This is excellent, Dinah. It's practical, systematic, encouraging rather than directing. Respectful of interest, open-ended, well-informed by *actual* science history rather than the Great Man hagiographies. It's as close to best practice as I could imagine.
It's not just first-rate intellectual parenting. It's good citizenship. My compliments. It's a pleasure to know you.
"Surround her with possibility" is the best advice for any parent of young girls, no matter what they choose to pursue. Show them their choices are limitless before society does the opposite.
Loved this post. 💕 it’s all the little comments along the way.
I loved math in high school and remember wearing an “I’m too pretty to do math” shirt thinking it an ironic joke while I took calculus. I would’ve loved all the more in jokes ones I’ve been seeing now.
Stumbled into a Java coding class in college, loved it, but was doing general science at the time and didn’t take the second level. So glad the professor said something when we ran into each other otherwise I’m not sure what I would’ve decided on.
Your post made me smile. I thought, this is the future we want for our girls. We need parents like you — open-minded explorers and the first teachers at home. You bought those kits because you saw that your daughter was ready to learn and grow.
😊 Looks like your girl discovered the world of electronics earlier than I did! My very first official job was assembling and soldering UPS units (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) — the devices that keep computers running safely when the power goes out and help regulate voltage fluctuations.
When I read about Ada Lovelace, I was truly impressed. She reminds us how important it is to nurture curiosity early.
Congratulations to your daughter and to her bright future. Wishing her all the best!
Thanks so much Nova. I loved electronics in grade 9. I petitioned the school to create another level of it for grade 10 with my teachers support. But the school denied it. I did really enjoy building and soldering things. So when my daughter showed interested we got her all the tools. It was her grade 6 science project. Sadly after that the interest in soldering waned. Now there is a dusty soldering kit. LOL. But she got to do it and understood how it worked and that was important.
Exactly. We taught our daughter that if you want something, don't wait for prince Charming to give it to you - work hard and go get it yourself! She is now a commercial bush pilot in the arctic. No damsel in distress here!!
Literally brought tears to my eyes for past selves and future littles. Congrats to your daughter for getting accepted to her first choice university, and thank you for this creative and insightful guide. I am not raising any girls right now, but I have a very good friend with one who the 'Code Like a Princess' idea made me immediately think of. Off to send this to her now!
Courtney I am so glad this story resonated with you. It means so much that you shared this with me. I am so glad your friends little girl has a role model like you.
This same pattern is also true for sports. By age 14, more girls drop out of sports than boys do. And it can come from some of the same barriers as STEM does. Drop in confidence, society telling you sports are for boys, lack of opportunity, etc.
It’s unfortunate to see the trend across disciplines, but it makes sense. And a rising tide lifts all boats. Encouraging girls to participate in STEM and providing safe opportunities to do so will impact the culture at large, keeping more girls in sports.
I think a lesson is if you limit a person based on gender, the limit is pre-imposed across culture. And the opposite sentiment is the quicker antidote.
My daughter swam for 11 years from age 6 until finishing off this year at 17, we did notice more girls drop off then boys over the years.
She might have quit a year ago because the club she had been at for 10 years wasn’t supportive of her, but in the end we found her a new club. So she swam 10 years at one club, then moved to a second club for her last year of swimming. It was sad, but the best move we made. She went from coming home in tears from practice to excited to go again.
I can unfortunately relate to that experience. I played softball throughout high school, but I left the first day of soccer try outs bawling and refused to go back. Now that I think about it I definitely left softball practice in tears multiple times too. I can see why people would quit and am also who I am today because I played sports. Well rounded kids for the win!
Parenting is so hard. I think the key is making sure they get exposed to all the things and then when you see they have an interest foster it. Had my daughter shown interest in arts I would have fostered that as well. But I could never get her into writing, or art. She loves to read, but doesn’t want to participate in the creation. Talk to her about biology though, she lights up. All year we would get tidbits of what she was learning in highschool biology, chemistry, and kinesiology.
That's exactly why representation matters. You can't aspire to something you don't know exists. Sometimes one story is enough to open an entirely new possibility.
As a mom to an elementary-age girl, this is highly relevant advice. I am looking for ways right now to further cultivate her mathematical abilities, as her teacher has commented that is her strength and it should be nurtured.
That is fantastic to hear Colette!!! Card games and board games could be great for her. My daughter loves cribbage and playing canasta with cards. She is a fierce Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride player as well. They are fantastic for strategy. She is hard to beat.
This is excellent, Dinah. It's practical, systematic, encouraging rather than directing. Respectful of interest, open-ended, well-informed by *actual* science history rather than the Great Man hagiographies. It's as close to best practice as I could imagine.
It's not just first-rate intellectual parenting. It's good citizenship. My compliments. It's a pleasure to know you.
I am using @stacksave to save these lovely notes.
Thanks so much for the kind words Ruv. This story has been a long time coming and a labour of love. So I appreciate it.
Loved this article.
"Surround her with possibility" is the best advice for any parent of young girls, no matter what they choose to pursue. Show them their choices are limitless before society does the opposite.
Thanks Mariam. This one was a labour of love that is for sure. They really do need to see the possibilities, then they will choose the path.
Hit home - The Cliff Is Real. And It Is Still There.🙌 good piece to read. Thanks
Thanks for the kind words!!!
Loved this post. 💕 it’s all the little comments along the way.
I loved math in high school and remember wearing an “I’m too pretty to do math” shirt thinking it an ironic joke while I took calculus. I would’ve loved all the more in jokes ones I’ve been seeing now.
Stumbled into a Java coding class in college, loved it, but was doing general science at the time and didn’t take the second level. So glad the professor said something when we ran into each other otherwise I’m not sure what I would’ve decided on.
