Standardized tests: the
ultimate pseudo-test for knowledge. They have plagued our lives since
elementary school and continue to as we go onward toward college and careers.
We always came out of them still not knowing how to file for taxes and knowing
that our perceived value would be reduced to a number. Among, the things that
run through our minds while taking them some are occasional answers, eenie-meenie-miney-moe’s, and I-haven’t-picked-C-in-a-while‘s. But
what always occupied my mind was a never-failing precedent to these tests that
stated, “Check one box that best describes you”. But those boxes never failed
to leave as empty as they came.
Afro-Latina. That is what I am. If
that is not an option when you tell me to “check one box that best describes you”,
all of those boxes will leave as empty as they came.
An Afro is not your straight
reacting to humidity, nor is it your straight hair with 3 curls in it from the
braid you slept with. An Afro is Black hair whose beauty defies the laws of
gravity. That is not what Afro means in the phrase “Afro-Latina”, but it’s
important to realize. Afro is not African-American, it means of or relating to
Africa. To identify as “African American” is to claim America, which my
personal experiences have made me unable to do. If African-American an option
when you tell me to “check one box that best describes you”, all of those boxes
will leave as empty as they came.
Latina is not just Mexicana. Latina
is also Nicaragüense, Guatemalteca, Peruano, Uruguayo. It is any country in
Latin America, which encompasses Central and South America. Hispanic, more
broadly meaning a country that speaks Spanish, categorizes me as one with the
colonizers, the Spanish, that destroyed everything my ancestors had built. Our
native language, traditions, and values became obsolete with the unforgiving
impetus of gold and material wealth. Although this was some time ago, the
culture of Latin America has yet to recover from its stolen identity.
Therefore, if Latino is not an option when you tell me to “check one box that
best describes you”, all of those boxes will leave as empty as they came.
Being Afro-Latina means that I sing
just as passionately with Pepe Aguilar as I do with Erykah Badu and that I use
Avon’s Skin So Soft just as often as I use Vicks Vapo Rub. I do not know which
country in Africa I was stolen from and I can count the amount of people that
know where Guatemala is on a map on one hand, but that does not change how
proud I am of where I come from. Call me picky, call me uptight, or accuse me
of self-proclaimed importance, but I refuse to neglect half of the blood that
runs through my veins to appease anyone. So until my little box comes, the
Afro-Indonesian box comes, the Taiwanese-Latino box comes, and the
Native-American-Pakistani box comes, all of those boxes will leave as empty as
they came.
42 comments:
This is so beautifully written with such strong and passionate language. You are making a statement, bringing the attention to something you do not believe upholds the true "democratic" ideals of America but you are doing it in the most proper and divine manner which I think is beautiful. I love that you wrote about something that is important to you, your race. I really enjoyed this Lauryn.
Wow! I read this piece about two times to truly capture its meaning. You touched upon multiple topics whom all combine into the theme "identity"; beauty, ethnicity, societal norms, and conformity. I admire your poise and diligence in talking about a topic that is so pressing in modern day. My favorite device of your piece was the use of repetition which really caused me to better grasp the purpose of this piece. Very well written!
Laurynnn!! This was really a lovely piece and insightfully written! I really love everything about your writing style, from the content to the language you used to the structure of your sentences. I also appreciate how passionately you expressed your knowledge on this topic in order to inform others about a certain ethnicity/ cultures that are often misinterpreted. Beautiful job(: #staywoke
The first word that popped into my head when I read this was "woke". This was such an intellectually written piece and your diction is so powerful; it greatly helped convey your message. Your repeated phrase at the end of each paragraph made the piece even stronger. It's amazing how engaged I got as I was reading this and I truly enjoyed this blog. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and insight!
Wow your piece was so powerful, insightful, and informative. Your writing style is amazing which made the piece even more impactful. Your repetitive use of the phrase "all of those boxes will leave as empty as they came" really stuck with me and made me realize that people should not be afraid to embrace their culture and background. Excellent job!
Lauryn, this is such an insightful piece. I love that you acknowledge how it feels for people of today's world who simply cannot -and should not- define themselves by picking a part of their ethnicity and disregarding the rest. It speaks so well to who you are and shows that you are proud of your culture. Great job!
The first paragraph really set a critical tone for the piece as you depicted how standardized tests aren't an accurate representation of our knowledge, nor how they are beneficial to us in real world circumstances. You were able to contrast the several meanings of the word 'Afro' using articulate diction to further our understanding and allow us to easily distinguish between the differences. After you wrote about taking pride in being Latina, I love how you then combined those two aspects to show that they are not and should not be seen as separate from one another. Thanks for sharing such an important part of your identity!
