They Say / I Blog

Feeling famous: Taylor Lorenz on kids and their presence online

If I googled you right now, would I find any cute baby pictures or embarrassing (but adorable) anecdotes about you? If I found some (or didn’t), would you be pleased? disappointed? Kids born since the appearance of Facebook and other social media are just now discovering that they have online presences that they didn’t put there. Their responses to the discovery run a full gamut of emotions and raise numerous ethical questions. Taylor Lorenz, technology staff writer at The Atlantic, relates some of their responses and explores the issues in this February 2019 report.

Lorenz,  “When kids realize their whole life is already online”

“Tighter worlds”: Gelfand and Choi on disparate gender treatment in the workplace

The wage gap isn’t the only way that women and people of color face discrimination in the workplace. Research demonstrates that the punishments they receive for infractions are more severe than the consequences for similar misdeeds committed by white men. Michele Gelfand, professor of cultural psychology, and Virginia Choi, doctoral student in social psychology, outline some relevant findings in this April 2019 Time essay.

Gelfand & Choi, “Women don’t just face a pay gap at work. They’re also punished far more than men”

Safety first (or not): Jonathan Zimmerman on ideas that offend

Here’s an idea: we want our classrooms and campuses to be safe spaces for everyone to be able to learn and explore new concepts and information. That shouldn’t be such a controversial statement, should it? Well, that depends. What does “safe” mean? What does "everyone" mean? Jonathan Zimmerman, a professor of the history of education, asserts that college campuses should not be safe spaces, and he explains why in this January 2019 Chronicle of Higher Education essay.

Zimmerman,  “College campuses should not be safe spaces”

Dear Sir or Madam: Ellen Barry on gender-specific forms of address

Dear Sir. Or Madam. Or, y’know, whatever. Does it matter?  For many people, it matters a lot. Ellen Barry, a London-based correspondent for the New York Times, filed this March 2019 report detailing a British newspaper’s controversy around the proper form of addressing letters to the editor. Lest you think that only the Brits would care about this issue, be sure to read the comments to Barry’s article, which come from readers in Finland, Germany, Australia, Mexico, France, Colombia, and the UK, as well as many US locations.

Barry,  “To sir, with wrath: A cautionary tale from Middle England”

 

To serve and satisfy: Lynn Stuart Parramore on sexist design of digital assistants

Siri. Alexa. It’s no coincidence that their voices carry easily identifiable traits of a young woman who is business-like yet eager to please. In this February 2019 essay from the NBC News blog Think, cultural historian Lynn Stuart Parramore argues that, as more and more companies introduce “she-bots” of their own,  “Big Tech is wiring the future with cultural signals that undermine the hard-won rights of women to be treated as human and paid as equals.” Read here what she thinks we should do about it.

Parramore, “Female digital assistants like Alexa and Siri remain popular in Silicon Valley. It’s time to boycott them."

Easing the burden: Lamar Alexander on financing a college education

We all know that the price tag for college puts a degree out of reach for many people, and for many others, the debt from student loans is very high. Lamar Alexander, US senator from Tennessee and former Secretary of Education under President George H. W. Bush, has a proposal for easing some of the burden. He lays out his ideas in this February 2019 essay from the New York Times.

Alexander, “Going to college should not be a financial albatross”

Folding it up is not the problem: Meredith Broussard on why paper maps still matter

As GPS devices and smartphone maps become more popular and ubiquitous, paper maps become harder to find. You might be shrugging your shoulders and asking, So what? Journalism professor Meredith Broussard explains why paper maps still matter in this January 2019 essay in The Conversation.

Broussard, “Why paper maps still matter in the digital age”

More than STEM: Natalie Wexler on forming “citizens of a democracy”

These days it seems that the STEM bandwagon is very full, and why wouldn’t it be, given how important STEM is for employment opportunities and technological advances? Still, there may be areas more important than STEM for the future health of the United States, and education writer Natalie Wexler discusses a few of them in this January 2019 essay from Forbes.

Wexler, “Math and science can’t take priority over history and civics”

 

Civility isn’t the answer: Jennifer Mercieca on the state of political discourse

Probably very few people would brag about the happy state of political discourse in the US right now. Complaints and squabbles (and more) resound loudly from all directions 24/7, drowning out most of the suggestions and proposals for how we might work our way toward more productive civic engagement. In the midst of the cacophony, ‘civility’ is a word that pops up frequently. Will more civility save us from ourselves? Professor and historian Jennifer Mercieca says that it definitely won’t, and she presents her argument in this December 2018 essay from the blog Zócalo.

Mercieca, “Preaching civility won’t save American democracy”

Top export in trouble: Catherine Rampell on decline of international students in US schools

When you think about exports, the first things you probably think of are agricultural products such as corn and soybeans or manufactured items such as trucks or cigarettes. Did college degrees make your list? Not ours, either. Still, journalist Catherine Rampell, who covers public policy and political issues for the Washington Post, argues in this December 2018 essay that higher education is one of the most important US exports, and what’s more, that it’s in trouble.

Rampell, “One of America’s most successful exports is in trouble”