It's a Girl Thing

http://www.girlscantwhat.com/

It was a cold midwinter day when I met eleven-year-old Angela. I had been mentoring sixth and seventh grade students in mathematics and science, and Angela came to me to better understand heat absorption and energy conservation. Most students who were sacrificing their recess and free periods would spend up to two hours with me a week, and we would go through their homework, prepare for upcoming tests, and revisit topics that they did not quite grasp in class.

As I worked with Angela, however, I found myself puzzled over why she had been sent my way. Despite the fact that her lab book consisted of more doodling than actual assignments, there did not appear to be any actual gaps in her knowledge or ability. While I at first went through the motions of checking to see where she was in the curriculum, I noticed that she had the answers, knew what we were talking about, and was able to apply her knowledge to situational problems. So, why, I wondered, was she not performing according to her teacher?

It appeared to be a girl thing.

There is an unfortunate dichotomy at work concerning gender and academics. Despite Angela's abilities in science, she became detached from her classwork because her teacher unconsciously provided more support to the boys in the class over the girls. Boys in his class tended to be more demanding for attention, were the first ones to have their hands in the air, and eagerly assisted the teacher in class experiments. In lab groups, girls were often relegated to jobs such as "fetching supplies," or "recording data," while the boys took the active role as group leader and performed the actual experiments. While some of the girls were okay with these roles, Angela strove early on to be an active participant, but often was blocked by her fellow students. This resulted in a withdraw from Angela's work in the class, and contributed to the doodle-filled lab book.

Despite the fact that women in the science fields are coveted, most young women scientists are not given the right motivation and support, and can become completely disengaged from a subject that they once were passionate about. Girls are assumed to be stronger in the humanities, while boys are stronger in the maths and sciences, which produces assumptions of what our students are capable of.

Just as Angela struggled to define herself as a science-loving girl, I have also seen boys shyly hide their poetry from fellow students because of gender stereotypes, or believing that the only history they can be interested in is war history. Breaking down the social construction of gender not only produces a more equal society, but also diversifies the professional terrain.