I really loved how you expressed the lack of diversity in test and how it just groups us together by appearance and not our true origins. There are many different forms of pacific islanders, Latino's, and white and yet we only ask for the color and not what we truly are.
Lauryn! Your piece blew me away! I am honestly so in love with you and your writing and every paragraph and sentence was a closer insight into who you were, not even objectively as to what race, but how you think and the reasons for your identification. The last sentence in every paragraph induces a lasting effect on the reader. The first paragraph was set a precedent for the following ones, where you introduce the dilemma that you have lived in and will continue to where you must make the decision where one cannot be made. I can tell from your writing style that this is something you are passionate about!
Lauryn!! What an amazing piece! I love how you started off talking about all the things that we tend to do or think about on standardized test, only to point out the little things that go unrecognized. The disappointing part of that though is it isn't little, it is an issue and I think your piece is so strongly elegant (if that makes sense) and powerfully written while bringing attention to this issue that does tend to go unrecognized. We are tired of being broadly labeled! Great Job.
this was a very powerful piece Lauryn. you identified and exposed the problems that surround standardized testing while also talking about the subject of race which i get the feeling that you are very passionate about. in the world we live in today a person can easily doubt their own identity and culture when it doesn't conform to society's norms. this is something we might all face at some point in our lives but your piece gave me a sense of acceptance. it empowers the reader to accept who they are and who someone else might be despite their different appearances and way of life. i really enjoyed reading this. GREAT JOB;)
This is Andy Chen, jumping ships from Solano to Cogswell (I hope Mrs. Cogswell doesn't mind me squatting on her blog for now)
This post has been genuinely, immensely enlightening to yours truly - a revelation indeed! And what a modest, pragmatic proposal: let's put it into action!
Wikipedia lists 142 ethnicities. If we were to have every ethnicity, and the mixes of two ethnicities, represented, we would need 142 C 2 + 142 boxes (= 10153). If we can fit roughly 50 boxes on each 1/2 letter-sized page (I took out an old booklet and measured it), we would need 204 single-sided pages, which is around 102 double sided pages. If we used offset paper (the paper used to print the booklets), it would be .004*102 = ~0.4 inch thick. (which, according to my measurements, is around 1.5 copies of Heart of Darkness)
Imagine being handed one of these little monsters on AP test (Oh, the horror of standardized tests!) day, and spending 30 minutes trying to find Ibo-Assyrian on there! (More troubles ahead if your grandparents are respectively Dutch, Korean, Sinhalese, and Yoruba)
Now, the money part (because everything revolves around the unforgiving impetus of gold and material wealth). If each page cost 0.01 dollars to print, College-root-of-all-evil-board would have to spend 2.04 dollars per booklet, which means that, if we count all SAT's (1.7 Million people take it each year), PSAT's (3.8 million), and AP tests (2.5 million), College board would have to spend (8.0*10^6)*2.04 = 16,320,000 extra dollars every year to print out the booklets. (Or, alternatively, they could raise prices to break even, with much wailing and gnashing of teeth)
That also doesn't include the money used to pay a hapless lady to type up and format the books. A reasonably good typist can type around 70 words per minute. Going by the 142 ethnicities, the total number of words to type is 142+ (10011 )*2 (because single-ethnicities only have 1 word) = 20164. This will take 20164/70 = 288.057 minutes = 4.8 hours to type. Assuming the typist takes a 10 minute donut/restroom break every 50 minutes, this will push it up to 5.76 hours. Formatting and adding all the boxes will add in 2 hours, which makes it 7.76 hours. According to he average typist makes 13.70 dollars per hour, so this will add 106.31 dollars (really, a statistically insignificant amount considering the printing costs) to make a total of 16,320,000 + 106.31 = 16,320,106.31 dollars. (which honestly isn't too bad, considering that College board's president has a base salary of 550,000, more than that of the actual president of the US) This also doesn't include the new machine they need to purchase (probably around 10 thousand dollars) to scan the booklets and file the information.
In my humble opinion, this money would better spent adopting and taking care of 16320106.31/1,070 (that's, according to google, the average 1st year cost of taking care of a cat) = 15252.44 cats who will be allowed to roam free in the headquarters of College board, as to distract the evil masterminds from coming up with new plans to torture our hapless students, or become a diversion for College's board president/head robber baron after a long day of ripping students off.
