Agree

by Carol Flett

Created on: December 04, 2010

It has long been acknowledged that boys enjoy math and science more than girls do, and although in recent years educational institutes have tried their best to place a blame on early childhood training, and then tried just as hard to change the situation, it still remains a consistent fact.

According to the National Network for Child Care, boys do continue to outperform girls on standardized tests of math and science achievement, and girls are more likely to opt out of maths and sciences in high school than boys. No matter how hard educaters are trying to change this they can't seem to budge the statistics.

Even the American Association of University Women acknowledges the fact that fewer women enter scientific fields, and they are doing everything they can to turn the situation around. But girls in general just do not gain as much enjoyment from these subjects as boys do.

This was originally understood to be a biological difference between the sexes, but this thinking is hard for many educators to accept. The question is now being asked whether this is actually a biological difference that cannot be changed or whether it is caused by stereotyping in early years.

If boys enjoy math and science more than girls do, is it because they have been encouraged to play with mechanical toys and building blocks while girls are kept away from anything scientific or mathematical?

This is the consensus of the AAUW. They believe the whole problem exists because girls are pushed into playing with dolls and not given the freedom to follow their desires for more spatial type activities. And yet, even very young children have these same differences in brain patterns and preferences. Girls usually have greater verbal capabilities learning to speak earlier, and are often more drawn to social ideas and thought patterns, where little boys love loud noises, fast moving rides and toys, and pulling things apart to see how they work.

This is not something that is trained into them. The average parent does not encourage their little boy to pull apart his new toy; it is just in him. But parents very seldom have that problem with little girls. Little girls may have curiosity, but it is seldom strong enough for them to want to pull something apart and ruin it.

In the present world we live in, children generally are given the toys they beg for. It is far more common for a boy to beg for a mechanical toy than a girl, just as it is far more likely that a young man will enjoy math and science than a young lady.

Statistics measure averages. Exceptions always exist. Not all boys are scientific and mathematical, and not all girls are verbal. Some girls love maths and sciences, but they are in the minority. Some boys hate it and they, too, are in the minority.

Whether you acknowledge a difference in the biological construction of the brain, or attribute the preference to a meddling mama, if you look at school records or any other research on the subject, you have to come to the conclusion that, in general, boys do enjoy math and science more than girls do.

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