Asolis
Feb
18

Ever since elementary school, excluding Freshman year of high school, we’ve had the pacer test, and ever since elementary school I’ve noticed it was sexist and ageist. Girls have a lower expectation than boys do, as do people who haven’t had their birthday yet that school year, and therefore are a few months younger than their peers. There are some arguments in favor of this discrimination that I’m going to address.

    Girls inherently have less stamina than boys, and therefore should have lower expectations.
    Girls do not inherently have less stamina than boys or else all the girls would be out before any of the boys. There may be reasons as to why, on average, girls cannot or at least do not run as long as boys, but this isn’t necessarily the case.
    If girls have, on average, less stamina than boys and this is not just a coincidence, shouldn’t they not be expected to run for as long as boys?
    Then why not give lower expectations to people based on weight, how much they exercise, their height, etc.? The more factors that are taken into account, the less meaningful the test becomes.
    Unlike when it comes to weight, females can’t simply exercise and become more fit to get rid of their inherent handicap, or, if they do, it requires more exercise than it would require a male to be their equal.
    What about males with asthma or other conditions? In the end, all giving boys and girls different standards does, as I just stated, is make the test less meaningful. It also may lower the self-esteem of the girls and it treats the boys unfairly because they’re being held to a higher standard when individual boys don’t necessarily have as much stamina as the girls.
    If they’re expected to run as much as boys, it might hurt their self-esteem when they aren’t able to do as well.
    If all of the girls are given expectations lower than the expectations of the boys, is that supposed to somehow help their self-esteem to think that they are, by their very nature, lesser than boys athletically?
    The test is meant to test how fit one is. A girl who is fit won’t do as well as boy who is fit.
    The same goes for boys with asthma or other conditions. Aside from that, it still has the negative effects on both girls and boys I just mentioned. Also, if girls have more of a tendency to do well in certain academic subjects than boys, why shouldn’t girls have to take separate academic tests? It just complicates things and creates sexism when people are held to a different standard based on their sex.

    Most of these also apply to the possible arguments as to why people should be held to different standards based on sight differences in age.

Comments

  1. GDad said on February 20th at 9:24 am:

    Alex,

    We didn’t have the pacer test when I was a lad. That, of course, was the time period described in the upcoming movie, 10,000 BC, “starring” Camilla Belle and Steven Strait.

    Whence come these arguments for discrimination? Are you quoting a manual or school official, or is this just a melange of things you’ve heard around the school?

    Ciao!

  2. Alex said on February 20th at 1:12 pm:

    They were possible arguments I thought of or that others have mentioned. The school doesn’t need to justify itself: it’s just policy and no one really questions it. BTW, I’ve added you to my blogroll. :)

  3. GDad said on February 21st at 10:45 am:

    Alex,

    Keep asking those questions. That type of inquiry will serve you well in your future education and career.

    Also, I’m honored to be on your blogroll. I’ve reciprocated.

    Best wishes,
    GDad

  4. Jen said on March 4th at 5:20 pm:

    Hi Alex, I have tagged you with a meme. You can find it here http://redheadranting.blogspot.com/ thanks and you have an awesome take on life!

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