Double Standards in Academics by Amy Yarbrough

       Growing up in a half math, half English home was interesting. My father is the math man, and my mother is the english teacher. My dad definitely wanted my sister and I to be engineering minds, but he still never forced us to pursue it, nor did he try to steer us away from our artistic interests. Being homeschooled meant that we had time to pursue many different artistic interests. Not having school every day gave us time to develop skills that we would have had to leave behind otherwise. Even though we had plenty of creative support growing up, the world has one or two things to say about “artists”.

Someone who is great at mathematics and scientific studies is considered smart. It doesn't matter how bad they are at writing, or bored they are of books, or uncreative they are with other endeavors; they are still the smartest. What about the one who is great at english? The one who can understand great pieces of literature and pick them apart to find different meanings in text and scriptures from a variety of years. What do people think of them if they're bad at math and science? They’re seen as the dimmer half of the population. The problem isn't that one is better than the other. The problem is that people have put one side on a pedestal, and it’s seen as the pinnacle of intelligence. Never mind that illiteracy has literally caused dark ages, it’s clearly not that bad…

Don’t get me wrong, math is important. There’s absolutely no denying that our technological advancements aren’t due to Shakespeare. But the double standard lies in schools. Get all A’s in your english and writing classes? Great! You're pretty smart!.. Wait what? You got a D in Math? You’ve brought dishonor to yourself, your cow, and your family. You can leave now if you're not too dumb to find the door. 

Got all A’s in math and science but D’s in english? That’s fine sweetie! You're a smart cookie you'll find your way around the world. We need you to survive. You're the ticket to discovering new life. You’ve cured all diseases by choosing “C” on a multiple choice question. We need you to copy our brains and put them in computers. Humans are evolving. Because of you.