Where you sit in class: what it means

yeah, i usually found a spot in the second row of my car.

That you're a dumbass wasting your parents money.

what does race have to do with this.....

also are you referring to the T-section of sitting?

sorry, i thought i clearly explained what race has to do with where a person chooses to sit in class.

Non-white students in competitive college settings are less likely to feel comfortable (or adequately prepared) than white students. for this reason, they'll tend to sit near the door or back row.

i'm not entirely surprised a white college student would be oblivious to the fact, given that white student culture dominates most elite college campuses.

btw, i wasnt referring to the T-Zone...instead, I taught it as a triangle zone...where the base is the front row.

i've never had that problem when i went to all white schools. but maybe where you are race is a bigger issue.

well you didnt explain it... at all.....and dont be so snappy with your little triangle you also didnt mention that so i was just asking.

and as for the white college student comment. one shouldnt be so hasty to make such a comment, i bet alot of non white students dont make a not to pay attention to where everyone else in the class is sitting either. but like the comment above me said where im from everyone sits every and it isnt racially divided so maybe its a bigger deal where you are.

but im sure you like to assume its that way everywhere.

and p.s. i dont go to an elite college, and you assuming that i do simply because im white is a little racist of you

Silence,
In my first post I said, "I also wanted the students (who were primarily first generation college-bound and Latino) to take ownership of the classroom and not feel out of place (which is often the case when these students go off to college)."

To paraphrase, generally speaking, Latino college students feel alienated, ostracized and under-prepared for the college classroom...this is especially true at elite colleges. That seems reasonably clear to me. I don't know what made you think i was being 'snappy'(?) with my triangle comment...I simply clarified what I meant.

And I would disagree with your claim that most non-white college students arent aware of the racial dynamics of a classroom. They might not always be aware of how these dynamics effect their decisions (e.g., choosing study partners, seating arrangements, office hour visitations, choosing paper topics, participating in class discussion) but I'm confident they are fully aware of the racial composition of a classroom.

For you to say, 'where i'm from people sit everywhere" betrays a small town naivete. I went to college in Los Angeles and the lunch tables were often divided by ethnicity. Strange coincidence if people werent so aware of racial distinctions.

sadly, I wasnt as clear as I couldve been in an earlier comment. I didn't mean to imply that you went to an elite college (remember, i've bore witness to your reading comprehension); I meant to say that as a white college student it doesnt surprise me to learn that you aren't aware of the cultural challenges faced by non-white college students AND this is ESPECIALLY true at elite colleges (where the number of minority students is typically less than at state schools). I'm sorry for having mislead you to think I thought you think like an elite college, student.

the issue here is seating, and i stated that non white students are equally unaware of where people sit which you just agreed with. i never said anything about the racial composition of the classroom.

"i'm not entirely surprised a white college student would be oblivious to the fact, given that white student culture dominates most elite college campuses" to me that looks like a direct comment aimed at me. the comma implies the two are together.

" betrays a small town naivete" now you assume i come from a small town, well you know what they say about assuming. You have no idea where i come from, and it isnt a small town. My point in my comment was to say just because people are racist where you are and therefore the other kids feel alienated doesnt mean they are everywhere. and i did say " so maybe its a bigger deal where you are." acknowledging that some places are like that, which doesnt seem naiv to me.

" "I also wanted the students (who were primarily first generation college-bound and Latino) to take ownership of the classroom and not feel out of place (which is often the case when these students go off to college)."" does not in any way imply about the seating arrangement.

"doesnt surprise me to learn that you aren't aware of the cultural challenges" where the fuck do you think i live? Some little hick town where i don't come into contact with nonwhites? I have non-white friends, this issue has been discussed with them, because i didnt understand what this post had to do with race and you were talking about the racial composition of the class rather than where people choose to sit that makes me not understanding?

get the fuck off your condescending high horse.

"get the fuck off your condescending high horse"

this from the guy who created a pod to correct people who were 'misusing' philosophical terms?

i already conceded that I could have been more clear about identifying you as a white college student at a non-elite college...I'm sorry for any confusion that might have caused the reader. This kid is not on top of his academic game, let him be clear.

In general, small towns are less ethnically diverse than big cities. The more ethnically diverse a city the more likely balkanized the neighborhoods. For you to say that you come from a place where non-whites arent aware of the number of white and non-white people means that you havent a clue.

let me spell this out for you, the racial composition of a class often effects where students of color choose to sit.

Giddyup.

"let me spell this out for you, the racial composition of a class often effects where students of color choose to sit."

now that's some bull

dFly69,

first, I thought you said you went to 'all white schools'?

This leads me to think that you were one of the few non-whites at your school. If you went onto college, you were met with demographics you were comfortable with. This might explain why your arent clued into how students of color (who come from schools with minority-majority demographics) experience themselves in the classroom.

In fact, people in your predicament are the reason I qualified my claim with the term "often". I understand that some people of color, especially those raised in 'white communities' and 'white schools', don't register the same feeling of alienation in the classroom.

As you probably know, light skinned blacks face less discrimination than dark skinned blacks and this might also help explain your experience. where do you live? I wonder if that might also help explain your experiences.

Living in Los Angeles has certainly helped shape my views.

i said "when" i went to all white schools

i've moved around a lot. i've lived in small towns and major cities. mainly as a kid i went to all black and latino schools (ny,nj), as i got older i went to all white schools (central cali), now i live in sacramento which is very, very diverse. so i've seen almost every end of the spectrum

most of the students of color at my high school and college come from the demographic you're speaking of.

i don't think i've ever seen any discrimination in seating. kids just usually sit with their friends (unless they are the nerd or the loner or the troublemaker). in most high school classes seating was assigned usually by last name. in college they tend to sit according to the graphic above.