Originally Posted by Bostonian
Originally Posted by aquinas
The topic of the thread is the role of parents (fathers, specifically) in promoting interest in STEM among girls. You have indicated that you are not actively encouraging your daughter in the pursuit of STEM, and that she isn't showing an early leaning in that direction. Thank you for your contribution.
I am encouraging my daughter, just not making a special effort because she is a girl.

All of my children did EPGY (often while sitting on my lap) and now attend Russian School of Math. I often help my children with RSM homework and quiz them on math. My wife and I encouraged our daughter, now in 6th grade to attend the math club. She did for a while, but she never made the team in tryouts and has stopped going. She prefers other clubs, such as running, volleyball, gardening, and art. My two boys do make the math team and are enthusiastic mathletes. My daughter gets straight A's and will be in top track math in 7th grade, the first year that math is tracked. I expect that all my children will take AP exams in calculus and the natural sciences before graduating.

You can expose children to things, but they will decide what they like and are good at.

Thanks for posting about your family, and kudos to your children for their accomplishments.

It's interesting that your two boys are in the math club, but your daughter didn't ultimately participate. It would be valuable to understand some of the drivers behind that, given that she was exposed to (what sounds like) the same instructional approach as her brothers. How was socialization around math different, both at home and at school, if at all?


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