Girls, Boys Pursue After-School Science In Separate Clubs Adams Students Welcome Division Of Group By Gender, Teacher Says

Tiffany Stilwell, a bouncy third-grader with red hair, has a definite opinion when it comes to sharing microscopes, test tubes and Bunsen burners with boys her own age.

She would rather not.

“I’m shy, and I don’t feel like talking in front of boys,” Tiffany said. “I feel comfortable with girls.”

Tiffany, 8, is a member of Marquita Meyer’s after-school science club for girls at Adams Elementary.

After working with a combined science club for four years, Meyer, a fifth-grade teacher, decided three years ago to split the club in two, creating one club for boys, another for girls. As an after-school activity, the school district has no sanction against the division.

To Meyer’s surprise, girls and boys responded enthusiastically.

“I tried it, and I was amazed by the number of girls and boys who turned out. I had a much larger response than previous years when I offered one club,” Meyer said.

Meyer’s decision relied upon her own experience attending an all-girl high school in the 1950s and the findings of a 1990 study commissioned by the American Association of University Women.

The AAUW reported that while 52 percent of high school boys think they would enjoy being scientists, only 29 percent of girls share that belief.

The percentages indicate a sharp decline from near equal levels of interest reported by elementary school students.

Various theories abound as to reasons for the decline. Researchers cite a drop in adolescent girls’ self-esteem, the pressure to socialize, and a dearth of visible female role models.

Meyer said she is trying to address the decline.

“I want to familiarize girls with the tools of science at an early age and build self-confidence,” Meyer said.

A disproportionate number of girls in sixth and seventh grades drop out of math and science, said Karen Cochran, math teacher at Ferris High School. “I would like to see that trend reversed.”

But opinions vary as to how to reverse the trend. Educators are of two opinions, said Leanne Reeves, professor of education at Eastern Washington University.

Some educators say that separating boys from girls “further alienates the two genders and treats them unequally,” Reeves said. “Others think the solution is to provide separate science and math classes.”

Scott Stowell, Spokane School District science coordinator, is skeptical of Meyer’s separate-but-equal approach.

“I’m not sure that separating boys from girls is the total solution to promoting math and science education for girls,” Stowell said. “What’s more important is the message that young people get in their homes and from their peers.”

Lee Swedberg, professor of biology at Eastern Washington University said parents can help change stereotypes and boost girls’ and boys’ confidence.

“When a little girl comes to you for help with mathematics, she shouldn’t automatically go to father,” Swedberg said. “And when boys need help with writing, they shouldn’t automatically be sent to mother.”

Swedberg said “same-sex science clubs are cropping up all over the country.”

Aida Fraser-Hammer’s daughter, Martha-Simone, a third-grader at Adams, is a member of Meyer’s all-girl science club. Mother and daughter like the club’s format.

“As a parent I think it’s good,” Fraser-Hammer said. “She doesn’t have to worry about boys.

“The girls shy away from doing things because the boys are more aggressive.”

At Adams, many boys also welcome the chance to work with their own gender.

“Because it’s mostly boys, we have real fun.” said 10-year-old William Banks.

“Letting girls in the group? That would be a tough decision,” he said. “Girls could bother the boys sometimes, or it could be the other way.”

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