Can Biology Class Reduce Racism?

[grasping the after wind]

That's sorta was schools do -- alleviate ignorance.

No teacher is teaching that "you can't get pregnant if you do it standing up", but there is a need to combat that idea in school.

Alleviating ignorance would be a good goal for schools. Having seen the results of the school system now in place, I cannot say that they are seriously aiming to do that. If they are, then they are failing miserably. Perhaps teaching people how to think rationally rather than what to think or w hat to avoid thinking would be more profitable. A rational thinking person will not be fooled by idiotic ideas like the impossibility of getting pregnant while standing up or the idea that there are genetically inferior races. If we get students to think critically, there is no need to a combat every crackpot idea out there by teaching them that X is a crack pot idea. They will easily figure that out themselves as crack pot ideas are easily seen as such by anyone with the smallest capacity for logic. If we try to address every crackpot idea we will have no room in the classroom for anything else but combatting crackpot ideas. No actual learning will have time to take place.

 

[Ana the Ist]

The genes do not change.

Never said they do.

 

[rjs330]

There are people that argue the world is flat with a more than expected number that believe this pseudoscience. It is not taught in school... I am quite sure no one would have a problem with anyone making sure fundamental ideas like the Earth being spherical are taught in school. The idea that you shouldn't combat ignorance is exactly the problem.

It's like people pushing the idea of ethnic groups having different levels of academic success and this being inherent to their group is the exact reason why education is needed to combat such ridiculous ignorance. Besides biology, there needs to be a better teaching of the scientific method and statistics because I think at the heart of this is too many people not understanding what a null hypothesis (a fundamental idea in science and statistics). If you operate from the belief that racial/ethnic groups are different, then it's easy to see why those same people adhere to racist pseudoscience.

Where's the science that says all races are genetically exactly the same except for appearance? Isn't it possible that some races are built genetically different than others? I'm not a geneticist. And I haven't studied this. Where are the proven studies in this field that show all races are built essentially the same except for appearance?

 

[rjs330]

It seems the better idea would be to recognize that all people are not the same. And that's okay. We need to respect each other's differences whatever they may be and be kind to them. We should be teaching and enforcing kindness and respect rather than trying to prove there isn't any difference. Our eyes and experiences tell us there are. So what? Whether you're rich or poor, smart or have learning disabilities, black or white, Hindu or Muslim, gay or straight you should be kind and treat others with respect.

 

[SummerMadness]

Where's the science that says all races are genetically exactly the same except for appearance? Isn't it possible that some races are built genetically different than others? I'm not a geneticist. And I haven't studied this. Where are the proven studies in this field that show all races are built essentially the same except for appearance?

Your response suggests you do not understand science or statistics. You operate from the null hypothesis to make any inferences about differences in population. You don't need to be a geneticist to understand that, but you need to understand basic statistics. The science does not support genetic differences between racial groups.

 

[durangodawood]

...A rational thinking person will not be fooled by idiotic ideas...

We are talking about middle schoolers, right? Even adults think dumb things when theyre sex motivated.

 

[durangodawood]

It seems the better idea would be to recognize that all people are not the same. And that's okay. We need to respect each other's differences whatever they may be and be kind to them. We should be teaching and enforcing kindness and respect rather than trying to prove there isn't any difference. Our eyes and experiences tell us there are. So what? Whether you're rich or poor, smart or have learning disabilities, black or white, Hindu or Muslim, gay or straight you should be kind and treat others with respect.

Respect is essential. But.... we are very prone to project racist notions onto others, often unconsciously. And these notions can have severe life consequences. So we should all bring those notions into awareness. Teaching may help with that.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

.

 

[essentialsaltes]

Where's the science that says all races are genetically exactly the same except for appearance?

That's not quite what the science says. What it does say is that there is no way to draw circles around gene frequencies on a map of the earth that corresponds to what people mean by race. And that the variation within a traditional racial group are larger than the genetic variations between two traditional racial groups.

Lewontin, R (1972). "The Apportionment of Human Diversity".

The results are quite remarkable. The mean" proportion of the total species diversity that is contained within populations is 85.4%, with a maximum of 99.7% for the Xm gene, and a minimum of 63.6% for Duffy. Less than 15% of all human genetic diversity is accounted for by differences between human groups! Moreover, the difference between populations within a race accounts for an additional 8.3%, so that only 6.3% is accounted for by racial classification.

