Why Not She?
Something irked me while I was grading the final question of a science quiz.
Here is how the question begins:
“A scientist has a sample of a metal that is in the shape of a perfect cylinder, about the size of a marker. Explain how this scientist…”
This question was framed in a gender neutral way. But what about the students’ responses?
- 13 responses were gender neutral. One of those students wrote “he/she” in his response which, I think, demonstrates an intentionality behind being gender neutral. Kudos to him.
- 13 responses used “he”, implying that the scientist in the question is male. Every single girl who scored perfect on this quiz was part of this group!
- 0 responses used “she”
This makes me wonder if half of my class, perhaps subconsciously, associate the scientist profession as male. To help me find out what their thoughts are on this matter, I circled where they wrote “he” on their quizzes and wrote the question “why not she?”. I look forward to the discussions that will result.
But before I give back these quizzes, I will ask my students to draw a scientist and see what kind of pictures I get back. Maybe those 13 students wrote “he” in their responses because they just always use “he” in their general writing. But if when prompted to draw a scientist, they also draw a male, then we need to have a talk.
Ultimately, my goal is for all of my students to believe and understand that being a scientist (or mathematician…) is both for girls and for boys.
