Girls and Science

Good intentions seem to dissolve while on vacation. Whether eating sensibly or getting exercise or writing new posts, somehow there are always excuses. For the latter, it's just being able to connect to the internet, sometimes a challenge even in this highly wired world.

But here I am and I have been thinking about science and girls. There was a piece last week in The New York Times discussing why more girls don't go into math and sciences, even though they score well on tests and do as well as males once they have a career in science. The writer felt that too much time is spent arguing about disparities in general rather than encouraging individuals.

Our teen in interested in the brain and how it works, and for her vacation book, brought along and is reading about the science behind how the brain understands music. She also enjoyed her biology course, despite gripes, and learned a lot. How do we keep this interest alive? What can we do? What do we expect teachers to do for her?

At this point, I am just so pleased she is willing to put in the time and effort to expand her knowledge -- and maybe find something she really cares about.