It is clear that our perception of relatively large differences between human races and subgroups, as compared to the variation within these groups, is indeed a biased perception and that, based on randomly chosen genetic differences, human races and populations are remarkably similar to each other, with the largest part by far of human variation being accounted for by the differences between individuals.

And if you try to draw those circles around a 'race' by using the gene frequencies that are similar:

A post facto assignment, based on gene frequencies, would also increase the racial component, but if this were carried out objectively it would lump certain Africans with Lapps!

The distribution of people with blood type A gene is not random on the face of the earth, but it doesn't correspond to race in any way racists would recognize.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

So Inuit's aren't all that different from Africans.

 

[essentialsaltes]

So Inuit's aren't all that different from [some] Africans.

Laplanders aren't Inuit. But as usual, I think you're missing the larger point.

 

[OldWiseGuy]

Laplanders aren't Inuit. But as usual, I think you're missing the larger point.

The 'larger point' is that we are all the same, regardless of our differences.

 

[rjs330]

Your response suggests you do not understand science or statistics. You operate from the null hypothesis to make any inferences about differences in population. You don't need to be a geneticist to understand that, but you need to understand basic statistics. The science does not support genetic differences between racial groups.

There are genetic differences between groups. Orientals are typically short and have dark hair. Black people typically have wider features than Oriental people. Those factors are caused by genetics. I could go on and on. We know that those difference though profound are caused by a very minor changes in the genes. While all humans are essentially very very close to each other slight variations in the genes can cause some dramatic changes.

I do think the broader question is SO WHAT?
Just cause there are some genetic difference in genes between the races, doesn't really mean anything where it comes to how we should treat other people. So what if Japanese people are shorter because of genetic differences. We should care less.

The real differences between people in a social construct are about culture. And culture is not determined by genetics. Trying to teach kids that genetically we are all pretty much the same is going to go in one ear and right out the other.

It's just like the old IQ argument. Studies have shown that the IQ of some races are higher than others. Most likely that is the result of culture rather than genes.

Lete be clear, NO RACE IS SUPERIOR TO ANY OTHER RACE. To think that is patently ridiculous.

 

[rjs330]

Respect is essential. But.... we are very prone to project racist notions onto others, often unconsciously. And these notions can have severe life consequences. So we should all bring those notions into awareness. Teaching may help with that.

Teaching kids that differences do not mean one group of people are "better" than another group is what is important. "All men are created equal."
It doesn't mean all men were created the same. Kids are more likely to be willing to grab onto an idea that we all have difference, but those differences do not give us the right to be mean, racist, antagonistic to others. Kids are not dumb. They can look at the world around them and their life experiences and observations will tell them people are different. If you try and tell them "they are no different than you," they will reject that because humans do that. Their experiences and observations will tell them differently.

The message should be, the differences they observe do not mean anyone is inferior to anyone else. And all people no matter who you are, where you are from or what color your skin is are deserving of respect and have a right to the same freedoms as anyone else.

 

[SummerMadness]

There are genetic differences between groups. Orientals are typically short and have dark hair. Black people typically have wider features than Oriental people. Those factors are caused by genetics. I could go on and on. We know that those difference though profound are caused by a very minor changes in the genes. While all humans are essentially very very close to each other slight variations in the genes can cause some dramatic changes.

I do think the broader question is SO WHAT?
Just cause there are some genetic difference in genes between the races, doesn't really mean anything where it comes to how we should treat other people. So what if Japanese people are shorter because of genetic differences. We should care less.

The real differences between people in a social construct are about culture. And culture is not determined by genetics. Trying to teach kids that genetically we are all pretty much the same is going to go in one ear and right out the other.

It's just like the old IQ argument. Studies have shown that the IQ of some races are higher than others. Most likely that is the result of culture rather than genes.

Lete be clear, NO RACE IS SUPERIOR TO ANY OTHER RACE. To think that is patently ridiculous.

Your reply suggests you should read a little more biology, genetics and statistics before making such declarative statements. You might also want to update your terminology... "Orientals"?