The Trial & Tribulations of Being a Minority: Part II
There are aspects of minority status that
affect women in ways that don't generally apply to men regardless of race,
because people tend to segregate socially according to sex far more than
according to race.
B. "Hey roommate, can you help me out
with this problem set?"
2. Possible Solutions
The issue discussed in the previous post, the heightened visibility of members of any minority group, affects both women and "under-represented minority" men, as both are distinct minority groups in physics. But there are also aspects of minority status that affect women in ways that don't generally apply to men regardless of race, because people tend to segregate socially according to sex far more than according to race. In general, students' closest friends are of the same sex. In addition, on most college campuses, students' roommates (and in some cases, all their dormmates) are required to be of the same sex.
Most of my male physics major friends in college had roommates who also majored in physics, or related majors such as math or engineering. In contrast, it was rare for a female physics major to have a roommate in the same field, just because the odds were so much against it. In my case, none of the six roommates I had in four years was even a science major.
That's actually a plus when it come to social and intellectual development--women are far less likely to be immersed in the insulated "nerd-world" that tends to engulf unwary male physics majors. But it is far less beneficial when you're up late at night slaving away on a problem set and could really use someone in the same room, or at least on the same floor, to help you out. Often, it just takes that independent perspective to help you see where you've gotten stuck.
In my experience, physics professors recognized the practice nature of the problem sets and didn't count them heavily towards the final grade. But understanding how to solve the problems on the homework was essential to doing well in the course, since similar problems would typically appear on tests. Perhaps more significantly, sitting up until the wee hours of the morning, struggling with a problem set that you've gotten inextricably stuck on, is extremely demoralizing and does a great deal to convince someone that they have no aptitude for the subject.
2. Possible Solutions
The issue discussed in the previous post, the heightened visibility of members of any minority group, affects both women and "under-represented minority" men, as both are distinct minority groups in physics. But there are also aspects of minority status that affect women in ways that don't generally apply to men regardless of race, because people tend to segregate socially according to sex far more than according to race. In general, students' closest friends are of the same sex. In addition, on most college campuses, students' roommates (and in some cases, all their dormmates) are required to be of the same sex.
Most of my male physics major friends in college had roommates who also majored in physics, or related majors such as math or engineering. In contrast, it was rare for a female physics major to have a roommate in the same field, just because the odds were so much against it. In my case, none of the six roommates I had in four years was even a science major.
That's actually a plus when it come to social and intellectual development--women are far less likely to be immersed in the insulated "nerd-world" that tends to engulf unwary male physics majors. But it is far less beneficial when you're up late at night slaving away on a problem set and could really use someone in the same room, or at least on the same floor, to help you out. Often, it just takes that independent perspective to help you see where you've gotten stuck.
In my experience, physics professors recognized the practice nature of the problem sets and didn't count them heavily towards the final grade. But understanding how to solve the problems on the homework was essential to doing well in the course, since similar problems would typically appear on tests. Perhaps more significantly, sitting up until the wee hours of the morning, struggling with a problem set that you've gotten inextricably stuck on, is extremely demoralizing and does a great deal to convince someone that they have no aptitude for the subject.
Posted: Sun - April 20, 2003 at 01:14 PM
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Published On: Nov 16, 2003 06:43 PM
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Published On: Nov 16, 2003 06:43 PM