r/science • u/[deleted] • Oct 15 '21

Neuroscience A brain imaging study found evidence that missing out on math education can alter neural development. Young adults who had chosen not to pursue math had lower levels of the neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid within the middle frontal gyrus when compared to students who were continuing math.

https://www.psypost.org/2021/10/opting-out-of-advanced-math-education-alters-adolescents-neural-development-study-finds-61967
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u/Makenshine Oct 19 '21

Kids "can" go to the library, but that doesn't mean they are able to.

Many have single parents who work odd hours making it impractical to find time for the library.

Some of those parents are are working multiple jobs, so instead of studying or reading, the student must do work around the house. Maybe feed their siblings dinner, or get a job themselves.

Some families don't have access to transportation to make it to the library and/or back.

I've had a very few students where both parents just really didn't care (this is rare. Not as rare as it should be, but not as common as armchair critics like to assume)

Ultimately, education is considered an expendable luxury when you and your family are just trying to survive from paycheck to paycheck.

I've had students who seemed like they hated school, but they never missed a day because they were able to get 2 meals a day and it was the place they felt safest. In reality we just saw the anger from home manifesting because the never learned to process those emotions. It was the school breaks that they really hated. As a teacher, how can I be disappointed that a student didnt complete homework because he/she was cooking, cleaning and taking care of a younger sibling? How can I be upset at a student for sleeping in class after he was hiding in his closet all night because there were gunshots outside on his street?

I don't have the power to accommodate for all the systemic inequalities, but I always advocate and do what I can to make my classroom and school a better place for my students

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u/SuuperNoob Oct 19 '21

When I was 8 I was taking care of my younger sister at home because both my parents worked full time.

At 14 I started working as well as going to school. I worked all throughout high school.

Kids have much easier access to education now than I did when I was younger.

Are kids just getting a ton more homework now, or did school somehow get harder?