Stepping into Mrs. G.’s classroom was like stepping into another dimension for me. By merely walking through our adjoining closet, I could appear at the front of her room and quickly get questions answered or share important news. Mrs. G. taught math. I taught language arts. Our classrooms connected. Our subject matter? Not so much.
Mrs. G.’s classroom might as well have been Mars and her textbooks written by Martians. I’m a words-and-communication guy. A pen-and-paper, learned-on-a-typewriter type. Yes, perhaps even an emotional-response-over-logic man.
While much has been argued about how predisposed girls and boys might be to learning math and science, the STEM initiative aims to achieve some sort of balance and bring both boys and girls together in science, technology, engineering, and math education.
As the teacher manning the front lines, your opinion matters. You are in the classroom every day; and whether you are a math, science, language arts, or social studies teacher, you must have stories to share that inform your own opinion regarding this gender difference. Even a librarian, aide, or media specialist will have something to say.
Do you think boys and girls have an unbridgeable divide in their abilities to learn math and science? Is this more a myth than a fact? What have you experienced to support your opinion?
There are no wrong answers at the Upper Grades Exchange. This is a safe place where you can let your voice be heard.
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