girls don't like science

[plisplas]

I am running a science club in my DS's school. There were 3 girls out of 12 kids. When I asked the teacher (science coordinator) why didn't they invite more girls, she said that a science club was more for boys than for girls, apparently, girls do not tend to like science. I thought she was very wrong, as I am female and I love science, but I don't have any DD. What do you think?

What a lot of horseraddish!

DD1(16) is planning to study biology, chemistry, maths & French to A level then Chemistry at university.

DD2(12) wants to be a doctor. She was disappointed about taking part in the Maths Challenge as it meant she had to miss science at school.

Most of the science teachers at their school are female.

What a load of bollocks. As a science co-ordinator I would be promoting science for everyone. With an attitude like hers no wonder there were only 3 girls out of 12. My 2 DDs absolutely love science. They did an experiment in our kitchen this morning (mixing margerine with fairy liquid and then freezing it!!), they are fascinated with everything and I encourage it. DD1 is starting a mad science club next week. Aaargh your post has made me mad!

Any road up, a science club should actively try to challenge stereotypes not reinforce them.

exactly Goofymum!

What a load of rubbish. The brightest kid in ds's class (bar him, of course ) is a girl who is a whizz at maths and science (and chess). My mother has a degree in zoology, one of her best (female) friends is a professor of geological engineering at Imperial, one of the mums in my book group does brain research at UCL...

Girls tend to be discouraged from doing science and boys are told they are not supposed to be interested in books. Sadly this teacher is part of the problem.

If she said 'black kids aren't interested in science' you can bet the head would be jumping on it.

The head of the Royal College of GPs is a woman, btw. The former head of the Royal College of Physicians is a woman.

Rubbish! Having taught all ages at primary there is no gender bias.

I remember a few years ago starting a science topic, and as I'd introduced it as 'science', most of the girls (bar one) started hairdressing! Here followed the feminist epistle about why we got the vote, how girls are just as capable as boys, etc, etc (a bit above the 7 year olds heads).
I blame the gender-split society, pink fluffy stuff, 'books for girls' (i.e. fairies) and perceptions of 'scientists' encouraged by cartoons (white coats, mad hair, etc)
(Luckily, the girls in my present class are far less 'pink' and actually enjoy science!)

OP
Formal written complaint to the head and governors about that teacher on the grounds of discrimination
OUTRAGEOUS

Am appalled by the teacher's internal bias being allowed to influence attendance at an enrichment programme.

Please discuss this with the head.

If I had found out that the science coordinator was actively discriminating against girls at a school my child attended, I would be livid.

This is the reason that girls get put off science. Exclusion.

Over the last 24 hours, we have been involved on lengthy discussions about unmanned aerial vehicles (and kamikaze pilots and suicide bombers), mortars and trajectory, and avalanche causes and testing. I have two dd's and a Ds. They were equally involved in the discussion and potential design elements... They all take part in the voluntary science fair, and design their own experiments. Ds's was an engineering/ displacement thing, and dd1 was designing solutions for bears getting killed on the train tracks searching for grain. Last year she looked at tooth decay and was testing sugar and acid levels in soft drinks...

I would definitely query with the HT what the rationale for selection was.

Maryz - since when did participation in a class become optional? I'm staggered. Back in the day we all had scalpels and chopped up bodies to see how they worked!

That is very sad Maryz.

I remember when I was at school and pupil prissyness wasnt allowed (I shared classes with Noah) the only person who did genuinely faint was a boy.

What a load of crap. There are plenty of female scientists (not enough, though). I'm a female scientist and would have been furious if I'd encountered that mindset growing up.

I'd complain about that teacher's attitude, big time.

OK well you need to challenge her ideas strongly and suggest a different method of "inviting " children next time.

her stance is victorian and wrong.

That's fine. One would hope they aren't expecting to pass those modules, then.

Where on earth are they getting this nonsense from?

Maryz - that doesn't happen at my school - when we do dissection there are only ever a couple of the genuinely squeamish who go and sit outside.

Never done a whole cow though. I don't think I'd get one up the stairs to my lab!

my dd has always loved science and she would want to be in a club like yours. I don't see why science is more for boys. Very strange attitude from a science coordinator.

This makes me very cross.

could it be a scheduling problem? Does your club take place at a time when anohter activity is offered which draws in a lot of the girls?

I live science and work in it now. But in primary I tended to prefer arts subjects for some reason. I think moving on to more in-depth teaching captured my interest. I remember being blown away in chemistry in year 7 learning about kinetic theory!

I'm appalled by the teachers attitude.

DD age 8 loves science and nature - the more bloody the better.

She wants to be an earth scientist of some sort, and is obsessed with facts/figures and the science behind most things. She is full of questions I can't answer.

That comment makes me a very rabbit.

My Dad went ballistic at the idea my physics master didn't like girls in his class 30 years ago! Didn't stop me doing physics A'level, but I'm as stubborn as they come.

DH and I are both scientists, DD1 wants to be one. DD2 claims not to like science, being the only one in the house who gets people. However, she joins in with one off DHs many geeky hopped quite happily.

Hobbies, I must bother to proof