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Mentioning ethnicity, gender AND socio-demographic factors, implies this case is a good illustration of OTHER socio-demographic factors that have to be overcome

Mentioning ethnicity, gender AND socio-demographic factors, implies this case is a good illustration of OTHER socio-demographic factors that have to be overcome in order to succeed. In particular, with no further information, one might assume a lot more about the difficulties these two girls had to overcome being African American in Louisiana. The State's public schools famously rank very poorly, and there is a strong correlation between socio-economic reality and ethnicity. That's why a comment upthread quoted that section of the article and mentioned it is remiss not to mention the two girls attended a private Catholic school with ~$10k/year tuition. Further down the thread, someone says the message they got from the article was how ethnicity and/or gender should not be seen as a barrier to advanced mathematics. I disagreed that is the only thing the article says. The article does mention this as an inspiring case for people who may see themselves excluded from advanced mathematics because of gender/ethnicity AND other socio-demographic factors. Some very important ones that hold back a lot of black girls (and boys) in the US do not apply in this case.

eyelidlessness 4y ago
So your problem is that these individual students weren’t oppressed enough to warrant an educator’s broader generalization that all students shouldn’t be held back by their many and varied forms of barriers? If you recognize that there’s a vast set of intersecting disadvantages, why would you want to turn it into Oppression Olympics? It’s fine to recognize that not all of those power dynamics might be in play in this particular case. But do they really have to all be in play to make a fairly bland statement that no one should be held back by any of them? I have solidarity with these students just as I have with others who have different socio-demographic factors to contend with. They’re not and shouldn’t be in competition for access to education or achievement in life. I don’t understand why that should be controversial even if each and every student has a different configuration of advantages and disadvantages. And I think it does a disservice to the students who have different disadvantages to say no one should speak about them in a unifying way unless they meet an exacting criteria of total disadvantage.
- pedrosorio 4y ago
  The articles’s author does not say that “students shouldn’t be held back”. He says: “This is just an awesome turn of events and one which should inspire anyone — no matter what their gender, ethnic or socio-demographic background — that excellence in your chosen field of study is always attainable” “Inspire”. A child who is abused or malnourished or whose caregivers care little or nothing about their education or whose classroom is constantly disrupted by other children living in terrible situations and whose teachers are overworked with large class sizes and incapable of providing them with a proper education (“no matter their socio-demographic background”) will find little to be inspired in this story (if they know the full story that is), regardless of their ethnicity or gender. Read the comment I initially replied to and see how it interprets the article’s quote as a message of empowerment about “gender/ethnicity” only. It could have been. All the author had to do was remove the “and regardless of socio-demographic background”. As I stated in my initial comment.
  - eyelidlessness 4y ago
    I’ve been a child in several of the situations you describe, so I have little reason to speculate about how I would react, and I think you’re engaging this whole discussion in the worst faith possible to find much greater fault in a statement, which itself is a pretty milquetoast blanket wish for students to succeed without artificial barriers. You’re parsing a thing so far out of its intended context that it can’t help but be absurd, because it doesn’t have any tether to the idea the person expressed at all.
    - pedrosorio 4y ago
      Thanks for the feedback.

eyelidlessness 4y ago

So your problem is that these individual students weren’t oppressed enough to warrant an educator’s broader generalization that all students shouldn’t be held back by their many and varied forms of barriers? If you recognize that there’s a vast set of intersecting disadvantages, why would you want to turn it into Oppression Olympics? It’s fine to recognize that not all of those power dynamics might be in play in this particular case. But do they really have to all be in play to make a fairly bland statement that no one should be held back by any of them? I have solidarity with these students just as I have with others who have different socio-demographic factors to contend with. They’re not and shouldn’t be in competition for access to education or achievement in life. I don’t understand why that should be controversial even if each and every student has a different configuration of advantages and disadvantages. And I think it does a disservice to the students who have different disadvantages to say no one should speak about them in a unifying way unless they meet an exacting criteria of total disadvantage.

pedrosorio 4y ago
The articles’s author does not say that “students shouldn’t be held back”. He says: “This is just an awesome turn of events and one which should inspire anyone — no matter what their gender, ethnic or socio-demographic background — that excellence in your chosen field of study is always attainable” “Inspire”. A child who is abused or malnourished or whose caregivers care little or nothing about their education or whose classroom is constantly disrupted by other children living in terrible situations and whose teachers are overworked with large class sizes and incapable of providing them with a proper education (“no matter their socio-demographic background”) will find little to be inspired in this story (if they know the full story that is), regardless of their ethnicity or gender. Read the comment I initially replied to and see how it interprets the article’s quote as a message of empowerment about “gender/ethnicity” only. It could have been. All the author had to do was remove the “and regardless of socio-demographic background”. As I stated in my initial comment.
- eyelidlessness 4y ago
  I’ve been a child in several of the situations you describe, so I have little reason to speculate about how I would react, and I think you’re engaging this whole discussion in the worst faith possible to find much greater fault in a statement, which itself is a pretty milquetoast blanket wish for students to succeed without artificial barriers. You’re parsing a thing so far out of its intended context that it can’t help but be absurd, because it doesn’t have any tether to the idea the person expressed at all.
  - pedrosorio 4y ago
    Thanks for the feedback.