Reply to Northam’s “Anti-Asian, Anti-Immigrant” School Initiative

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]Yes.  That's why I'd like to see the gender breakdown of the people with the highest 500 or highest 1000 scores on the TJ tests.  If the gender ratio of top scorers is roughly equal, but then the subjective part of the selection process is selecting more boys, that's a problem.  If the gender ratio of the top scorers is heavily boy weighted, then it is what it is.  [/quote]

This plan does not address:

1) Girls being either discouraged from applying by other individuals or lacking interest in TJ precisely because of either the gender disparity or the disparity in how the genders are treated once at TJ

2) The fact that the exam as currently constituted is a poor measure of STEM potential - it is merely a snapshot of where the student is currently and whether or not they've been exposed to certain materials in advance (see CurieGate) [/quote]

We should have removed Michael Phelps from the Olympics, because some girls were discouraged from swimming, and the race only represented where he was. There were too many other people who had even more potential, but they weren't exposed to all the training. Let's make an Olympiad for the losers. [/quote]

Let's count the ways this metaphor is horrendous:

1) There are Olympics for both men and women in essentially all sports

2) The Olympics are the absolute peak of sporting excellence and are for adults - the better comparison would to the Olympics might be, say, professorships. TJ is an educational opportunity, not an educational outcome - and too many families view it as an outcome because they're desperate for the bumper sticker and the social prestige that comes with it in their community.

3) Sports are something you choose to participate in, education is not - and many students who are exceptionally talented and invested in education are currently nudged out of the process by mediocre students masquerading as talented ones through their parents' investment in these prep companies that have privileged access to material that is supposed to be secure

Essentially, Curie is like doing steroids. It's against the rules, because they have access to material that they shouldn't, and it's bad for students because of the overwhelming pressure that the investment places on them. And there are three possible outcomes from participating in Curie:

1) They would have gotten in to TJ anyway, so it was a waste of money
2) They didn't get in to TJ anyway, so it was a waste of money
3) Curie was the reason they got in, meaning they took a spot from someone who was probably more deserving and they are less likely to be successful and have an enjoyable high school experience as a consequence.

...also there is the distinct possibility of 4) The admissions process appropriately changes to make places like Curie irrelevant to getting into TJ.[/quote]

Sports are separated by gender, because except for gymnastics (where the competition is different by gender) men always outdo women. You can fight for an all female TJ.

You can be as young as 14 to participate. Actually the older you are, the worse it is, except for running, where you peak around early/mid 20s, unless you're running a marathon, where you could be a bit older.

TJ is also optional, like the olympics, not mandatory like lower education. There are many talented athletes who never got the chance, but no one is fighting like crazy for the. [/quote]

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