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but it rests on the again implicit assumption that a simple change of environment allows everyone to thrive equally This is emphatically not true. The SCS Noon
by HarryHirsch 7y ago
but it rests on the again implicit assumption that a simple change of environment allows everyone to thrive equally
This is emphatically not true. The SCS Noonan Scholar program is a very successful program for underrepresented minorities. Initially, they tried just giving money and a seat at an elite institution (Harvard, Amherst, that caliber), and they found that their students failed out of STEM subjects with regularity. So now they offer summer programs where they teach the subject and soft skills, i.e. time management, networking, & so on. This improved outcomes enormously. At Cornell they do the same. For some admits their summer program is mandatory.
- allovernow 7y agoYou're talking about Ivy League institutions which sample from the tail end of the performance distribution. What works for the cream of the crop, whatever disadvantaged background it may come from, does not necessarily work for the rest. I the concept of distribution statistics is sorely lacking in much of the theory that underpins modern Western social policy, and the negative results are gradually accumulating.
- tyri_kai_psomi 7y agoThen again, even if we had sound statistics backing our policy, the facts would be dismissed in favor of the ideology backing the social policy.