What happened to that sweet little girl who used to come running home from school with a smile on her face? This is what many parents begin to think as their daughters enter middle school and face a whole host of new social and educational situations. Parents need to realize that they have a great influence on their daughters. They need to set high expectations for girls and provide experiences that will contribute to success in school. Many people don’t realize that expectations from family and community can influence a girls’ decision as much as peer pressure.
In middle school, girls need to be open minded and creative. They need to go on computers at school and in the library and insist on their turn with the computer. Often, at the middle school level, girls don’t take technology classes because the high number of boys in the classes intimidates them. Many girls in middle school are so concerned about what their peers think about them that it may hinder their choice of courses. Since it is not cool to be smart, teachers find some girls withholding answers and not trying as hard as they might because they do not want to be teased by their friends. Teachers need to focus on calling on girls and boys an equal amount of times. In one middle school in Rhode Island, the only computer requirement is keyboarding skills in the sixth grade. In fourth grade, the number of girls and boys who like math and science is about the same, but by eighth grade twice as many boys than girls show an interest in these subjects. (Imaginary Lines, 2001) There are new organizations that focus on providing support to girls who are interested in math, science and technology. The former astronaut Sally Ride founded one such organization called Imaginary Lines.
For a nation that prides itself on being democratic, we do not do a very good job of making all of our school children feel equal. Gender inequalities can contribute to women ending up in lower paying jobs. One study in England found that 81% of candidates in Information Technology classes were boys. (Boys and Girls Divide Over Subjects, 2001) That figure is just unacceptable and educators should focus on encouraging girls to enroll in IT courses. Since Computer Science is based on math, more effort should be placed at keeping Junior High School girls interested in math and science. Children need to be encouraged to pick from all options available to them at school. In 2000, only 15% of students taking the Computer Science Advanced Placement exam were girls. (Gehring, 2001)