Girls liking Science

[Signorelli]

Dear Susan,
  I see your comments here all the time and I think you do a great job
encouraging the women in science in this forum.  I also am astounded at the
terrific work you do on  your homepage.  You must be a terrific role model.
  But, more to the point, my dad was a science teacher at a community
college but never encouraged us in science.  He did force feed us some
ecology and botany on family vacations.  Therefore, my family can't be the
reason I'm a scientist.
  I have often tried to figure out what drove me to pursue science and I
think the message string hit a live chord with me.  As an undergraduate, I
did a 2 semester unpaid research assistantship with a young professor.  He
personally encouraged me to continue my education in science and to look for
a job in research.  Before that, most of my science teachers STUNK.  I mean,
I guess they were good coaches .... but their science teaching was a below
par.  Secondly,  I've never been a follower and I think science gave me an
outlet for the ultimate in my personality, to forge the lesser traveled path
as a woman in science.  I know from speaking to a close chemist friend that
the two of us chose the path to science because it was the most difficult
thing we could think of.  Is there a way to select for such a masochist
population?  :)

Denise Signorelli

S L Forsburg wrote:

> There are a number of links to sites on the web that address this
> topic on the Women in Bio launch Page (see URL below), under the
> "Chilly Climate" and "education" headings.
>
> Of particular interest is a review of a book on why undergrads leave
> science.  It argues that girls need direct positive feedback more than
> boyts to feel they are doing well;  they have a harder time generating
> this feeling internally, and if they don't get it, they choose something
> else that provides it for them.  of course the usual response is,
> then girls should learn to react like boys.  The point to discuss
> is whether we hae a responsibility to turn girls into boys in this
> regard, or whether individual students should get the feedback they need
> which means the instructors should be the ones to change.
>
> Interestingly I see some of this tendency in myself.  Just ONCE
> I would like to hear something positive, instead of negatives or
> nothing at all.  It's just part of who *I*  am, and apparently
> part of many young women as well.  Guess I'm not the odd bird I
> thought...
>
> --
> -susan
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> S L Forsburg, PhD  forsburg at salk.edu
> Molecular Biology and Virology Lab
> The Salk Institute, La Jolla CA
> http://pingu.salk.edu/~forsburg/lab.html
>
> Women in Biology Internet Launch Page
> http://pingu.salk.edu/~forsburg/bio.html
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> "These are my opinions.  I don't have
> time to speak for anyone else."
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