Hi Annette,
I've had similar experiences and it IS difficult not to go off like at
least a small fire cracker. First, I don't gnerally think that yelling at
colleagues is the way to go. But, when I did it once, it actually worked. I
was asked to co-teach a course called women in science, engineering, and
technology with an engineer, mathematician, and a biologist. When the
biologist asked me what I knew about science I went off. I asked for her
definition of science and proceeded to educate her as to how what my
students and I did fit every one of her criterion, often more rigorously
than what she was doing. All of the faculty involved realized that I felt
very strongly about the issue for the very reason that academics aren't
"supposed" to get observably angry and if they do it must be a major
grevience. Four years later I think I'm at least respected by all three,
and I'm pretty good friends with two of them. Although I'm not a close
friend with the worst offender, I recently overheard her explaining to a
new faculty person how psychology was one of the strongest science majors
at our college. Imagine my surprise.
In general however, I find that small incremental education works best. At
faculty functions hang out with the "real" science folks. Talk about common
interests such as your labs, students' difficulty with statistics, and ways
to teach the scientific method. Bit-by-bit people start to come around.
Publicly BE a scientist and eventually they'll see you as one.
Hang in there and don't be modest. From what I've learned about you from
this list you more than deserve their respect.
Dawn
At 08:59 AM 04/24/1999 -0700, you wrote:
>
>Apparently not according to the "science" people at our university,
>particularly the chemistry dept.
>
>Our annual students research fair is today, and I have a group of
>students presenting a poster on research they did in a lab class
>with me.
>
>Imagine my consternation when my students' poster was in a back
>section labelled "NON-SCIENCE PRESENTATIONS"
>
>Well, I sought out the person who had arranged and categorized the
>presentations and asked her what's with psychology being a "Non-Science"
>and she told me, "Well, what is it then? It's clearly not a science."
>and then _horrors_ she went on to say, "Well, when I took psychology
>in school it was just one of those classes that had nothing to do with
>anything." I mean, I felt so insulted and so denigrated and stepped
>on by this "chemistry, SCIENCE" person.
>
>I realize now that this is just her ignorance coming through. I
>realize she needs education, but the sad part is that she doesn't
>even know that she is ignorant and in need of education.
>
>Needless to say, and here I sit embarassed and upset, I went off
>like a roman candle LITERALLY. I couldn't contain myself--after all
>the hard, hard, hard work we all do to convince our students that
>psychology is a science here is a faculty member, a relatively young
>faculty member, who should have been schooled relatively recently,
>telling me that psychology can't be categorized in the 'science'
>category.
>
>Deep breath. Maybe I'm making too much of this.
>
>What would or what do the rest of you do when this comes up--and
>please don't tell me you go off like a roman candle because I don't
>feel like that was very effective--I think I just made an enemy instead
>of a convert. Dang my fiery nature.
>
>
>
>Annette Taylor, Ph. D.
>Department of Psychology E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
>University of San Diego Voice: (619) 260-4006
>5998 Alcala Park
>San Diego, CA 92110
>
> "Education is one of the few things a person
> is willing to pay for and not get."
> -- W. L. Bryan
>
>
Dawn G. Blasko Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of Experimental Psychology
Penn State Erie, The Behrend College
Station Road
Erie, PA 16563-1501
phone: 814-898-6081
http://www.pserie.psu.edu/h&ss/psych/blasko.htm
