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Original poster

Girls can't do maths !

192 replies

Keepo · 05/02/2010 15:55

My dd (10) loves maths. However, she is now the only girl in top set for maths in her class. All of her friends tell her that she cannot be good at maths because she is a girl . The other boys tell her the same.

This week they had a maths enrichment lesson and only the boys in her set got to go. I went to talk to her teacher about this and she told me she assumed that dd would not want to go. I asked why and she said "well I thought english might be more her thing she is a girl". . Am I alone in finding this odd. This attitude is starting to grind dd down.

Are all schools like this about girls and maths ? To be fair it does seem to have only come up this year.

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CMOTdibbler · 05/02/2010 16:30

I would have been beyond livid. I'm a physicist and def have XX chromosomes

School need to be doing lots of diversity talking to the children to show them that men and women can excel in all fields

SweetGrapes · 05/02/2010 16:34

Wtf, where's she coming from???

I did Maths and got top marks in A level equivalent and in my engineering degree. Tell your DD there are plenty of women who are great at maths. and the teacher is an a*&^%$£"!

On second thoughts don't tell her the last bit.

Original poster
Keepo · 05/02/2010 16:37

I am passing on all your comments minus the swear words dd - she feels very encouraged.

OP posts:
Original poster
Keepo · 05/02/2010 16:37

I mean to dd BTW

OP posts:
SweetGrapes · 05/02/2010 16:39

My eldest sister is a nuclear physicist and my other sister is a chemist. All 3 of us were great at maths. Maybe that's why no-one said anything to me as I had 2 big sis's who were already doing 'the thing girls don't do'.

mebaasmum · 05/02/2010 17:19

I think we have had the opposite problem. DS2 has been the only one in top set maths.

FabIsGoingToBeFabIn2010 · 05/02/2010 17:21
Acinonyx · 05/02/2010 18:26

That really is outragious. I was at secondary school, er, cough, in the 70s. Always top set for maths - did the exams early. Now I'm a researcher and math modelling is my main method. The top set was mainly boys (3 girls out of 12) but I never heard anyone say boys were better at maths.

But my dad, who worked in engineering often had other dads show astonishement that his daughter was taking maths and sciences - like their boys He thought it was funny and liked to tell them about me. So I guess back in the day, there was some of that attitude about.

When you get to the top percentile at maths - there are more boys than girls. But that is not at all the point. That is no justification for generalising and assuming anything about an individual.

Acinonyx · 05/02/2010 18:26

Not so great at spelling though...

bloss · 05/02/2010 18:42

Message withdrawn

CantSupinate · 05/02/2010 18:44

Is it possible that the teacher meant "She'd like English better because she wouldn't be the only girl in that group"?
(clutching at straws here)

Coincidentally we have around to play today one of DD's Y3 classmates -- a girl who is extremely good (clear cut top of the year) at maths.

but I do note that in DS's Y5 class the top maths group is nearly all boys (I think). I get the impression it's a competition thing, the boys are more keen (than girls) to best each other and it's easy for them to see who is the best.

msrisotto · 05/02/2010 18:45

How dare they exclude her from furthering her education?!! Discrimination.

littleducks · 05/02/2010 18:47

Well at least now you know where the attitude is coming from and why the other kids are commenting

senua · 05/02/2010 18:58

"Is it possible that the teacher meant "She'd like English better because she wouldn't be the only girl in that group"?
(clutching at straws here)"

No, CatSupinate, that won't do. If the teacher must do something like that then surely the solution is to include extra girl/s, not take away the only one.

Add me to the outraged group!

SweetGrapes · 05/02/2010 19:10

Presumably she (the teacher) did maths and not english

maverick · 05/02/2010 20:47

Recent article on just this subject:

Female teachers may pass on math anxiety to girls, study finds-
After a year in the classroom with female teachers who say they are anxious about math, girls are more likely to share that attitude -- and score lower on tests, researchers say.

www.latimes.com/features/health/la-sci-math26-2010jan26,0,1152085.story?track=rss

Acinonyx · 05/02/2010 22:54

Maverick

Forwarned is forarmed....

SpeedyGonzalez · 05/02/2010 22:59

A recent Swedish study proved that this is absolute bollocks. It's down to nurture - which includes crap teachers. Sack that teacher.

Keepo, please show this article to your DD's teacher and tell her how utterly unprofessional and prejudiced she has been, and that her attitude is potentially detrimental to the performance of ALL her female students.

mathanxiety · 06/02/2010 02:43

No wonder there's only one girl in the top set, and no wonder the boys get away with telling your DD she doesn't belong with them. This teacher should be fired. and , but more

Veritythebrave · 06/02/2010 08:40

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

BonjourIvressedeNoel · 06/02/2010 08:53

Its scary that this is still happening in 2010

sarah293 · 06/02/2010 08:57

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

asdx2 · 06/02/2010 09:05

Dd's maths/further maths A2 group, which is invitation only, for the first year ever has a majority of girls. Out of the 9 students the top three are girls.
The teacher is seriously nuts and you really do need to speak to the head.

megapixels · 06/02/2010 15:50

No wonder you were too dumbstruck to react. That is shocking that a teacher would say that. I would have exploded with rage if my dd had been kept back for such an outrageous reason.

Speak to the head and tell us what happens. [angry but nosy emoticon]

dilemma456 · 06/02/2010 20:25

Message withdrawn