College Times

Issue date: 3/27/08 Section: News

Media Credit: Andrew Lucas

I have this vivid first grade memory. I finished doing my weekly math worksheet early, and the rule at my school was if you finished your math work early, you could work from an extended math book. I excitedly made my way to the back of the room where there was a male classmate of mine already deep in a problem. I promptly asked him what he was working on and if I could collaborate with him on it. (Although, I think my word choice was a little less than stellar at the time.)

Then, the teacher came up and told me to go back to my seat, and that what he was working on was only for boys.

We all sadly are aware of this classic stereotype that has been engrained in us since grade school: Boys are just better with the harder, more analytical subjects like math and science, whereas girls are left with the softer, more abstract subjects, like reading and writing. My shining example just lends more proof to this already rotten pudding.

But future generations of women can pin their hopes on a new survey that shows that girls in elementary school actually like math and science better than language arts.

Researchers at Miami University in Ohio surveyed almost 2,000 girls in fourth through eighth grades at public and faith-based schools. The researchers had them rate their enjoyment of four subjects: science, math, language arts and social studies, on a scale of 1 to 5, ranging from strongly dislike to really like, respectively.

Fourth-grade girls liked science the best and then math, which goes against the grain of what is commonly accepted and encouraged. The average score for science was 4.11 while the score for math was 3.85. Both the scores for social studies and language arts were at or below 3.5.

The unfortunate and still unknown aspect of the study is that as young girls age, becoming pre-teens and then full-blown young women, their appreciation for math and science depreciates, with science's average score at 3.29 for girls in eighth grade.

It seems as if there's an un-researched correlation between puberty and disinterest in school for girls.

I think it has a lot to do with the media and the culture that television purports today. The way young women today flounce around in their revealing clothes and make it look cute to be stupid is really depressing, especially from a college-aged women's perspective.

I also think that teachers need a makeover. What I have seen recently, and as evident in my childhood experience, is that teachers teach differently (and often more permissively) to boys than they do to girls. How can this ludicrousness be tolerated?

The saving grace is that study also did show that as girls grow into women, and continue their education in college, their liking for math and science it reinvigorated with more access to classes and the vast options that post-high school experiences offer them.

Ultimately, I think that a balanced, more equal playing field needs to develop between men and women in all aspects. Girls in elementary school need not be afraid to ask questions and to be smart. Starting early can only mean that demanding respect is engrained in them and they don't take shit from anyone - even at eight years old.

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