This is a well thought out, and well composed piece of work. I envy how you expressed your feelings and your knowledge to the audience so deeply. I believe that it's true that there is a lack in diversity when it comes to checking these "boxes" that describes your ethnicity, and there should be a change to this. You've outdone yourself!
Hey, hi, hello Lauren! Greetings from another Solanoite ( as my dear Andy has commented on your blog as well, Hopefully the Wonderful Mrs. Cogswell won't mind me )
I first would like to commend you on highlighting the fact that standardized testing agencies including College Board, Act.Inc, assorted college applications... the list goes on, do not recognize the rich and unique ethnic groups and combinations of various ethnic groups that each of us lay claim to. We should not be limited to just a few boxes that list your...I guess what you call generic races ( African American, Caucasian, Pacific Island... you see where I'm going. I'm mean I suppose one could simply check the box labeled other that occasionally finds its way onto various questionnaires, but that does express our unique backgrounds I like you do not know which nation on the motherland from which my ( our ) ancestors were taken, but I do know that I am of Belizean descent as well, but there technically isn't a specific box for Belize unless I do select the other or the Caribbean ( which is a bit of a blanket if you ask me .) So I do understand where you are coming from to certain extant. Once again I congratulate you on such a well executed piece.
P.S. I agree with Andy that College Board should be overrun by cats, as College Board is capitalistic, greedy monster that spends its time devising ways to separate students and families from their money. After all cats are just balls of furry happiness... who doesn't love cats???
Hey, hi, hello Lauren! Greetings from another Solanoite ( as my dear Andy has commented on your blog as well, Hopefully the Wonderful Mrs. Cogswell won't mind me )
I first would like to commend you on highlighting the fact that standardized testing agencies including College Board, Act.Inc, assorted college applications... the list goes on, do not recognize the rich and unique ethnic groups and combinations of various ethnic groups that each of us lay claim to. We should not be limited to just a few boxes that list your...I guess what you call generic races ( African American, Caucasian, Pacific Island... you see where I'm going. I'm mean I suppose one could simply check the box labeled other that occasionally finds its way onto various questionnaires, but that does express our unique backgrounds I like you do not know which nation on the motherland from which my ( our ) ancestors were taken, but I do know that I am of Belizean descent as well, but there technically isn't a specific box for Belize unless I do select the other or the Caribbean ( which is a bit of a blanket if you ask me .) So I do understand where you are coming from to certain extant. Once again I congratulate you on such a well executed piece.
P.S. I agree with Andy that College Board should be overrun by cats, as College Board is capitalistic, greedy monster that spends its time devising ways to separate students and families from their money. After all cats are just balls of furry happiness... who doesn't love cats???
Awesome job Lauryn!!! I really like how you defined the meaning of ethnic labels that are used to categorize one. It allows one to really think about the context when using these types of names to call one by a nationality. I think that your piece is very educative in the sense that it will allow people to not stereo-typically identify one's ethnic background by the color of the skin and/or by the texture or length of the hair, or etc.
In contrary to that, I also want to make noticed that there are probably more than a thousand possibilities of outcome in nationality and ethnic backgrounds found in all types of people. I understand that many will not like to claim or be called African American, and etc., if not one or the other. But as for the standardized tests and other applications that involve stating or checking a box to identify your ethnicity, it would make it very difficult to state all the possible outcomes that may be contained in just one person alone, talk less about the millions(and beyond)of students and people that are to be identified. I absolutely think that being generalized as far as nationality or ethnicity, does not deprive one out of their own identity but allows one to be easily described by society (there's the difference in perspective between the identification that society gives one, and the identity that one claims and biologically is.)
We do this all the time in society, unless one is physically able to tell one another what race, nationality, or background they are, then people will always be categorize. It is not necessarily always the ignorance of people that are brought to categorizing them under specific labels of ethnicity or race, such as: Pacific Islanders, African American, Latino, or Caucasian.
Simply it is the facilitation of describing one rather than making official identification.
I honestly love and see your perspective on it and absolutely love how your embrace who you are and always keep that because it is always handy knowing who you are and where it is you came from. Again awesome piece Lauryn!!
Lauryn, yes It was so powerful and had true meaning. I loved your use of repetition to instill into the thick skulled people that write these standardized tests that, yes there is more diversity then the basis races they probably had a hard time even inscribing on the test. Honestly, when taking this test that totally defines how smart you are, how far you're going to go in life, and if you should be even looked at with respect (not) I always get stuck on this question. I stare at the boxes deciding which portion of my culture should I leave out, I think which one is more important. But, the truth is each part of me is equally important and I shouldn't have to leave it out because it defines me just like my love for arts, just like all of my other strong and equally impressive qualities that I embody. They try to strip us of what we are, who we are, and what we can accomplish just to create statistics. The system is so messed up I wonder if it will ever improve. Great job Lauryn, I truly believe that you are going to change something in this messed up society, keep doing you love.
