CNN: Why do Girls Lose Interest in Math and Science?

[Richard Wallace]

Originally Posted by Rick TYler

Statistically speaking, most people are dumber than you. That's why you need to excel -- to take care of them.

My late great-uncle was fond of asking, rhetorically, "would you rather be dumber than you look, or look dumber than you are?"

Looking dumb can give you a tactical advantage, sometimes. Being dumb never helps you, at all.

Note also: neither the occasional tactical advantage of looking dumb, nor the general disadvantage of actually being dumb, is gender-specific.

[TimCraig]

I know one of the first things we had to do after my wife got her degree in Mechanical Engineering was to wave it under the nose of her high school physics teacher who tried to discourage her by deliberately giving her grades under what she deserved.

[TimCraig]

And maybe it would be pertinent to ask why you abandoned technology and selected your major at the university with the not quite largest student population in the US?

[JaneYoung]

Originally Posted by Beth Sweet

I'm not sure that I entirely buy that girls aren't going into science because their mom's are proud that they can't balance their checkbooks. I think that the problem lies a bit deeper: the self esteem/confidence (or lack thereof) of todays girls.

Yes there is a nerd stigma associated with science. But some of the most popular girls from my high school are now majoring in engineering. So I look further at those girls and notice something about them. They are strong and confident. They are not affected by the nerd stigma because they don't allow themselves to be.

My thoughts on how to fix it? Try to fix the confidence factor. It is the one part of this that we can control. We cannot control how their peers treat girls, but if we make our girls as self confident as they can be, then I think that there will be more of them going into science without fear of being "nerds".

My father would have had no understanding how to mentor or counsel me in a college career much less science or engineering. He died thinking I would graduate from high school and get married. I went to college with my mother's support though she had no clear vision of why. Teachers, mentors, engineers, parents have all grown along with the dreams and aspirations of women up through the 2000's.

It is my thinking that the individual should take responsibility for communicating to her support sytem: mentors, engineers, parents, what they have been doing right and what they could do to increase their understanding of the woman's journey in achieving success in these fields of science and engineering. That will help future students and team members.

Also, the pool of support from young women as alums, successful college graduates and mentors is growing. Sally Ride says role models are needed - that's you. That's what you've been doing and will continue to do for years to come, each year being joined by more.

[Evenstar_342]

I totally agree that self-confidence is one of the most important things for a girl to have. Since engineering and the sciences have a reputation for being "difficult for women", having the self confidence can do wonders in encouraging women to pursue these fields. Self-confidence helps even if you're not going to be an engineer. You'll always run into daunting problems in any field.

I've been extremely lucky in having parents that are very supportive of my interests in engineering. This, along with exposure to FLL at a young age, helped me decide to become an engineer. I think that role models whether they be parents, coaches or simply visible engineers and scientists like Sally Ride are crucial in instilling self confidence and interest in engineering and science in young women.

[Robyn Needel]

Part of giving girls self-confidence has to come from their role models (both women and men!) telling the girls that boyfriends are great but shouldn't influence their life decisions. I know too many girls who choose to act dumb so that boys will like them and it gets me really frustrated. We need to let girls know that they should feel comfortable in their own choices, that worthwhile boyfriends and partners should be supportive in their lives, not put them down for following their dreams.

I plan to write to Secretary Spellman tomorrow and explain that I mentor some wonderful girls who are choosing to pursue science and technology careers as a result of their involvement in FIRST - I think it's a great idea if everyone on Chief Delphi writes in to talk about how FIRST is changing the culture of women in our world today.

Robyn