Most teachers are women. Gender does not impact an individual’s ability to teach. But it does impact how much a student personally identifies with the teacher. Girls identify more with female teachers than boys do and they are more likely to emulate the traits of a female teacher. There is a strong correlation between a female teacher’s comfort level with math and the female students’ progress in math during their time with that teacher. If the female teacher feels confident in math, girls’ math scores improve significantly. If the female teacher lacks confidence in math, girls’ math scores declined. This correlation did not happen with boy students nor with girls with male teachers.
Unfortunately, teacher preparation programs do not adequately train future teachers for rigorous math instruction. Since most elementary school teachers are women, girls get hit with a double whammy. Not only are they often getting math instruction that frequently lacks rigor, girls may also identify being not good at math as a female trait. This in turn affects a girl's own confidence and accomplishment in math.
At Mathnasium of Parker, we want to inspire more girls to pursue opportunities in math and science. If your daughter has ever had or currently has a female teacher who lacks confidence in math, bring your daughter to Mathnasium of Parker. We are woman-owned and have lots of women on our staff. Not only will your daughter get great instruction, she will interact with and observe plenty women role models who love math! Fill out the form at the top right of the page for more information.
This article was written by and owned by Cuttlefish Copywriting. It is copyright protected. Mathnasium of Parker has permission to use it. Other Mathnasium locations should contact Heather at [email protected] before using it.
