Podcast about stereotype threat and the imposter syndrome: Hi code.org folks,
I stumbled across a podcast this morning called Three Miles produced by This American Life. It’s basic message is that exposing lower-income students to opportunities given to higher income students is not enough because those students are constantly battling doubts of self-worth and culture shock even as they take on these opportunities. I really liked the podcast because the message was expressed by interviewing former high school students and exploring where they are now.
Since code.org is a strong advocate of equity and opportunity, I thought you might be interested in listening to it. I know it is making me think about what else I need to do to support students before, during, and after I recruit for my CSP class.
Here is the link (https://www.thisamericanlife.org/550/three-miles)
Have a great day!
Thanks for sharing! This is an AWESOME story - it certainly sticks with you. I know our English classes actually have their students listen to it and discuss it in class as well. It sticks with students too!
I am wondering, what types of things are you doing to recruit students? I am in the middle of that as well and am trying to pull out all the stops this year! I just don’t want to wish that I would have done more once enrollment numbers come in.
Hi Katie,
Honestly, not enough. Right now, I’m focused on being more culturally aware - I am taking a grad school class on culturally responsive classrooms, and trying to do more reading, thinking, and growing in this area. My goal for the rest of this year is to be more visible at our multicultural school and community events & to try to meet more parents/students that way.
I am trying to think of some strategies, though, to “give room” to students of different socioeconomic backgrounds in my CSP and coding classes. My high school has a heterogeneous student population, but I don’t see that in my classes right now. The school is pretty competitive and parents have gotten the message that coding is important for students’ future. Last year, we turned away 90 students from our other Intro to CS with Python course! I was bombarded with parent emails requesting (read, demanding) their student get a spot in the class. I’m trying to figure out how to encourage women and minority students to take CSP/Python, and ensuring they actually get the class on their schedule. My administration is supportive, but it is hard to juggle all of these different needs and initiatives.
Is anyone else struggling to appeal to diverse students while facing capacity issues?