Yes. All the comments along the way don't help do they, except for when they do like your professor's comment!
Your post made me smile. I thought, this is the future we want for our girls. We need parents like you — open-minded explorers and the first teachers at home. You bought those kits because you saw that your daughter was ready to learn and grow.
😊 Looks like your girl discovered the world of electronics earlier than I did! My very first official job was assembling and soldering UPS units (Uninterruptible Power Supplies) — the devices that keep computers running safely when the power goes out and help regulate voltage fluctuations.
When I read about Ada Lovelace, I was truly impressed. She reminds us how important it is to nurture curiosity early.
Congratulations to your daughter and to her bright future. Wishing her all the best!
I am using @stacksave to keep all these lovely notes.
Thanks so much Nova. I loved electronics in grade 9. I petitioned the school to create another level of it for grade 10 with my teachers support. But the school denied it. I did really enjoy building and soldering things. So when my daughter showed interested we got her all the tools. It was her grade 6 science project. Sadly after that the interest in soldering waned. Now there is a dusty soldering kit. LOL. But she got to do it and understood how it worked and that was important.
Exactly. We taught our daughter that if you want something, don't wait for prince Charming to give it to you - work hard and go get it yourself! She is now a commercial bush pilot in the arctic. No damsel in distress here!!
What a career!!! That job is no joke! It must be a rewarding, but some times scary job. You must be so proud.
We really are, every single day.
Literally brought tears to my eyes for past selves and future littles. Congrats to your daughter for getting accepted to her first choice university, and thank you for this creative and insightful guide. I am not raising any girls right now, but I have a very good friend with one who the 'Code Like a Princess' idea made me immediately think of. Off to send this to her now!
Courtney I am so glad this story resonated with you. It means so much that you shared this with me. I am so glad your friends little girl has a role model like you.
I am saving lovely notes like this with @stacksave.
This same pattern is also true for sports. By age 14, more girls drop out of sports than boys do. And it can come from some of the same barriers as STEM does. Drop in confidence, society telling you sports are for boys, lack of opportunity, etc.
It’s unfortunate to see the trend across disciplines, but it makes sense. And a rising tide lifts all boats. Encouraging girls to participate in STEM and providing safe opportunities to do so will impact the culture at large, keeping more girls in sports.
I think a lesson is if you limit a person based on gender, the limit is pre-imposed across culture. And the opposite sentiment is the quicker antidote.
My daughter swam for 11 years from age 6 until finishing off this year at 17, we did notice more girls drop off then boys over the years.
She might have quit a year ago because the club she had been at for 10 years wasn’t supportive of her, but in the end we found her a new club. So she swam 10 years at one club, then moved to a second club for her last year of swimming. It was sad, but the best move we made. She went from coming home in tears from practice to excited to go again.
I can unfortunately relate to that experience. I played softball throughout high school, but I left the first day of soccer try outs bawling and refused to go back. Now that I think about it I definitely left softball practice in tears multiple times too. I can see why people would quit and am also who I am today because I played sports. Well rounded kids for the win!
This is a beautiful piece - and hit me on many levels.
My case is unusual. - I am a child of a scientific PhD mother- attained sometime around 1960 - when it must have been incredibly unusual.
I had an incredibly pro-science upbringing from her
And was top of the class at science and maths at school
But it never really lit me up...
I just did it because I was good at it, and because I'd never really been exposed to intellectual challenge within other fields
Eventually this led to an identity crisis at uni - I dropped my maths degree after a year (not because I couldn't do it - I won a prize that year)
I still remember my mother's look of horror when I announced I'd earn a BA, not a BSc 😂
But the error here wasn't that she'd promoted science - or corrected for societal bias.
It was that she'd been dismissive and not encouraged exploration of what else might be on offer.
Which was probably reflects just how determined she must have had to be to succeed in embarking on a scientific PhD in the late 1950s
Parenting isn't easy! (Now I have the reverse problem: persuading my young boys that life isn't entirely about 'hard' sciences😂)
Parenting is so hard. I think the key is making sure they get exposed to all the things and then when you see they have an interest foster it. Had my daughter shown interest in arts I would have fostered that as well. But I could never get her into writing, or art. She loves to read, but doesn’t want to participate in the creation. Talk to her about biology though, she lights up. All year we would get tidbits of what she was learning in highschool biology, chemistry, and kinesiology.
Thanks for this article, Dinah. I'm sure your daughter will go on to become a great biochemist - wishing her tons of success!
Thanks Daria.
Had I grown up in this day and age, I would have definitely gone into STEM.
I still feel like an outsider in STEM. And struggle to consider myself under the umbrella even though I work in tech.
I feel like a whimsical, nerdy, uplifting web witch most of the time and that’s not a mold I see often.
Your daughter is incredible and so lucky to have you guiding her! Embrace that magic and thank you for sharing!!!
Loved this article!
Thanks so much Chelsey!!! I am still glad you found it later in life. Also, you aren't an outsider, you are a trailblazer!
That's exactly why representation matters. You can't aspire to something you don't know exists. Sometimes one story is enough to open an entirely new possibility.
Thank you for the mention Dinah.
Happy Friday
As a mom to an elementary-age girl, this is highly relevant advice. I am looking for ways right now to further cultivate her mathematical abilities, as her teacher has commented that is her strength and it should be nurtured.
That is fantastic to hear Colette!!! Card games and board games could be great for her. My daughter loves cribbage and playing canasta with cards. She is a fierce Settlers of Catan and Ticket To Ride player as well. They are fantastic for strategy. She is hard to beat.
We like matching card games in our house. Also, we have been doing the math portion from Hooked on Phonics. Thank you for the recommendations Dinah.