<p>I’ve read through this thread since I posted and I think many of you have made great points along the way. At the same time, I see a certain myopia. There’s a sense that well, I didn’t have this obstacle or I always knew my kid was great at math and would become an engineer or why should we push all girls into STEM fields.</p>
<p>I’m with much2learn who wrote:</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Whether a girl or boy decides to enter a humanities-based field in the end isn’t the issue. Look at the greater trends! * As a general matter, * girls start out outpacing boys in all subjects and by middle school, boys start outpacing girls in math. Worse yet, there’s a disproportionate sense among girls that they “can’t do math.” The drop out rate in high level math classes is much higher for girls than for boys. Do all girls need to be in high level math classes? No, of course not. Echoing much2learn again, so many more of them could succeed at it if they chose. And once they choose that, there are fields of interest that open up to them. </p>
<p>A good place to start using the message of this ad is to look carefully at the messages we give our children when they stumble in math at that first pre-algebra class. Having difficulty isn’t the same as being unable to master a skill. Before dropping the class, encourage the girls or boys to work at the skill, ask for the help they need to get past the frustration, practice at it, and see if they progress. What I’m told by educators is that boys do this, girls tend not to stick with the class. Again, let me be clear that I’m not encouraging anyone to enroll in a class or stay in a class that’s very clearly a bad fit. Remember that most kids have to test into an advanced class so it’s not as if we’re insisting on putting every girl or every boy into the group. What I am saying is that it may not be so apparent early on whether the class is manageable. </p>