Hey everyone!
I hope you enjoyed the first three sections of Science Under The Scope. Before we jump into the content of the text, I want to mention why I chose it. This course is a “writing composition” class so we get a chance to consider different forms of “writing”. Most of my students think that writing is the five paragraph argument essay they had to do in high school, but it’s so much more! I love this graphic text because it shows how something “non-traditional” can advance critical science discourse. Remember that there are always ways to communicate beyond the written word! I’ll talk more about this throughout the course, I just wanted to point it out for anyone who’s been into comics or coding and thought those genres weren’t writing.
I want to consider this statement at the top of the third section “the biggest danger of objectivity is that it allows us to pretend that science is entirely neutral” → this fixation on “objectivity” is a way to distract us from the reality that nothing is neutral because no science is created in a vacuum. But let’s sit with this for a second, because I feel like students frequently get uncomfortable pushing up against the myth of neutrality. What does it mean for you that science needs to be neutral? How does it challenge your understanding of the field if it turns out the science is biased? Does it make you uncomfortable? (spoiler, it’s okay if the answer is yes, it made me uncomfortable the first time I realized it).
Now let’s tie this into writing composition: the same hypothesis holds true – most research journal articles that contain this “objective” research are crafted in a genre (specific format) meant to elicit authority (voice). “The information contained here is important because we said so (that’s rhetoric!).” The way facts are displayed is deliberate and makes it difficult to refute (intentionally, again rhetoric). So what does it mean if a journal article looked more like this text that we’re reading and contained critique of the existing systems that are in place?
For this week, please continue to read Science Under the Scope. I’d like you to get through section four, five, six, and seven and then consider: who didn’t go into science because of one or more structural barriers and what impact does that have on how we currently perceive scientific accomplishments? Throw your ideas in the comments section please!
STEM is a hard career choice to enter given its intense knowledge and concepts. On top of that society makes it extremely for minority groups to enter it. As an Arab woman who wears the hijab, I am bound to face many hardships that will push me away from science. At first it scared me because not only did I have to enter the rigorous field of science, but I also had to fight the stigmas that were placed on me. However, the further I went into science the more I fell in love with it and would not let those stereotypes stop me from doing what I enjoyed. Moreover, there were many scientists and people from the minority group that have completed many great accomplishments. It was their diverse thinking and minds that made them stumble across those accomplishments that shaped science to what it is today.
There are various forms of stigmas many Hispanics face as they intend to pursue a career in the STEM field. As an individual who was born in the Dominican Republic, I was doubting my career path in the medical field due to the fact that I have an accent and was afraid that I might not be understood by others. I realized that this accent is an advantage because it demonstrates that I know more than one language and this would allow me to communicate/ connect with others on various occasions. Many Hispanics are underrepresented in science and the reasons behind this are that they are foreign language speakers, meaning that they aren’t able to communicate in the English language, have financial constraints, and do not meet the educational demands needed to be suitable for their career choice. These sorts of stereotypes haven’t impeded many hispanic women and men from accomplishing their futuristic goals of obtaining a job in the STEM field. There are many hispanic scientists, nurses, engineers, computer programmers, and so on so forth. Their accomplishments are a reflection of their attitude, way of thinking, and way of analyzing/solving problems but most importantly a reflection of their perseverance. The way science has developed has been influenced by these groups of people and other ethnic groups in society.
STEM is an extremely difficult path to follow and comes with a lot of barriers. I did not go into science, or at least the STEM type of science, because of how my academic advisor influenced me. She made it seem as though I was not smart enough to pursue a biology major, so I switch to something that I actually enjoy more and prefer, which is psychology. I also noticed that a lot of my peers received negative feedback from their STEM advisors as well, which made them doubt their intellect and the path that they want to follow for their future. I have also heard that some people have changed their majors because of how their STEM advisors treated them. I believe that this barrier, as well as others, can have negative impacts on the amount of strong objectivity. If more people are hindered to follow in their pursuit of science, then their will be less people to provide the world with their ideas and biases.
I am an architecture student, and I think to study any of the STEM majors it takes a lot of dedication and hard work, but is doable and its not as big deal as other people make it. I did enjoy math ever since I was a kid, maybe because my father was a math professor, and that helped me to curiously extend my interest. Scrolling through the comments above, I see that students complain about their advisors of not motivating them to further study any of the STEM, but just don’t listen because if you like it, you can do it. I believe that diverse minds and thinking have brought up a lot of important achievements of the science.
I would say the Stem field has a lot of barriers. By barriers I mean cultural and racial barriers. It is especially hard for new immigrants children chose to pursue a career in Stem, and almost always there are people to put them down. It’s sad really that even today there is such discrimination in existence; no matter how free someone is, one way or another, they are still in shackles. If we look at most people in stem careers, they are commonly from white families, ofc there are other races, but they are not the majority. They are very few. And I think we need to even out that number. These barriers are preventing people from doing something that could have saved lives and could save our planet, but because they aren’t given the opportunities, we will be missing the objectivity that we claim to have. It’s never objective anywhere with the same people, but with different perspectives we can lessen that bias and be more innovative.
