage in self destructive behaviours when you are already having an hard time climbing to a better life. https://quillette.com/2019/02/10/public-educations-dirty-secret/ https://quillette.com/2019/02/10/public-educations-dirty-sec...
- stcredzero 8y agoHold on, let me catch up here: your poor-neighborhood peers tell you you're "sexually inadequate" No. My peers told me I was sexually inadequate and less than essentially human. This was also mixed up with my having been molested be a peer in high school. As a result, I was pretty much unable to have a relationship until my late 20's, and even so it was hard to sustain a relationship long term for many years beyond that. (I'm happily married now, however.) Insults and gaslighting with regards to one's sexuality are a particularly potent psychological weapon, and from what I've seen both as a direct participant and as an observer, some people from poorer backgrounds will actively punish those who are demonstrating academic excellence, or who are cultivating themselves in some other fashion. Such people are likely just a small percentage of the general populace. However, if one "sticks out" then that small percentage tends to find you more easily.
- licebmi__at__ 8y agoI was told even by cousins and close family that "reading so much would make me a fag" and that I should play more soccer. And certainly didn't help my academic career when the bullying I suffered stopped when I started behaving like a problem student. In my case, this kind of discouragement actually helped me pursue a career in STEM, as it was the perfect excuse to leave my city, but I don't thinks this kind of environment is healthy and nurturing for someone's dreams.
- stunt 8y ago> Can you connect those dots for me? Living in a bad environment definitely does influence your success. Are there exceptions? Yes, plenty of them. But that doesn’t mean that there is no impact for majority of people.