Homoskedastic

mathandcello:

likethemaryellencarter:

I had a conversation about this with my Calculus teacher one day after school. 

As women in mathematics or the hard sciences, we’re going to have to work harder to be appreciated and respected. Not every man scientist is going to automatically second-guess your integration technique or try to mansplain string theory to you, but you are going to be The Woman, the token woman, no matter how wonderful and accepting your lab is. 

The way to fix this, to get more women into math, though, is not this. That’s a great way to get girls who perhaps wouldn’t be interested in math into it until they don’t have to take it any longer, but your All Women Who Do Math Aren’t Ugly And Disinterested in Clothes and Makeup And Probably Lesbians technique then makes girls who aren’t pink and frilly and traditionally feminine feel even worse than society already makes them feel every single stupid day.

But it’s also important for there to be safe spaces for women in math and science. Societies of Women Mathematicians are good because it is a goddamn difficult world to break into, still, and to be able to have mentors who have done it before you, and who had a harder world while they were doing it, is really, really valuable.

If any one of my followers (particularly Cousin Mine, with whom I don’t think I’ve really ever had this conversation?) would like to weigh in, please do.  

This is a serious issue.  The math department where I’m in grad school is probably 85% male at least.  I’m grateful that most of the men I’ve met are supportive in that they just treat me like another math person.  

I will have to admit that past experience has taught me that traditionally feminine women are usually accepted quicker than those of us who aren’t as feminine.  A lot of times that seems to be just because they’re attractive and it’s just a bonus that they are good at math or science.  That’s really unfair to them and the work they’ve put in.  It’s also unfair for women in math and science to be judged based on looks in such a way.  How is it unfeminine to be smart and good at what you do?  It’s not.  

Some men have admitted to me that in their younger years they were intimidated by smart women. I’m just grateful that all those men who have admitted that have seen to have gotten over it.  Just today I worked on some problems with two guys in my class and we just worked on them like three smart people doing math.  I’m grateful for that, but that’s the way it should be.

When I was working at the state department, they had asked me to look into the same sort of issue for computer science. I think along with the stigma against females in the mathematical sciences, there’s also sort of hostility and possible intense discomfort against them when they do go into them. At least in my experience, the majority of my computer science classmates were male, topping around 95% most of the time. And I can only imagine (not being a woman myself) that this could be a really uncomfortable situation, especially given the social stereotypes that surround math/computer science people. 

(Source: lioninthemaking, via picturesinthestars)

I laughed a little too hard at this XKCD comic. I think that it’s because of arguments like these that progressive education has some sort of natural foothold in education discussions. I really used to be into a pretty extreme version of the idea as well, where all curricular content was boiled down to the essential things all people need. 

I’ve thought about it more since then. Now, especially reflecting on my own experiences and career path, I can somewhat see why, for example, the push for progressive education didn’t do so well in the “math wars” of the later 20th century. And I think this comic touches on the issue. (Note that I’m referring to extreme, down-to-the-essentials versions of this movement.)

For example, I worked in bioinformatics for a bit. In that field, the things I learned in biology, chemistry, and other STEM classes were very useful. I got a kick out of employing my knowledge of acid-base chemistry, which I first gained in high school science. But I can also recognize that the majority of the people in my class probably hated learning that. Most can probably claim now that it wasn’t ever useful for them, just as I claim that learning about the War of 1812 wasn’t overly useful for my work (or life) either. However, I can now appreciate, seeing all of the wonderful things my fellow graduates are doing, that someone in my class benefited from that experience. And sure, I can understand why some people might be annoyed that they spent all of that time learning things they’d never use. I mean, when it comes down to it, is that exposure worth all of the resources we put into the depth of curricula for all of these subjects?

I don’t know, but I also can’t think of a better solution for preparing students to successfully pursue their goals after high school (other than changing the role of higher education and really examining post-secondary job training). After all, if I remember correctly, again using mathematics as an example, it was employers who had noted at one point that certain trends in extreme progressive education left graduates in the field without the depth of knowledge to contribute effectively to the work being done.

So no, I never figured out why I had to learn about the details of Antigone. Nor do I have it worked out in my head how the pendulum for progressive education should sit or swing. But I’m sort of glad someone learned it and can take that knowledge with them to a place where they will succeed. It’s a weird, awkward balancing game where the extremes on both ends feel like the others are dooming children to failure. In the end, I feel like the strategies used within schools and the learning environments in which our kids are education can achieve both. But in order to keep it balanced, I think those who are maintaining the more classical aspects of education need to find a better justification for parents, teachers, communities, and, most importantly, students than “Someone will need you to do this one day.”