Many people who don’t go into STEM tend to be groups of minorities due to the barriers that are placed before them. Generally the field is filled with mostly whites and then followed by Asians. Due to barriers that can be set by family, advisors, and even friends can all discourage someone going into the STEM field which can have a negative impact on future scientific accomplishments. With such a large field and many discoveries yet to be made, STEM could use people who come from diverse backgrounds as their experiences and the environment they’ve grown up in can provide unique perspectives to make new discoveries.
Being in STEM is a very hard career choice that being it’s very extensive and has many challenges that come with it. Mainly disucssing the majority of STEM representatives being predominantly caucasian and Asian. It brings an ethnic barrier that affects many people of various cultures that want to pursue a major in STEM along with having outside contributors that can defer someone being advisors, family, or personal experiences. In looking at scientific accomplishments it paves a way for future generations of students to help look past the scrutiny or help aid in diversifying the STEM major demographic.
For some people, not choosing a path in the sciences goes back to what they experience in their secondary schools. If their past institutions of learning were not equipped to provide Advance Placement courses and college level courses i feel this can hinder someone from majoring in the sciences. If an educational institution is unable to provide these courses it is more than likely due to funding and if due to funding then the location of the school has a high probability of being in low economic area. In low economic areas you will find all races but mostly minorities will be in this area. You see this pattern in colleges where if the college does not cater to a specific group of people like Historically Black Colleges and Universities then there are very few minorities in the classroom and if it goes further to sex then males dominate over females. Representation is very important in science.There is so much knowledge to be gathered and the more people who gather it from different walks of life the more successful we become as a whole. It is ironic that education is not equally available to all especially the sciences because more educated individuals would amount to a more competitive economy and so much more we can discover in a quicker time period.
As a psychology student interested in STEM, it’s difficult not to notice the structural barriers embedded in STEM’s foundation. The most apparent barrier is ethnicity. Many students who pursue STEM are Asian and Caucasians, making the path dominated by people who do not look like that. As a result, other minority groups are at a slight disadvantage and students of color feel displaced. Furthermore, many advisors discourage people from pursuing STEM careers, making it appear daunting. Nonetheless, I believe that people from different backgrounds are needed to add a different perspective and insight to science.
I do not think that were any barriers in my way. Some barriers mentioned in the article are classism, sexism and racism. It impacts how we perceive scientific accomplishments because we might be missing on contributions from other people. I agree that science should not be used to benefit a nation but to help everyone across the globe.
STEM is one of the more difficult career paths out there. It can be more difficult for some than others due to the structural barriers built around it. As long as it’s been known the majority demographic of people who have a career path in STEM are white and Asian men. This has been the “norm” for a very long time due to family and cultural expectations. Due to these expectations, many people have been very distant in entering the STEM field, and others are wary of the other people in the field. The less diverse the field is the less diverse and creative the ideas and scientific explorations will be. This will in no doubt bring forth fewer scientific accomplishments.
In general, I would say that STEM is a hard field to pursue. However, I feel like it’s even more difficult for certain groups of people. For example, I am Hispanic, and although I adapted somewhat well to the American concept some do not. There are language barriers, accent barriers, or just having to work triple the amount someone else who speaks English would have to. In my case, the language part is not the problem I have no accent, and I speak English well. The problem for me is the financial aspects and just not having the career support from my family. What I mean by not having career support from my family is that most to none of them didn’t even get the opportunity to finish high school. Not one of them went to college. So, in the education aspect, I can’t ask for recommendations, support, or someone to guide me. However, I was the first one in our family to attend college and I believe in myself that I would be the first in our family to finish college. Not only finish but graduate with a biology major. It’s usually a big deal when someone from a minority group graduates from college. I feel like it will never not be a big deal. Even though there are already many professional people that come from different ethnicity and minorities. There will always be happiness when one of us makes it because it makes people that come from the same place feel more safe/ better because there would be someone similar to them and that would understand them better. If they ever decide to reach out for help those people would feel comfort because they can be provided with different perspectives and new ideas. They also would feel understood because someone similar to them could make the comprehension process a bit easier because they are able to relate to each other.
STEM careers are generally specializations reserved for people who have been able to get a degree in a STEM field. This requires access to the tools, institutions, materials, instructors and time and money to spend on these necessities. Without proximity, access or exposure to these resources people will be unable to participate. Many people are unable to focus on more than their day to day responsibilities. People need academic and social support to pursue carrers in STEM. The further one is from the dominant culture financialy and socially, the less likely they are to pursue and therefore be represented in science in the future and the history books.
As a biology major, there are many times when I would doubt myself and my capabilities in even achieving the degree. I feel like there is a stigma in the science field, especially in the STEM field. People tend to think science course takes hard work and dedication which it does but so does everything else in life. Science isn’t for everyone because if you are interested in it, you would put the effort into; learning it. I feel like because I’m so interested in science courses, it is easier for me to put in that dedication to learn it. However, I do feel like STEM is a hard path to go down because a lot of different courses are being utilized, such as math, science, and technology.