Message-Id: <3.0.1.16.19971027004044.20e75402@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us>
Date: Mon, 27 Oct 1997 00:40:44
To: "Pinhole Listserv" <pinhole@exploratorium.edu>
From: afortga <afortga@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us>
Subject: Re: Pinhole Daily Digest
In-Reply-To: <n1332915896.7111a@Tesla.exploratorium.edu>
Mills High School in Millbrae, CA will be needing a 3/5 Physics teacher for
the Spring semester. The assignment is two periods of honors physics (75%
of these studetns will take the AP "B" test) and one period of second year
physics (these students take the AP "C"- Part One Test). I will be on
sabbatical, but will be available to come in to help prepare these students
for the AP test, twice a month, after school for 3-4 hours (they know this
already).
If interested please contact Art Fortgang at the Exploratorium Teacher's
Institute, 353 0499, or at Mills (650) 697 3344 or e-mail:
afortga@ed.co.sanmateo.ca.us.
Art
At 11:03 PM 11/10/97 -0800, you wrote:
>
>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
>Date: 10 Nov 1997 08:35:36 U
>From: dleighty@mhsgw.milpitas.k12.ca.us (Dorothy Leighty-Parks)
>Subject: Re: Pinhole Daily Digest
>
>Linda--Would you mind if I copied and distributed your letter to interested
>members of my school? I assume you don't but it is email and email is
>defacto copyrighted so I thought I had best get the official OK.
>
>>----------------------------------------------------------------------
>>
>>Date: 7 Nov 1997 09:06:58 U
>>From: Linda Shore <lindas@isaac.exploratorium.edu>
>>Subject: Re: Pinhole Daily Digest
>>
>>Hi All -- There are actually a number of reasons why young women tend
>>to shy away from the physical sciences. According to research
>>studies that date back at least 10-15 years, factors include (!0 (1)
>>the steroetype that science is a white, male, nerdy profession, (2)
>>lack of mechanical experience in childhood, (3) social pressures that
>>steer young women away from the physical sciences to choose more
>>"acceptable" fields in biology and the health sciences, (4) lack of
>>female role models in the physical sciences, (5) gender inequities in
>>K-12 science education that favor boys.
>>
>>There is only a limited number of things a teacher can do about the
>>social factors that inhibit girls. You can provide them with more
>>hands-on experiences with machinery, bring in women scientists to
>>serve as role models or mentors, and perhaps educate parents who
>>might be inadvertantly sending the message that their daughters
>>should consider more "appropriate" careers -- how many parents
>>imagine their daughters as engineers, chemists, or physicists. Those
>>dreams tend to be projected to their sns.
>>
>>As for what you can do in the classroom, there are actually some
>>things that can help encourage girls to get more involved in physical
>>sciences. I should mention, however, that research also shows that
>>the deciscion that "science is not for me" is made early in life --
>>by about middle school kids have formed strong opinions about science
>>and math. Usually not very positive obnes. If girls are to be
>>encouraged to involve themselves in science, it really has to happen
>>in elementaryschhool.
>>
>>But I digress. What can middle and high school science teachers do?
>>
>>First, make sure that girls are just as involved as the bouys in your
>>classrooms. That means that the girls should do more than just act
>>as the notetaker for a group working together. Perhaps form all-girl
>>groups when putting students togetherto do projects. Also, make sure
>>that girls get an equal opportunity to ask questions and participate
>>in class discussions. There is a tendancy to let the boys "take
>>over" the class. They have more confidence in their abilities, so it
>>makes sence that they are more vocal in class. But remember, the
>>girls actually do have lots of things to say. They just feel; that
>>their comments are "stupid." Do what you can to make everyone feel
>>safe--that no comment or question or observation is a bad one.
>>Finally, try (if you can) to avoid any materials that gender bias or
>>stereatype. This is tough. I'm talking about physics books whose
>>problems deal primarily with the trajectory of baseball, canon fire,
>>or the pressure inside a piston of a car engine. Sure, there are
>>girls interested in these topics. But imagine being a boy whose
>>textbooks have problems that only concern makeup., cooking, etc--the
>>stuff stereotyically a girls domain. The boys would feel pretty left
>>out. Also, watch out for books that don't have images of woemen
>>doing science. A textbook that only shows men doing science isn't
>>helping to make girls feel a part of the profession.
>>
>>Whew! Hope that helps all of you. Obviously this is an issue that I
>>am quite passionate about. As someone who was always the only female
>>physicist in a department, I can teell you that it ain't easy. Being
>>a "trial blazer" is not for the faint of heart. We have a long way
>>to go before the playing field is made equal in the physical
>>sciences, unfortunately.
>>
>>Linda Shore
>
>- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Dorothy Leighty-Parks
> 21354 Meekland Avenue
> Hayward, CA 94541
> (510) 881-4756
>- ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>The great tragedy of Science--The slaying of a beautiful hypothesis
> by an ugly fact. -- T.H. Huxley
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