Back-To-School Article – Girls’ Performance In Math by Danica McKellar

(View entire post here)

Recently, I read an interesting article titled, "Girls as Good at Math as Boys, Finds Study", picked up by the Associated Press from Science Magazine, just in time for back-to-school.

"In the largest study of its kind, girls measured up to boys in every grade, from second through 11th. The research was released Thursday in the journal Science."

The article also cites that, "Parents and teachers persist in thinking boys are simply better at math, said Janet Hyde, the University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher who led the study. And girls who grow up believing it wind up avoiding harder math classes.

"It keeps girls and women out of a lot of careers, particularly high-prestige, lucrative careers in science and technology," Hyde said.

I recommend reading the entire article, if you get the chance.

(I can't help but mention that neither girls nor boys are doing "well" in this country, relative to the world. See for example: www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0923110.html)

Anyway, lots of educated people already know that girls are just as good at math as boys. That's not the problem. The article notes that the problem is of course that girls are not expected to be good at math or to need math. This low expectation means that most girls, on some level, believe they are simply onlookers at a game meant for boys. And so even if they get more college degrees in math/science than they used to (and that number is still far below boys), there are still many more women dropping out of SET careers because they never believed they belonged in the first place. They aren't raised to believe that math is for them.

One of my main goals is to empower young women to know they can handle any challenge in math and life, and to give them a healthy dose of defiance in the face of the world's low expectations of women in math/science careers. To quote from the introduction of my book, Kiss My Math, "...and if anyone tells you it's impossible to be fabulous and smart and make a ton of money using math? Well, they can just get in line behind you and kiss your math."

And how exactly does Kiss My Math empower these 7^th-9^th grade girls, during this back-to-school time? By giving them the math tips and tricks they need to "get" the material and ace their tests, along with providing them with role models - testimonials from women who use math in their jobs, including an architect, a lawyer, a TV producer, a boutique owner, and more.

With math books that look a bit like women's magazines, and are filled with just-us-girls advice, I'm hopeful that girls will see more and more that math is for them!

The goals of my books are simple: To make math not scary, and show girls they can of course do math well, and anything else they set their mind to. Oh, and in both books - and for each topic - I answer that math-teacher-plaguing question, "But when will I ever use this in real life?" That way students don't ever have to feel like the math they are doing is pointless.

I love to hear from you, so please visit the above websites, or my website danicamckellar.com and let me know how you're doing with math, school, and anything else!

A heartfelt thanks to all of you for inviting me into your lives to make math a lot more bearable, and maybe just a little bit more fun...

Warmly,

Danica

kissmymath.com

mathdoesntsuck.com

View more information on Kiss My Math

Read Danica McKellar's posts on her first book, Math Doesn't Suck

Danica McKellar, Kiss My Math, Math Doesn't Suck, mathematics, math, pre-Algebra, Algebra, math books, academics, school, Middle School, High School,education, teaching, teenagers, parenting, entertainment, television, tvbooks, Penguin Books