Many of us women grew up hating math
and believing we were no good at it.
Today girls echo these sentiments even though they are brought up to
understand that girls have the same ability to understand math as the boys. So, why is it that even today in America,
girls still more consistently dislike math compared to boys?
According to Jo Boaler, Stanford
University Professor and author of What’s Math Got To Do With It? , girls tend want a deeper understanding of what
they’re studying - they want to know why a formula works, why we use a
particular formula, and where it comes from. Girls aren’t satisfied with mechanically
plugging in the numbers and giving the teacher the right answer without knowing
why they are doing it. Many boys share
this desire as well, but the girls tend to reject math as a subject when they
aren’t happy with the traditional way math is taught.
How math is taught is important
because it is needed for many 21st century STEM jobs. If we are to have more women entering the
science and technology occupations we need to retain women in the higher level
math classes those fields require. Women
are just as capable at learning math as men – this is proven in the many
countries where women achieve at the same levels as men. We need to stop seeing math as an inborn
ability rather than a skill that is learned through practice and persistence.
“In mathematics education we suffer
from the widespread, distinctly American idea that only some people can be ‘math
people.’ This idea has been disproved by scientific research showing the
incredible potential of the brain to grow and adapt. But the idea that math is
hard, uninteresting, and accessible only to ‘nerds’ persists. This idea
is made even more damaging by harsh stereotypical thinking—mathematics is for
select racial groups and men. This thinking, as well as the teaching practices
that go with it, have provided the perfect conditions for the creation of a
math underclass. Narrow mathematics teaching combined with low and
stereotypical expectations for students are the two main reasons that the U.S.
is in dire mathematical straights.” Jo Boaler, The Stereotypes That Distort How Americans Teach and Learn Math
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