It was cool to be on an all-girls team. I liked the look on the boys' faces when they lost to a girls team. I have girls say to me, 'I'm not good at math. They have to be, given the challenge they face. Each student team, including the 10 girls on Emshwiller's crew, was given a box of robot parts and instructions to build a championship machine that could collect balls and drop them in a designated spot.
Trouble is, so many girls want nothing to do with math or science.
The consequences of this thinking are profound. Perhaps that's not surprising, since studies have documented subtle classroom biases that contribute to a drop in girls' confidence, interest and, finally, skills in math and science. Boys are also more likely to be praised for qualities such as competence and intellect, while girls are encouraged to be neat and quiet. I thought, Maybe this class is for really smart people, for boys in particular, so I kind of shied away from participating. One of the most positive effects of the Robotics competition, Chalsma believes, is the role that mentoring plays in reversing this kind of thinking.