racism

[cookderosa]

Living out in the sticks of western NY, if I had to take a stand against every racist comment I heard, I'd never have a chance to do anything else. And I'd probably get my butt kicked a lot. It's sad, but it's true. Purpleteen's dean's comment sadly doesn't surprise me because it seems a lot of times that even the "educated" ones around my area have at least some racist ideas, even if they aren't actively hateful.

Things are better than 30 years ago, but we still have a long way to go.

But, Purpleteen is at Adelphi for crying out loud. That's not in the sticks! That's white bread Long Island and costs $14,000 per SEMESTER for undergraduate credit. (((((shakes head))))
(My sister in law rec'd her Phd from Adelphi because it was one of the "best" schools in the area)

My brain hurts thinking about what type of ideals, perceptions, and judgments are trickling down to the tune of 100 grand. *plus housing

[ryoder]

If I had a nickel for every sexist comment I have heard I would be a rich man. There are far more sexist comments made by men in confidence against women than racist comments I think.

I'm a perpetrator too!


My beautiful Corvette is in the shop right now having the front bumper and driver's side door repaired due to women drivers backing into it My grandpa used to always rip on women drivers.

I shouldn't rip on them too much because my wife is a much better driver than I am.

[LaterBloomer]

Ryoder, I have to disagree with you about wording and racism (sexism, too!)
"I have to disagree that standardized tests are made to be easy for people like me and hard for other people. I think that is a myth that people concoct to make themselves feel better about their socieoeconomic group when they do poorly on a test." While I won't argue whether standardized tests are "easier" for white males, I do recall a news article YEARS ago regarding African American (males?) heart attack recognition in medical settings. As I recall, medical staff weren't recognizing heart attacks in the AA population. In the article, it explained that textbooks used by medical students were written by white males. When AAs came in, since they didn't use the same terms to describe their situation that were used in the textbooks, heart attacks weren't being recognized. Also, anticdotally, how many times have you read a message in this forum and "known" that the writer was a male or a female? We're different. Folks should be aware of differences, and proceed accordingly.

[beargins]

The dean may have been alluding to something else. I'm black and I do notice that due to our culture we tend to be behind others when it comes to educational progress. I woke up to this when I was about 11 because I happened to jump outside of the box and become friends with white kids (best friends). One thing I noticed was that their vocabulary was richer than mine, another thing was that as native speakers they spoke words (for the most part) properly the way they were written.

During my high school years and now, my best friends were white, Asian (Filipino) and black. I've never been a racist person myself, but I'm not a sensationalist either so I will admit that some cultures are setting their people up to fail. It may be due to their economic status or it may simply be due to pride and unwillingness to admit their wrong and change. For the record, it seems to me like its a cultural/social issue not a genetic issue, and IMO if its racist to address the issue the way it is, then we're in a lot of trouble .

@ryoder kindly I agree and disagree with you, life is hard for everyone(at least 90% of the world), but is definitely harder for some more than others. Race does matter although people often pretend that it doesn't. Please don't take that the wrong way, I've read a lot of your posts and admire them, because you are where I want to be in the future, (Computer programming).

[burbuja0512]

The dean may have been alluding to something else. I'm black and I do notice that due to our culture we tend to be behind others when it comes to educational progress. I woke up to this when I was about 11 because I happened to jump outside of the box and become friends with white kids (best friends). One thing I noticed was that their vocabulary was richer than mine, another thing was that as native speakers they spoke words (for the most part) properly the way they were written.

During my high school years and now, my best friends were white, Asian (Filipino) and black. I've never been a racist person myself, but I'm not a sensationalist either so I will admit that some cultures are setting their people up to fail. It may be due to their economic status or it may simply be due to pride and unwillingness to admit their wrong and change. For the record, it seems to me like its a cultural/social issue not a genetic issue, and IMO if its racist to address the issue the way it is, then we're in a lot of trouble .

@ryoder kindly I agree and disagree with you, life is hard for everyone(at least 90% of the world), but is definitely harder for some more than others. Race does matter although people often pretend that it doesn't. Please don't take that the wrong way, I've read a lot of your posts and admire them, because you are where I want to be in the future, (Computer programming).

:iagree:


My perspective changed on this significantly in high school. My best friend back then was latina and raised by first-generation English speakers. She really did have a tougher go because she wasn't in an environment similar to most of the other kids at the relatively well-off suburban high school we were at. Her parents couldn't help her with homework and her vocabulary wasn't nearly what it could have been if she had been raised under different circumstances. Of course my friend went on to get a college education, go to the Peace Corp for years and is now a high school teacher. She totally overcame the difficulties in her background and never once used those as an excuse for not succeeding, however, it was a lot more difficult for her to do. Not impossible by any means, just a little tougher.

I also see the difference in school district tests scores. I live in an area where the test scores are high, but so is the median income. Kids in my neighborhood grow up with well-educated parents and can use a computer before they know how to walk. In other areas of the city, kids go to school and hear English for the first time (other than Cartoon Network) on their first day of school. They might not have had the benefit of educational toys as toddlers and may have never been to a children's or science museum. Not surprisingly, test scores in those areas are much lower.

I'm not making any sort of social commentary or trying to say what needs to be done about this. I'm just pointing out that there are so many different situations that can make standardized tests more difficult. The playing field isn't level and no, they're never easy for anyone, but they're definitely harder for some.

@Ryoder - Don't take the fact that it's harder for some as a 'blame the white man' sort of thing. I don't think it's that at all, just acknowledging the role that different backgrounds play in testing.

[ShotoJuku]

And now an educational message brought to you by President Abraham Lincoln, Captain James T. Kirk, Lieutenant Niyota Uhura, and Commander Spock regarding racism, tolerance and the Philosophy of Nom....


[SIZE="3"]YouTube - ‪Star Trek Philosphy of Nom.‬‏[/SIZE] :iagree:

[CLEP101]

And now an educational message brought to you by President Abraham Lincoln, Captain James T. Kirk, Lieutenant Niyota Uhura, and Commander Spock regarding racism, tolerance and the Philosophy of Nom....


[SIZE="3"]YouTube - ‪Star Trek Philosphy of Nom.‬‏[/SIZE] :iagree:

If only Youtube wasn't blocked here in Afghanistan. :mad:
Oh well,

[burbuja0512]

@ Shotojuku - what a beautiful clip! I love it.. not to mention that I am secretly a Star Trek geek so it was especially nice seeing the topic covered in that setting.


@CLEP101 Are you serious?? No Youtube? Is that the entire country or is our military bases? I would have had such a difficult time testing without the aid of youtube for some of my more difficult math/finance topics. OMG so sorry to hear that

[ShotoJuku]

If only Youtube wasn't blocked here in Afghanistan. :mad:
Oh well,

There's just something ironic about bringing freedom and liberty to a nation and not being able to view YouTube......:leaving:

[COLOR="Blue"]And now an educational message brought to you by President Abraham Lincoln, Captain James T. Kirk, Lieutenant Niyota Uhura, and Commander Spock regarding racism, tolerance and the Philosophy of Nom....


YouTube - ‪Star Trek Philosphy of Nom.‬‏ [/COLOR]

[CLEP101]

@CLEP101 Are you serious?? No Youtube? Is that the entire country or is our military bases? I would have had such a difficult time testing without the aid of youtube for some of my more difficult math/finance topics. OMG so sorry to hear that

It's blocked on my work computer. It does work in my room with the expensive as hell Internet that I'm paying for, but it would take about a day to be able to watch a youtube video after it finished buffereing. I'm just glad my roommate splits the cost with me.