Really interesting report on women and girls in STEM.......

[BertrandRussell]

here

Great report. Thanks for the link.

My daughter, was told by her science teacher, that a b grade was unrealistic, she had an a for her isa, and a c in her mock. My son had an a for his isa, and a 'd' for his mock, was told he just needed to revise.

He got a 'b', my daughter hasn't taken hers yet, but has stopped trying. The point is that everyday sexism is alive in my local school.

I did stand up for her by the way, i said you underestimate her. But his face spoke volumes.

BoyGirl

What an asshole - can you report him to the head ?

How can I, I am relying on him to teach my daughter, teachers know this.

My A-level biology teacher also ran an after-school sports club that I went to. I can't remember why it came up at the club, but I distinctly remember him commenting to a younger pupil that I was "going to get an A". I was shocked that he was so completely certain, and it did my confidence the world of good. I did indeed get an A, and went on to get a degree in biological sciences. I have great fondness for my A-level teachers :)

I'm hoping that my daughters grow up interested in STEM too, they'll certainly have encouragement from family, at least.

I've not read the whole report but it does seem quite accurate. I saw a STEM ambassador a few years ago at a primary school, there to smash the preconceptions of what a scientist looked like. He was middle aged with s white coat and a beard....

BoyGirl That's shocking.

People frequently underestimate girls and women. I hope she shows them what's what. Bastard.

She has started working again the past couple of days, i just keep telling her, her grade can go up.

Dana, we're not all like that. I occasionally do STEM ambassador work too, and the last school I went in, our Ambassador line-up went 'white woman, black man, Asian woman, ginger Scot'.

Entirely unplanned, but we did feel a bit like the Anti-Prejudice Selection especially when none of the Home Counties kids could understand our accents

Could you get her a tutor boygirl? The right one could really help restore her confidence.

Tutor is interesting idea, i will think about it, thank you.

I have to declare an I terst as I'm a science and maths tutor. My pupils are often under confident girls who think they're totally useless and when you convince them they're not they usually go on to do really well. I've had two from a local private school who were told they'd never get a c and it was a waste of money getting extra help. They went on to get b's.

I appreciate giving kids false hope that they're going to get a's isn't helpful but you can definitely to encourage someone to really try their best and see what happens rather than totally squashing their hopes. Good luck to your dd.

That's excellent, Bertrand.

If anyone is looking for short (10 min or 15 min max), reasonably entertaining videos with science role models for women, who are discussing actual science, there's these from the Ada Lovelace Day youtube channel:

Very interesting reading. I think it is important to have female role models enjoying science based careers. However I'm currently looking for a new job and my science degree us not particularly desired by employers. I have a degree in chemistry from a RG uni. There are very few jobs I could apply for in this area. I'm glad I had the opportunity to train in nursing as its proven to be a better bet in terms of employment. My neice also gained a good science degree from a very good uni a few years ago, but never managed to gain relevant work.

I certainly wasn't keen for my DD to do a pure science degree.

I rather feel I've let the side down as I used to be a chemistry teacher, but I not interested in returning to that career.

My daughter, was told by her science teacher, that a b grade was unrealistic, she had an a for her isa, and a c in her mock. My son had an a for his isa, and a 'd' for his mock, was told he just needed to revise.

I would be asking her science teacher if he had ever heard of stereotype threat.

I hope your daughter proves him wrong.

I had a crap chemistry teacher who never bothered to actually teach the material - would just dictate from the text book to copy down rather than ensuring we actually understood. I got Ds in every mock exam and then went to a science club who helped me actually understand the material and ended up with an A - mostly because they actually gave me belief in myself.

Totally agree lancelottie! It just seemed a wasted opportunity. It inspired me to sign up though, so there's that