This piece was so powerful and moving to me in so many ways! Being able to relate to your story, with myself coming from African, Belizean, and Hispanic descent, I would always struggle on what to check when describing what ethnicity I was. Do I pick one over the other? And the bigger question is why should we HAVE to force ourselves to limit our description as only in one category. What left me amazed is how you straight out just don't check the box and as you said, "leave as empty as they came." And the action that you're doing there will ultimately show that society can't hang a labels over us as just African-American or just Hispanic, or Japanese or any other race. We should be able to freely and proudly express everything that we are, and you beautifully wrote that in this piece. I also loved how you gave proper background on what you classified yourself as, being Afro-Latina, because many parts of society are truly blind to the true history of a culture or race. Being part Belizean, about 9 in every 10 people think that means I'm "Blasian" (meaning black and asian they'd tell me) and much less even know where the country actually is. But overall, your piece really spoke to me and moved me in such an outstanding way to better express my identity as I truly am. So I greatly thank you for that Lauryn! Oh, and P.S. this was a good piece btw lol(:
Wow lauren I loved this peice for the stripped reality that you so elegantly expose as you show how today's society rather have you check boxes and follow the crowds rather than act as an indivisual. It also expresses the beauty of racial diversity something I of all people appreciate and understand the struggles of expressing my identity in society. Great job!
This piece was so moving, and the devices you used such as diction and a sincere and stern tone helped to really get your point across. With that said, I feel that your blog is one of the most unique things that I have ever read. Although it may seem like something that is not a big deal, it really is. Those tiny boxes force students to leave out a portion of who they are, and it creates this notion of being dismissive. The effect of cutting off someone's identity is mind-boggling, and it is something that I feel is not always talked about, so your blog has created an outlet which is not something that many can do. The wide response from people shows just how important and influential this is, and that we are not alone. I appreciate this piece and I appreciate you, Lauryn. Absolutely amazing job!
Reading this gave me a whole new perspective on things. I love how you really took something that seems so regular and normal to us as students and show us your perspective. Reading this was extremely relatable because I have been in your position before. You identified the issues that we've all tried to overlook with standardized tests. The choice of diction and the repetition made this piece so much stronger. This was beautifully written. Great job!
This piece took the words out of my mouth, growing up with middle eastern and South Asian ancestry I never knew how to describe myself on the boxes you mentioned. I really like how you have an unapologetic and appreciative stance on what your identity really is, I commend you for being proud of your ancestry and heritage. At the same time I think it's often ignorant how they try to group people like Latinos into one category when they're such a diverse group of them, I can relate to that myself from being South Asian as I'm always grouped as being Indian when I'm actually Pakistani, I also think these boxes are useless as they can never really define you. Great job, and thanks for commenting on my blog piece!
This piece gave me your perspective on the marginalization of certain groups of the "ethnic rainbow" that many see as just black and white with a little gray in between. The diction of the piece and the use of comparison and parallelism reveal a sense of pride that you hold for your ethnicity. This is truly an inspirational piece.
This was hands down the most touching and eye opening piece I have ever read. Your piece brought up another issue that was commonly overlooked regarding self-identification. If standardized tests want to add that "self-identification" category, then they should add all ethnicities or not have it at all. I really enjoyed how you started off your story with the typical argument against standardized test only to lead into this issue. Throughout your story, I was captivated and I always looked forward to the next sentence to see what else it may contribute to the message. Your emotions were fully delivered through diction and I was able to feel whatever you were portraying. I don't think my problem matches your level, but I always selected the "other asian" box and i mean yeah there is a box, but "other asian" makes me feel like my culture and people don't matter as much as those other ethnicities specifically mentioned above. But in the end, I am proud of my heritage and my culture and I hope others find that same pride in their own as well. This was definitely inspiring and eye-opening and I hope this may put some sense into people that are blind to see the various cultures of the Latino countries.
