Thread by @SciBry

An older professor in my department (now deceased) once gave me advice on how to teach an astronomy class.

It’s possibly the worst advice I’ve ever been given.

He told me to start the 1st lecture as follows:

“I’m going to write an equation on the board, and then I’m going to keep my back to the class for 60 seconds after that.”

“If you don’t fully understand the equation, this course is not for you. You should leave the room before I turn to face the class. At that point, the course will begin.”

He told me he would deliberately write a particularly complicated equation from the later parts of the course.

He explained that this strategy kept the enrolment low, which in turn meant less grading and a lower workload for him and his teaching assistant.

I thought at the time it was mean and elitist. What I further understand now is just let how devastating this would have been for advancing the science careers of members of marginalised groups.

If you’re BIPOC, or a woman, or are queer, or have a disability, you’ve constantly been told, implicitly and explicitly, that you don’t belong and don’t deserve to be in the white macho world of physics and astronomy.

You already were doubting your ability and talent. And now, thanks to this professor, you were given supposed proof you couldn’t cut it, and were literally encouraged to leave.

This professor had taught this course for decades. The damage this one person accomplished is heartbreaking and infuriating.

So educators and lecturers: you have a responsibility. On that first day of class and onwards, remember that many of your students fear they don’t deserve to be there.

It’s your job to convince them that they do.

In related news: “Female students, when exposed to high-achieving male counterparts, suffer from lower confidence and, in measurable ways, weaker aspirations.” bloomberg.com/opinion/articl…

Credit to @EileenPollack, whose searing book “The Only Women In The Room” brought back this anecdote from the depths of my memory. She made me realise the ways in which arrogant and lazy professors are an impediment to inclusion and equity.

And in case there was any doubt, I never took the elderly professor’s advice.

But I wish I had understood back then the full implications of his approach, and had explained to him the harm he was doing.