Exeter’s STEM Bias
I have always been "an English person." Ever since I can remember I have loved reading books, discussing literature, and writing essays. When all my classmates groaned when my teacher announced the next writing assignment I would follow suit, but inside I would be ecstatic. When all my friends complained about the assigned reading for the night I would silently thank my teacher for it.
I have never been "a math person." I understand its immense value. I am in awe of (and a little envious of) those who are great at it, and understand how it is an important skill to teach, but I don’t like learning it. I’m not bad at math; I can’t complain about how I fail my math tests or really struggle with my math homework. I just dislike doing it.
Math is undoubtedly an amazing thing. It indirectly or directly affects most aspects of my life, from the technology I use to the house I live in, but somehow I still feel like I’m wasting my time as I plow through my math homework or try my best to study for a math test. When I came to Exeter I was so excited for all the academic opportunities, especially those involving English. After attending some English classes at Exeter, I am not disappointed. The English teachers I have had are so qualified and are capable of teaching intelligent students and facilitating the Harkness discussions. The books we have read have been engaging and the discussions surrounding them the same. The English classes at Exeter are significantly more challenging than any I could get back home, but in some aspects I am still disappointed. I feel like the culture of academics at Exeter places more value on mathematics than it does on English.
I can’t necessarily back up a blanket statement like this with concrete evidence or a defining personal experience—but this is a general attitude I’ve noticed while attending Exeter. I believe that in the Exeter community math is considered more important than English. There seems to be a certain understanding that the higher level math you are in, the more intelligent/more valuable an asset to the school you are. When someone is in a higher math level, it definitely indicates great intelligence and work ethic, but that doesn’t mean that those who aren’t in that level lack intelligence. I am in awe of people who study math levels much higher than mine--they have a certain type of intelligence that I lack and I think this type of intellectual diversity is integral to Exeter’s community.
On the other hand, I find that people measure each other’s academic value by the math level they are in. It is a human, but incorrect, assumption to say that someone in a higher math level is a more valuable or more intelligent student. I have heard on numerous occasions a friend or acquaintance who is in a higher math level make an offhanded comment about how they think someone isn’t very intelligent--and then use the fact that s/he is in a lower math level as evidence to back up this statement. Sometimes, they mention my math level, and I when point this out to the person, they will say something to cover their tracks, when in fact it’s obvious I’m judged for being in a lower math level too. I engage in this type of judgment as well. If I hear someone is in a high math level I will assume s/he is really smart and I sometimes find myself saying "me too" when a person in the same math class as me tells someone they are in the "dumb math level."
In a school that values intelligence and a good education so highly, students who are in higher levels of any class will be considered better students, but they should think about the assumptions they are making before they judge a person by the number in their course code. Many people don’t place as much value on their English grade or English paper grades in general. English is known to be a class in which it is hard to get an A, partially because it is so subjective. This causes a lot of conflicting feelings about English grades. When people get A’s or good grades in English, students and faculty are impressed and happy for the person who got the grade, only because it is notoriously difficult to earn an A in English. However, an A in English almost means less in the eyes of certain people than an A in any other class does, because English grading can be so subjective. Getting an A in English isn’t just about having the right answers (because there really aren’t any); it is also heavily dependent on whether or not your teacher likes your particular writing style. For this reason it is easier to place a higher value on a good grade in math or biology because it definitively reflects how hard you worked and how well you know the material with clear-cut numbers, as opposed to English where it is easier to blame a bad grade on the fact that your teacher didn’t appreciate your writing style. I know that when I get a good grade in English I would like to think it’s because I’m a good writer, but it is also because my teacher likes the way I write.
Of course many people would disagree with me based on their own personal experience or whether they like English or math better. We each perceive Exeter and its academic culture differently. Some people love having math every day of the week and feel like English is a waste of their time, while others feel the opposite. Regardless, from my experience at Exeter I believe that the culture at Exeter places a higher value on math than English.