I loved this piece, Lauryn! Standardized tests use these "boxes" to emphasize their numbers to create fallacies of statistics that appeal to such limited cultures. They fail to realize just how diverse students are and your determination to stand for who you are and what you identify as is admirable. Both Latinx and African cultures are commonly categorized as a singular culture and for you to highlight the differences and numerous cultures in Latin America and Africa are a start towards a more informed society. The way you ended each paragraph emphasized your determined tone and allowed the reader to empathize your stance on the futile identification boxes. Great Job!
This piece was amazing. The length is short and sweet, as well as articulate. I really enjoyed your views on such ethnicity boxes used for standardized tests. Your explanation crushes the lack of the administrations ability to realize that some students identify as more than one. Not only this but I love how you embrace your identity, it is something we should all embrace. As well as how you crush ethnic prejudice such as when you said that latina isn't just Mexicana. It is an intelligent piece that I greatly admire.
This piece was amazing and it was very impressive that you made such a great statement about identity in a relatively short piece. Not only did you tackle race and ethnicity, but also the issue of education as well. I also appreciate how you incorporate other examples of racial diversity among people in the last paragraph. Amazing job!
I know it may not seem like it but I am apart of this mix of nationalities that I wish I could state instead of checking the box "other" or explain to those who merely glance at me and generally check "white". This might seem small to others but I'm so grateful someone brought up this issue and how there can be a solution to replace a small generalized nationality check-off list to maybe lines to address who do you identify with. This spectacular essay should be shown to all standardized testing officials so they know that we aren't simply boxed categories that we have a background a lot more bigger than this small square. Also, I'm in love with your Afro and inspires me to keep mine natural despite the hassle. (ALSO: Andy Chen your hypothetical solution of including all kinds of ethnicity is very much detailed to every mathematical situation and very hilarious to read)
It was almost poetic. The repetition of the last sentence in each paragraph showed your emphasizes of making a strong point. From a readers's perspective you show that you will not accept or succumb to the norms in society in order to please others but you will take pride in a society and foundation that accepts others different from the stereotypical titles.
Lauryn I can see and feel the passion in your words.Your work on this story is very strong .So many students here in the US have most likely asked themselves the question of "which box should I check?" there is never the right option for too many of us and this needs to be fixed.Along with many people I know you are not alone in leaving that box unchecked and empty.This is a clear problem in our society that must be brought to more peoples attention.
Lauryn, this is great. I can really feel how passionate you are of your heritage. I do believe that there should be an option to choose more than one box because of the rise of mixed cultures. I wish that society would begin to recognize that. I love how at the end of every paragraph you ended with the same sentence to let the readers know how important this issue is to you. Good Job.
This piece is really well written, the organization helps the reader follow your ideas clearly and effectively. Also, your experience is really relatable and did an amazing job explaining your position on the question of labeling identity on a piece of paper we have now filled out hundreds of times without consideration. Thank you for sharing and good job!
Wow! Your piece really opened my eyes to see how racial profiling not only exists between people themselves, but within paper works as well. And as long as discrimination exists, I believe that some of these individuals will not develop in their knowledge and their respect of other cultures.
this piece is amazing, It is well written, organized, and the diction used is incredible. Also, I relate as to when I call myself Latino and people would jump into conclusions assuming I am Mexican.
This was a beautiful piece, and honestly has moved me quite deeply. It really puts the spotlight on how limited college boards perception of its customers really is. Your writing is stunningly graceful and powerful yet still eloquently makes a point, a persons identity cannot be put in a box
This piece was very well done and was written with a purpose. The piece was written very clearly and easy to follow. It was a good piece on identity and very well done. Good job on the piece as a whole.
Wow! the way you write is very powerful and passionate. You also bring up a very good point of how these standardized tests try to label everyone with very limited definitions when they rarely ever describe the person correctly. The message you're trying to send is very powerful and relatable.
Wow! I love your piece Lauren. It really shows how the standardized tests that we take not only categorize our knowledge of our academics, but also who we are culturally. You have reminded me to feel proud of who I am culturally so thank you for that reminder.
Great Job Lauryn. I really enjoy your perspective on this issue. It was well written and interesting to read. A lot of what you said is very true and I can relate. Not surprised you wrote your blog on this topic.
I enjoyed your piece so much. You were able to inform the readers do much about what those terms mean. I love how you brought in personal aspects of yourself into this. Well done!
An interesting piece, to say the least. By taking something as simple as filling out the boxes on applications and turning it into a commentary on being true to yourself and what you really are, elevates this piece above others. Spectacular job.
I love how bold you were with this piece Lauryn! The concept of standardized testing has always irritated me, and the idea of categorizing people into specific boxes is very demeaning. You covered this topic really well I truly enjoyed it, great job!
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