"But boys are just better at math"

[solarbird]

Scene from real life:

annathepiper just absolutely boggles at [a friend]'s kid's kindergarten teacher.
annathepiper says "The one who told her that they'd do a lot of science and math things this year because they 'only have two girls in the class'! :P"

The original source is behind a friendslock post of the friend whose kid's teacher told her that. I've read the original quote, so this is first-hand data. They specifically said in the original that they'd be teaching more math and science because the class was mostly boys and only two girls.

This is one of the endless series of examples about how "boys are better at math and science and girls shouldn't study it" is still taught, today, from the earliest years of school. Please remember to STFU if you think this kind of thing is over or that it's "because girls aren't as good at math or science." It's going on every fucking day.

Convention miles: 5.0
Wednesday's miles: 11.5
Miles out of Hobbiton: 429.2. Took a break just up from a lovely little stream. Purified some water, as am getting thirsty.
Miles to Rivendell: 29.1

Comments

[chirik.livejournal.com]

Of course boys are better at math and science! Who would expect girls to be any good at math and science, if we don't teach them?

[janne.livejournal.com]

Wow. Completely bizarre, particularly since girls (at least in this part of the world) actually do much better than boys in math and sciences up to highschool level or so.

[starfallz.livejournal.com]

Gaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!!!

[solarbird]

It's also political over here, with the fundamentalist "women are meant for BABIES!!! and should gracefully submit to their husbands" crapola.

[firni.livejournal.com]

I should probably get the teacher to explain to me why the ratio of boys to girls in the special ed classes is so bloody high.

And after cudgeling my brain to try and remember the entire conversation (short as it was), it seems like she said something about "because there are so many boys and we don't want them to get bored" or something along those lines.

Also noted on today's handout that came home: teacher has five kids of her own, four of whom are now adults, not sure of the boy/girl ratio there.

I shall be spying on the class by doing volunteer photography this year. I have been told by my friend Marie that I need to become the "IN YO FACE" mom due to general public school idiocy. Need tips on how to overcome social anxiety disorder issues for this, plz.

[cafiorello.livejournal.com]

OMG! I hate this shit. Anyway, yes--get on the school's hate list! Pain in the ass parents get their kids what they need. Can't figure out how to treat social anxiety disorder over email, though....
Cathy

[firni.livejournal.com]

I take meds for it... so I suppose I'll just have to ring up the doctor and get her opinion. It's not as bad as it was, but I still have this annoying "avoid all conflict because it means talking to people" thing going on. sigh

[epawtows.livejournal.com]

Hey, I married an engineer, I *know* ladies can be good at math & science...

[darthhellokitty.livejournal.com]

Absolutely sickening! Note that I worked for the engineering department of a university, and some of the best students at all levels were women.

social anxiety disorder

[mathmuffin.livejournal.com]

My wife, frostmuffin, has social phobia, which is like social anxiety disorder. The best way for her to suppress the fear is to be doing something for which she knows the standard by which she will be judged. It is the nameless fears, the feeling that she doesn't even know the standards that others expect her to live up to, that are the worst. Assume a role and play the role well. Such as the role of photographer.

Unfortunately, the fear of authority figures can be triggered by a teacher with the attitude: "You are only a mom. I am a certified teacher." Frostmuffin drags me along to do the talking in case she freezes in a situation like that, since I am good at intimidating authority figures ("You are only a teacher. I was a college professor. I outrank you."). Then with me for moral support, she ends up doing most of the talking anyway.

On the general issue of girls being told they aren't good at math, we mathematicians have been having trouble with this for decades. We want more people, any race or sex, to study higher math. But girls often drop out of the math courses in junior high. It is not because they do worse--most do better. It is because of the cultural belief that girls don't do math.

My wife and daughters have studied Japanese culture, and the Japanese have the belief that women are better at math than men. Traditionally, Japanese women handle all the household accounting, so math is thought of as women's work.

Historically in Europe one to five centuries ago, when women were kept out of science, some of our best evidence that women could do good science was from the top-quality mathematical work of the few women mathematicians. Math did not require a laboratory, so it could be done without outside support.

Erin Schram

Re: social anxiety disorder

[firni.livejournal.com]

You did a better job of explaining this to me than my (former) therapist, so thank you.

We're also still considering homeschooling or part-time homeschooling for next year. I'm not sure if a Montessori school would be a better choice or not. I know for a fact that the only other private schools near here are either Lutheran or some tiny, completely unfamiliar fundie sect.

Re: social anxiety disorder

[mathmuffin.livejournal.com]

I went to a Lutheran school and found it quite nice. However, I am a Lutheran. For a child who is not Christian, having to memorize a Bible verse every day as homework and attending Wednesday morning worship services would grate on the nerves. For a child who is Christian but not Lutheran, the difference in worship style might seem odd, but I did have a few non-Lutheran classmates who fit in well. You should also consider that most Lutheran schools are run by the Missouri Synod side of Lutheranism, the conservative traditionalists.

Frostmuffin and I homeschooled our two daughters through elementary school. That worked out very well because Frostmuffin was a stay-at-home mother (too sick to hold down a job) so she had plenty of time for field trips with the girls. It was fun for her too. It takes only about two hours of instruction a day to match public schooling, because you can let your children teach themselves for the rest of it. The boredom of school reduces the desire to learn: it is not the subject material that is boring, it is the sitting still in desks for hours that is boring.

Then my own health problems reduced our time, and the subject material became more difficult, so we enrolled them in middle school. They got along fine with the teachers and the studies, but their typical middle school classmates were hardhearted and annoying. In retrospect, it would have been better to homeschool them up to high school, where the other students are more civilized.

Erin Schram

Re: social anxiety disorder

[firni.livejournal.com]

Yes, the school near us is run by the Missouri Synod, which I (technically, anyway) belong to... but my son has only been in church for various weddings.

So, I suppose we'll just have to see how things go. If the Kindergarten teacher continues to rile me, a formal withdrawal from the public school system might be occuring before the end of the school year.