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Now, we welcome Dr. David Asai, Senior Director for Science Education at @HHMINEWS. In this honest & frank talk, David will explore the strategic use of executive orders & what they ultimately mean to us as undergraduate STEM reformers #STEMIsTheNewBlack (1/x)
He starts with a remembrance of his Japanese-American grandparents that were prohibited from accessing US citizenship through naturalization and were placed in concentration camps on US soil via Executive Order 9066 #STEMIsTheNewBlack (2/x)
"Science is complicit in perpetuating and reinforcing racism and so science has the responsibility of changing that culture" #STEMIsTheNewBlack (3/x)
He prefers naming the problem: Persons excluded because of ethnicity or race (PEERs) instead of Underrepresented Minorities (URMs) #STEMIsTheNewBlack (4/x)
"Rather than blame the victims we must acknowledge that the system had failed large numbers of people who want to learn science...ending exclusion requires culture change and that responsibility is on all of us" #STEMIsTheNewBlack (4/x)
Presidential Executive Orders have integrated the armed forces, enforced school desegregation, and introduced concepts of affirmative action #STEMIsTheNewBlack (5/x)
Current Executive Orders (in the last year) have banned individuals from Muslim-majority countries, allocated funds to a southern border wall, restricted funds to "sanctuary cities" and more #STEMIsTheNewBlack (6/x)
Executive Order 13950 bans training on racism and sexism. The rationale: since we are all created equal, by definition there can't be any inequality. Diversity training is ineffective because it makes people feel bad and uncomfortable #STEMIsTheNewBlack (7/x)
What do the lessons of Executive Orders teach us about STEM and STEM Culture? We espouse Excellence in higher education... "but what does Excellence mean?" #STEMIsTheNewBlack (8/x)
Zero sum thinking is when there's a finite quantity of a valuable resource - this doesn't apply to science and science education. We're in the business of increasing knowledge #STEMIsTheNewBlack (9/x)
We perpetuate this form of thinking through ranking universities based on their selectivity, standardized exams, grading on the curve, and more #STEMIsTheNewBlack (10/x)
True, meaningful, and lasting change requires a continuous application of the cycle of reflection, learning, and accountability #InclusiveExcellence #STEMIsTheNewBlack (11/x)
"The real measure of anything we do is how much we take it personally... something is personal it is an emotional connection from the heart and soul as well as our head" #STEMIsTheNewBlack (12/x)
"Leadership into the future is the job of education and science, and in order for us to lead society into the future, it is essential that the culture of education and science become truly inclusive" #InclusiveEdxcellence #HigherEducation #STEMIsTheNewBlack (13/x)
Now insights from the Q&A: David encourages us to "think about how we can help our students learn HOW to think instead of simply KNOW" (14/x) #STEMIsTheNewBlack
Legislation like the G.I. bill suggests equality in theory but not in practice...the implementation and accountability around the G.I Bill was not standardized or regulated to ensure that equity. More at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7148151/ (15/x) #STEMIsTheNewBlack
