My son plays with cars. He loves cars. He is all about cars. He quizzes people on where their cars are. People say to me: "He's such a boy!" Clearly, they are not aware of his fondness of pink and kitties.
My daughter seems to be showing an interest in math. She loves counting, asks about numbers constantly, and seems interested in thinking about addition and subtraction. Does anyone comment on this? No. Instead, I get comments about how much she looks like me, or comments about her verbal skills.
Most of the time, I don't bother to argue. I smile and nod. I may point out how much Dalton loves pink and how much Curie loves numbers when I can. I don't know if this is the best approach, but arguments that go nowhere are exhausting.
So, about transcending the debate: what do I think the most important thing women scientists can do? Be present. Be active. Be visible. Do what you love. Don't be shy about your love of science. Hopefully, when boys and girls see that women they know, and women who look like women they know, do science, the rest will follow.
Scientiae-Carnival
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Transcending the Debate
Posted by Twice at 3:44 PM
Labels: parenting, Scientiae Carnival, Women in Science
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2 Comments:
I also have a daughter who is amazing at math and a son who loves cars and his pink dinosaur. But anyway, one day son & I were picking up daughter from school and another mom was their retrieving her child. This mom was in her Army fatigues. And my son said "wow -- she is a soldier AND a mom". Whatever your views on politics and The War, I was SO proud of that woman for showing another example of a woman who is a soldier (or a scientist) AND a mom. We all need to get out there and just 'be' the role models that we can be for our children.
I have a twin brother and I had this all the time - even in our final year school reports, where I was doing better academically than my brother in the maths and science subjects that we both took, with the same teachers. My brother was praised for being really clever, and understanding things, and his good marks. I was praised for my tidy handwriting, punctuality and always handing my homework in on time.
[And these were the reports that the head of our sixth from would have used to write the references to get us into our (science/maths) course at university. I was glad to leave that place.]
Now though, I've graduated from my science course and just started graduate school. I teach in undergraduate labs and I've do a lot of voluntary work with hands-on-science events for children, so maybe now I get to make a difference. :)
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