Helping Girls to Excel in Math & Science and Use In Careers

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While fashionable now, the expression, "It takes a village to raise a child," was not only true for all children in past generations but also for young inquiring minds of the 21st century. The Sesame Street generation is different from that of earlier decades and centuries, where simply reading, writing and arithmetic basics were enough. It doesn't take too much to understand this by simply walking in traditional schools now. Students of this generation have a complicated world around them, which is loaded with technology, science advancements, virtual world that moves at a fast pace and a vital need to go far beyond general math concepts exists. More often than not, the technological knowledge of students now exceeds that of the adults that supervise or teach them. Students are bored and the challenges of those outside the traditional European culture are vast.

Too often African American students have parents who are not around to greet them, when they come home from school and when they are there, often there is only one parent, who lacks enough education to challenge them beyond basic skills and expand beyond general school expectations. The future of education is inquiry-based. The role models for African American (AA) students in the last decade have been entertainers and athletes. While this is an optimistic direction, contrasting skills and aspirations of AA in the past, it's far below the expansive opportunities available for our population.

Traditionally, the family unit for AA families has been strong and the maternal component powerful. Mothers can help motivate daughters and girls in this direction, even if their prior experience and work has not utilized strengths in math and science. ...