Tbh, in that article they are using ethnicity as an indicator of culture since they talk of children with backgrounds in different continents (which is admittedly generalistic), but I think having a debate over why our culture doesn't value or teach mathematics well is important.
Another thing to note is that (just going on my life experience), women don't as often have the desire to fulfill the necessary roles of 'engineer' or 'technician' in society which require a certain level of mathematics to achieve, so from that (practical) point of view it is a very bad thing that boys aren't doing well in maths classes.
Actually, to add to that in more general terms, I'm distinctly concerned at how most aspects of "society" in this country now seems to glorify failure, venerate fame for the sake of being famous, and now seems to have established nonsenses like "Footballer's Wife" as a valid "career" choice (yes, I know that that's a predominantly female-oriented example, but it's the best I can do right at this moment!)
First bit: I agree we need to 'discuss' why some cultures don't value mathematatics education or are happy to admit they are not capable of 'doing' it - I have mentioned this before - it really aggravates me! So yes this is definitely very relevant. However it still pisses me off how the article is titled, as
White British pupils 'least likely to study maths A-level', professor warns
is so loaded with prejudice and presumptions about the social positions of ethnicities. The subtleties of what is suggested in that only help to perpetuate that kind of thing that white people should be priveleged.
Second bit: This is a massive can of worms - rather than presume lots of women don't have the 'desire' to become engineers or have careers in STEM, the factors that contribute to the decision to not use scientific ability in mentioned career paths should be investigated and tackled. If we only focus on the boys (apparent) decrease in mathematical ability and try and improve this and try and keep males in scientific jobs - this only
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This is relevant to my interests and I would like to subscribe to your newsletter. In particular it would be good to have a chat with you doon t'pub sometime about stuff like female roles in (mainstream/Hollywood) movies (which I have made don really really sick of hearing about already! >:) and also about media reporting of queer people (mmm a personal favourite recently is the ranting & raving about the possibility of the 2011 census asking about sexual orientation, since the current data are woeful - faily fail and their ilk always like to phrase this as 'government snooping into our bedrooms! census may force people to admit to being gay!'. ummmm... yep, cos it's a crime. how enlightened.)
That's a bit daft. There's a lot more reasons people wouldn't want to put down their personal information on a census than that. I block adverts and analytics scripts on the net, don't have any loyalty cards, pay by cash etc. etc. because I don't like giving out my personal information for free, and I certainly don't want to let my proclivities of any type be known to a government agency to sell on to NGOs and charities.
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Another thing to note is that (just going on my life experience), women don't as often have the desire to fulfill the necessary roles of 'engineer' or 'technician' in society which require a certain level of mathematics to achieve, so from that (practical) point of view it is a very bad thing that boys aren't doing well in maths classes.
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Actually, to add to that in more general terms, I'm distinctly concerned at how most aspects of "society" in this country now seems to glorify failure, venerate fame for the sake of being famous, and now seems to have established nonsenses like "Footballer's Wife" as a valid "career" choice (yes, I know that that's a predominantly female-oriented example, but it's the best I can do right at this moment!)
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White British pupils 'least likely to study maths A-level', professor warns
is so loaded with prejudice and presumptions about the social positions of ethnicities. The subtleties of what is suggested in that only help to perpetuate that kind of thing that white people should be priveleged.
Second bit: This is a massive can of worms - rather than presume lots of women don't have the 'desire' to become engineers or have careers in STEM, the factors that contribute to the decision to not use scientific ability in mentioned career paths should be investigated and tackled. If we only focus on the boys (apparent) decrease in mathematical ability and try and improve this and try and keep males in scientific jobs - this only ( ... )
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In particular it would be good to have a chat with you doon t'pub sometime about stuff like female roles in (mainstream/Hollywood) movies (which I have made don really really sick of hearing about already! >:) and also about media reporting of queer people (mmm a personal favourite recently is the ranting & raving about the possibility of the 2011 census asking about sexual orientation, since the current data are woeful - faily fail and their ilk always like to phrase this as 'government snooping into our bedrooms! census may force people to admit to being gay!'. ummmm... yep, cos it's a crime. how enlightened.)
Oh, and this is a good blog if you feel like getting really angry!
xx
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haha mm I just had a quick read of that blog!
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