I wrote this post before I read chapter 6. After reading this chapter, I saw an even deeper connection.
Gender equity and mindset have always held a deep fascination for me. I think it is the product of the environment I grew up in and went to school in that forces me to think about my professional life as being something different if I had the same opportunities to learn and think as boys my age. Even though I had the opportunities at home, the schooling system in India in the eighties did not provide me with the same.
As I was scanning through Twitter, I came across this post by a high school math teacher in Hawaii.
http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F182%2F%3Fuuid%3D57299&intc=bs&cmp=SOC-SHR-GEN
My immediate connection was to our blog but in a flipped way. Interestingly, we have a strong female presence in teaching and learning math in our school. But I do observe a lot of male math presence on Twitter. Is it a growth mindset that we unknowingly instil in male students that they can be good at math or is it the demands of math-centred professions on our male students that makes them think they are good at math? I have experienced in my own classroom how some male students say with confidence and belief that they are good at math. To date, I have never heard a female student say the same even though my female students are strong mathematical thinkers too.
Gender equity and mindset have always held a deep fascination for me. I think it is the product of the environment I grew up in and went to school in that forces me to think about my professional life as being something different if I had the same opportunities to learn and think as boys my age. Even though I had the opportunities at home, the schooling system in India in the eighties did not provide me with the same.
As I was scanning through Twitter, I came across this post by a high school math teacher in Hawaii.
http://mobile.edweek.org/c.jsp?cid=25920011&item=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.edweek.org%2Fv1%2Fblog%2F182%2F%3Fuuid%3D57299&intc=bs&cmp=SOC-SHR-GEN
My immediate connection was to our blog but in a flipped way. Interestingly, we have a strong female presence in teaching and learning math in our school. But I do observe a lot of male math presence on Twitter. Is it a growth mindset that we unknowingly instil in male students that they can be good at math or is it the demands of math-centred professions on our male students that makes them think they are good at math? I have experienced in my own classroom how some male students say with confidence and belief that they are good at math. To date, I have never heard a female student say the same even though my female students are strong mathematical thinkers too.
I remember when I got this book from you and I started to skim and scan; chapter six immediately caught my attention. In fact, it was the first chapter I read. The messages in it resonated with me for so many reasons which I will share in another blog. Anyhow, I agree with the comment about male students being confident to state they are really good at math. Last year, I remember working in a grade two class where the girls and boys would sit on the carpet- boys on one side girls on the other. Majority of the time the boys were the ones that would raise their hands the fastest to respond to my statement or question. I think it is important for us to disrupt what might be seen as the "norm". During turn and talks, I would ask that they talk to someone of the opposite gender. If the males wanted to share, they had to share what their female counter parts said to them and vice versa. I think that having female teachers/administrators who love math and enjoy teaching it might influence our female students to feel more empowered to say "I am really good at math!" and to have their voices heard. Sanvi in grade three is that student who confidently challenges anyone in the class to explain their thinking or prove they are right without coming across as I know it all. She loves math and has said she is really good at me in front of others. Not a lot of female students are "bold" enough to make that statement; maybe they are unsure how it will be perceived or maybe they are consciously aware. There could be so many different reasons. However, I feel it's important that whenever possible we have to disrupt the "norm" of how female mathematicians are perceived. Thanks for us a great post Monica!
ReplyDeleteWhat can I say...as I delve deeper into this book and with my own journey with teaching an inquiry-based math program for the past three years as well as collaborating with other math-loving colleagues, I have started to think that teaching math is more about disrupting the norm than anything else.
ReplyDelete