The Geeks Shall Inherit the Earth - Alexandra Robbins [147]
Even administrators with the best intentions can unwittingly contribute to students’ perceptions that some kids should be elevated while others should be shunned or ignored. Many students and teachers mentioned their schools’ emphasis on athletics, and within that group, a prioritization of specific sports. Some schools let certain athletes (like Giselle) out of detentions for practices or games, whereas nonathletes can’t escape detention for any reason. Schools might issue a no-homework night for the boys’ basketball championships so that students are free to attend the game, but then don’t offer the same privilege for the girls’ soccer championships. Cheerleaders or poms perform only for certain teams. Just as Noah’s band, which was talented enough to represent the state in the Macy’s Parade, had to practice in the school parking lot so as not to damage the football field, a Texas middle school band had to step aside for what the band teacher called “preferential treatment of the athletic program.” The teacher said, “One of our concerts, scheduled eight months in advance, was moved with two weeks’ notice because an athletics banquet was scheduled on top of our performance. Three weeks ago, our classroom was taken over, and my principal did not provide our classes with an alternative space in which to hold class. We performed outside.”
Students with even less common interests are out of luck. At a New England technical school, students in the environmental technology shop said that administrators discriminate against their program, which helps solidify their status as “the reject shop.” And over the last several years, schools across the country have eliminated or drastically reduced music, art, and science programs in order to devote more time to preparation for standardized tests in reading and math.
Meanwhile politicians bemoan the comparative lack of North American–produced scientists. The most recent Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study reveals that U.S. students have shown no gain in science scores since 1995. As a result, government officials are scrambling to find solutions that will encourage students to become scientists and engineers. But has anyone bothered to consult students about how their school culture leads them to think about these career paths?
Those hoping to analyze the age-old rift between jocks and nerds cannot overlook the ways in which schools themselves signify whose endeavors are more meaningful. It’s no wonder that interest in the sciences can carry a stigma for many students. If schools celebrated student scientists the same way they celebrate student athletes, more students would be encouraged to pursue the subject. Instead, science is considered nerdy because schools help students to paint it that way.
Similarly, if Eli’s school gave the same attention to his Academic Bowl triumphs that it gave to athletic victories, perhaps his classmates would have been more likely to admire his wealth of knowledge rather than make fun of it. Few, if any, administrations throw schoolwide pep rallies that give equal billing to athletes and mathletes. Simply stated, schools effectively control which students are eligible to achieve the visibility and recognition that pave the path to perceived popularity. Too often they glorify the wrong people. A Hawaii middle school teacher said, “I have seen adults treating non-in kids differently. I’ve seen it with teachers and coaches. It kills me because they should know better—that we all are different somehow and if we didn’t have kids who thought apart from the crowd, then we’d never have innovators and people willing to take risks.”
Another distressing aspect of schools’ elimination of programs, classes, and attitudes that would encourage imaginativeness is their timing. Studies have found that the