Getting students interested in math and science starts out with how they are viewed by

the teacher in an early childhood classroom. An effective teacher should build the confidence of

their students on both subjects. In the United States, women are underrepresented in math,

science and engineering careers. Girls are influenced by their teachers in their first years of

primary school on whether they are confident in these subjects. While men appear in these fields

more than women, we need to make a change on how we treat children in learning these

subjects.

A teacher can negatively or positively affect how their students view math, science, and

engineering careers. “A 2010 study (PNAS, Vol. 107, No. 5) by University of Chicago

psychologist Sian Beilock, PhD, on women education teachers” viewed that, “More than 90

percent of elementary school teachers are women, and studies show that elementary education

majors have higher levels of math anxiety than any other major” (Azar, 2010). Teachers should

work on having their views not affect the children negatively. Girls tend to “pick up on their

teachers’ anxiety and not boys because research shows that young children are more likely to

emulate adults of the same gender” (Azar, 2010). Now this is not viewed as such a problem with

boys because of the lack of men as teachers.

Teachers who are aware of this issue should take extra precautions on how they treat

subjects that can influence math, science, and engineering. In my classroom, I would like to

make these subjects as entertaining and educational for the children to participate. This involves

using hands on activities and going above and beyond with integrating these subjects into other

subjects. I would need to encourage my students to feel confident on what they are learning and

how they can relate to these topics. I myself should be confident in these subjects as a role model
for students. The goal is letting students believe that these subjects apply to them in the real

world.
 Work Cited

Azar, B. (2010, August). American Psychological Association. Retrieved from

https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/07-08/gender-gap.aspx