Jenny Ma
4/5/2020
When I first start to read “Fight the tower ”, I kind of doesn’t really understand the discrimination the author experienced in the academia---probably because nowadays the “academic bully culture” problem is not as serious as before, or probably my education level is not further to experience that. However, this does remind me of a similar situation I experience in my country when I was in high school---the stereotype that boys routinely outperform girls in math and science. This resonates with me most when she mentioned she suffers “ a strong case of imposter syndrome” when she entered the University of California at Berkeley, a top-ranked college, as an undergraduate. It makes me remember when I won the first place in the provincial level Olympiad mathematics competition and decide to choose science as a major, my teachers suggested me changing my mind because “even though gender differences are not obvious for lower- or average-level study, boys do tend to perform better in further education of math and science.” I was shocked by how firmly their voice is and started to doubts my grade---I even have a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as cheating on the competition, even though I achieved it on my own.
Indeed, as the deeper understanding, while there is no actual gender difference in how boys and girls perform in math in elementary school, parents and teachers generally expect boys to outperform girls, starting when children are in kindergarten and first grade(Entwisle & Baker, 1983; Miller & Halpern, 2014). And parents’ and teachers’ expectations can have a real impact on how confident children feel towards themselves and how motivated when they study. I would say I am lucky that my parents do not have this kind of discrimination on my gender and always encourage me to chase my dream.
Works Cited
Ganley, Colleen. “Are Boys Better Than Girls at Math?” Scientific American, Scientific American, 14 Aug. 2018, www.scientificamerican.com/article/are-boys-better-than-girls-at-math/.
LoBue, Vanessa. “Are Boys Really Better Than Girls at Math and Science?” Psychology Today, Sussex Publishers, 8 Apr. 2019, www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-baby-scientist/201904/are-boys-really-better-girls-math-and-science.
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