In a recent article
published by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS),
author Maggie Kuo wrote,
“Female college
students are 1.5 times more likely than their male counterparts to leave
science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) after taking the first
course in the calculus series, new research finds. The study,
published last week in PLOS ONE,
supports what many educators have observed and earlier studies have documented:
A lack of confidence in mathematical ability, not mathematical capability
itself, is a major factor in dissuading female students from pursuing STEM.”
Even though I’ve been fairly busy coding a conversational AI
and trying to figure out just what it means to be a CTO in a Silicon Valley
startup, I’ve honestly thought about this almost every day. Just how can it be
that one class, one simple yet important class, would drive any students from a
career in science, technology, engineering or math? And why would females be more
likely than men to do this?
The article went on to explain the study behind this theory
and it has the data to back it up. Since then, I’ve read many different
articles and opinions, all offering up solutions to academia, while also trying
to figure out the female brain. After spending a bit of time mulling it over, I
realized something very important: I’m a female, I struggled with the first
calculus course in college, and NEVER once did I think it meant that Computer
Science wasn’t for me.
When I was a senior in high school, I decided to pursue
Computer Science and applied to three Big Ten schools (I grew up in the Midwest
and loved football, so Big Ten it was.) I ended up at Purdue University in West
Lafayette, IN merely because they sent me my acceptance letter first. That was
the extent of my college application cycle. I also had a bad case of senioritis
and despite my father telling me I was being a fool, I dropped pre-calculus and
went math free my last year of high school. I loved writing software, but didn’t
like math. You see how already my narrative is different?
Fast forward to the next fall and I failed the entrance exam
for Calculus I. Failed it. I had to take a remedial math class for computer
science majors, which was basically the pre-calc class I should have taken in
high school. Worse, because I wasn’t in Calculus I, I couldn’t take the first
computer science course in the sequence, CS 180, and instead had to take a
FORTRAN class with the IT students. Better yet, NEITHER of these classes
counted towards my computer science degree. Basically, I was already a semester
behind and I hadn’t even started college.
Yet never once did I think I should quit or change majors. Why in
the world would I give up a career in software just because I wasn’t a genius
at calculus? The thought never occurred to me. Instead, I took the remedial
semester and entered Calculus I, as well as CS 180 in the spring and aced them.
The remediation set me up for success. It enabled me to become a stronger
student. Four years later, I graduated on time and headed out to work for
Motorola. I’d forgotten about the whole thing until I read Kuo’s article. Now
I’m wondering why I was so blessed, not because I chose CS as a degree, nor
even for the chance of remediation, but blessed because I didn’t consider it a
failure. Was I embarrassed? A bit. But
walk away from my CS degree? Never.
Now, I don’t consider
myself special, but obviously the idea that anyone would quit a STEM degree
simply because Calculus I is a pain in the ass doesn’t equate in my mind. And I
don’t think this is a result of academia coming to the rescue, but a direct
result of my upbringing.
The state of your mind is what paints the reality around
you. Something is boring, hard, interesting, easy, or logical based on your
viewpoint. Somewhere along the line, our kids are being taught that math is
hard. Or only for special people. It also appears that males are better able to
overcome this idea and push through, even if they’re not that great at it
themselves, yet females take it personally. As if a lack of skill in calculus
means you won’t be a good scientist. That’s absolute nonsense.
The issue probably lies somewhere between societal bias and
poor math instruction in our schools. There are plenty of articles that make
suggestions for improvements in these areas, but in my experience both society
and the academia are slow to change. There’s
really only one place where girls, and boys for that matter, can be taught that
math is for everyone and that a love of science isn’t determined by one’s ease
with higher mathematics—the home.
Yes, home is where the heart is, and home is where the
future scientists of this world are born. It matters to me that more women
enter computer science, not because I love it, but because this is the career
of disruption. We’re in the middle of
the transition from the Industrial Age to the Information Age and the end
result will be what our children make of it. If most of our women, and many
of our males, avoid technology because they see Calculus I as a deterrent, then
I see a much bleaker view of the future.
The current crop of Silicon Valley hotshots isn’t too
impressive when it comes to using technology to improve human lives, but that
topic is for next week’s blog. Right now I want to share a few things that
parents can do to help their daughters get past the Calculus I gate and into
the rich and rewarding world of science and technology.
1. Starting 5th grade, get your girls
to play hacker/math minded video games.
