re: #164 Obdicut

Harvey?

But seriously, it’s really important for kids to have role models they can identify with. You’re not weird, but you are exceptional. Humans are very influenced by hierarchical cues. Black kids in a school with pictures up of high-achieving black people do demonstrably better on tests than schools without them. Girls who are asked to write an essay about Marie Curie do demonstrably better in science classes the next year than girls who are asked to write an essay on a male scientist.

Doesn’t mean we have to go about such things ham-handedly, but there’s a very real and demonstrable effect on having people you can identify with in the same way society identifies you as role models.

Bugs Bunny