As I mentioned before, I took part in a panel discussion on women in science and math last week. One of the issues that came up in the discussion was the importance of requiring math and science courses, at least through high school, and perhaps into college. The argument was that as long as technical subjects were seen as “hard” and “uncool”, many kids would avoid them even if they had aptitude, and often even if they had interest. This means they come out of their “awkward teenage years” underprepared for and underexposed to science and math, often ensuring that they don’t pursue these subjects any farther later in life.
The situation in the U.S., where math and science requirements are often minimal at best, was contrasted to that in various parts of Europe and Russia, where everyone was expected to take math up to (and perhaps including) calculus, along with several years of science. The public school I attended in Montevideo, Uruguay, when I was an exchange student back in the late 70’s required everyone to take math (they were doing something like pre-calc), physics, and chemistry, whereas most of my classmates in Texas had stopped taking math and science courses a year or two earlier.
And while this obviously has the potential to hurt all kids, it particularly affects groups who are already stigmatized in this regard. 13 and 14 year-olds who are being bombarded with with idea that math/science is “hard”, that they (or their group) are “not good at it”, and that it’s “boring” or “nerdly” or irrelevant to their future, are then that much more likely to turn away and do other things.
So, do we require more math and science in junior high and high school in the U.S.? If we agree that it’s important, how do we make it happen effectively?