The first time kids start to hate math is
5/6th grade. I call this Wall Number 1. Honestly, this is completely
reasonable because who really enjoys converting mixed fractions to improper
fractions and then subtracting them with denominators as different as night and
day? Oh, and include borrowing in that, will you? Yuck. Everyone, except those
in love with numbers, hates it. Yes, schools could improve the process, but
this is the time where parents need to encourage their kids to not judge math
as horrible and instead to see it as the practice of teaching the mind to solve
puzzles. Puzzle and logic are the keys
to science careers, not irregular fractions. How to help them believe in themselves? Get
them to play video games that use math in a not so obvious way. This is the
perfect age to do so. Games like Minecraft, Portal Two and “else Heart.Break().”
Many girls like these games, so encourage them to play! This is the age when my
dad gave me my first computer and I taught myself how to code in Basic. But
today’s children can use beautifully written software to play with mathematical
concepts in a real way, in addition to the horrible decimal to fraction
lessons. Yes, they still need to learn math in school, but now is the time for
parents to help them understand that math is not boring, rather it can also be filled
with story, drama and problem solving. Click here for a list of hacker/programming types of games.
2. Starting middle school, teach them to code
You may have done this sooner, but for
those parents who have a girl who’s interested in science, get her to code by
eight grade. Why? Because this is just before Wall Number 2: Algebra II—the
second mathematical course where many kids fall out of the system. Algebra II
isn’t easy, but if you’ve had them playing Minecraft since they were ten, the
abstract math course might not feel so horrible. But more importantly, now is
the time to teach them that good programming is independent of being super
smart at math. Should you study math if you wish to be a part of the scientific
community? Yes. But do you have to love it or be a genius to code well? No.
When I was in 8th grade, Apple donated several Mac II’s to my school
as well as the money to hire a teacher. As a decent math student, I was invited
to take part in the afterschool program and I loved it! I continued coding in
Basic all the way through High School, until I took a Pascal class from Sr.
Mary Newhart, the sister of the one and only Bob Newhart. (Yes, this is sadly
the closest brush of fame I’ve ever had.) It was an all girl’s class, and even
though I didn’t even take pre-calc because math bored me so much, I aced
programming.
Puberty
is the time to let girls know, that success in programming doesn’t mean you
have to ace math. Instead it means you must be able to see connections within
systems, to follow the problem down the rabbit hole to its solution, and put
the pieces of the puzzle back together. Is this mathematical thinking? Yes.
Is it Algebra II? No.
Encourage your science-minded daughter to
take a programming class by age 12. If there aren’t any at school, send her to
the Alexa Café summer camp program,
then send her to the other ID Tech camps, or anything similar. Girls Who Code is also a great resource. Use summer to be
a time of exploring her mind. Take it into your own hands and show her that
programming is more than Algebra II.
3. Encourage them to take AP Calculus as
seniors, but don’t make the grade that important
I know this is hard. College is so difficult
to get into and many are tempted to just avoid any classes that might make the
GPA go down. It’s too bad you can’t take an AP class as pass/fail. If your high
school has that option, then go for it. If not, then encourage your daughter to
take the class her senior year, even if it risks lowering her GPA. If she’s applying
for a STEM related degree, the college will want to see it in her course
schedule anyway.
Have her take it, but don’t force her to
sit for the AP exam, unless she’s really gung ho. Do whatever you can to
support her. Teach her now that her grade in this class, unless it’s a complete
failure, doesn’t reflect how great she’ll be as an engineer, or a food
scientist, or a neurobiologist. Taking it now will help prepare her for
Calculus I in college, there’s no way around it. Every science degree demands
it and for good reason. The study of
higher mathematics shouldn’t be reserved only for the brightest among us.
Everyone deserves to study it, if not to understand the fundamentals of matter
and nature. Furthermore, scientists need the mind training—but you don’t
need to get an A in it. Probably not even a B. Again, grades seem to make a
millennial tremble with fear and our current generation of females tends to be more
perfectionist than in the past, but don’t give in. A “B-“ in AP Calculus will
be the thing that enables your daughter to go into her first year of college
prepared and ready to study. She can get through that Calculus I requirement
with ease and then blow on by to the good stuff. There’s no reason she can’t.
So don’t give into the fear. Encourage her to
go for it. Get her tutoring if she needs it. Do whatever it takes to show your
daughter that she’s more than that grade, that instead she’s a critical
thinker, and has every right to pursue a career in science and technology, even
if she doesn’t love math.
