Where are the girls?
Posted by nancyscofield on October 24, 2006
I just finished viewing the video for Chris Kaminski’s presentation for the K12 Online Conference. In it, he had students from his web design class speak their thoughts about education and technology. They had some very interesting things to say.
One thing stuck out in my mind, however. Where are the girls? Out of a dozen or students who spoke on his video, only one (the last one) was a girl.
Is that a trend in most high school technology classes (electives?) Is it just this particular class, or is there truly a gender imbalance in these classes? Our high school has a video class, and both of my children are in it. There are about 12-14 students, and my daughter is the only girl. I’m so glad that they have this class and that they are learning to film, edit video, and produce real-world products (filming games for our local cable channel, writing and producing a documentary on a former student, etc.) It’s an incredible opportunity, and as a parent, I’m thrilled that my daughter is taking it this year along with my son. But even she has made a comment on their class blog that there need to be more girls! What can we do to encourage that?
October 25th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I think that the reason why there is no girls because they aren’t very much like guys. Some girls like to do all the cool things that most boys don’t like to do. So i think that we should introduce movie editing to more of the girls. I am glad to see your daughter, Bri, in that class it shows a lot about her, that she isn’t afraid of what people think of her. She is a good role model for the girls. But my main concern is that most girls are not very smart with the computer skills that the guys know. Well i hope we can get a lot more girls in the school more involved with technology.
Wriiten by: Meagan
October 25th, 2006 at 2:09 pm
I think that there arent as many girls in thiss class because in my opinion, more guyeas are more interested in technology. It could also be that since this shcool is so small, maby there wasnt enough room for anymore people to get into the class. Or it could also be since our school is so small, there dosnt apear to be that many girls interested in technology. If our school was bigger, it might be eaisier to tell if more girls liked technology better because there would be more girls and maybe even more room in the classes.
October 25th, 2006 at 2:40 pm
I feel that there are many reasons why girls really arent in the video classes. My first reason is because I think that most girls dont find it that intersting. I mean if there was just a class of all girls that could do the video class I think that many more girls would do it! But there isnt many girls in there and not all girls want to sit there and hang out with alot of guys. My other reason why I think that there arent many girls in the video class is because no one ever introduces it to us. Like I didnt even know that there was a video class until I got in journalism and saw them in there. But also many girls want classes with their friends and if their friends dont take it then they wont. So yeah I think that it would be a good idea to tell more girls that there is a video class so that everyone can get involved.
October 25th, 2006 at 2:41 pm
I think that it’s not so much that girls aren’t that involved in technology, but they generally aren’t that interested in video work. Either that or they just don’t take the initiative to get into the class. I’m slightly interested in video work, it might be fun, but one thing I’m not interested in is being at every single game to film. That’s the only reason that I can’t be in that class. I don’t have the time to go and film every single game; I’m too busy for that. A lot of girls are probably too busy for that. It’s just a big bunch of reasons. Some girls aren’t interested, some are but can’t, and some are but don’t. The guys that I see in the class are the ones that generally don’t do very many sports (at least not the fall sports) and aren’t very bogged down otherwise (as far as I know). Technology in general is pretty well balanced. Girls and guys alike spend too much time on the computer (primarily myspace). I think the technology imbalance is mainly confined to the video class. Also, most guys have a different sense of humor than girls and like to do weird random things, so most of the girls (with the exception of that crazy Bri chick..
I love ya Bri) kind of inch away from the class.
October 26th, 2006 at 8:49 am
I’ve noticed locally that girls are not seeking to be included in areas of technology, including video and hardware opportunities. I think this situation has to do with tools! I don’t think girls feel comfortable with pliers and screwdrivers and wrenches and computer hardware and video cameras…
Perhaps elementary schools should have a tools-for-girls class, since apparently they are not getting that around the home.
It would be a tough sell because it’s not something that would be tested on state-mandated tests.
I would like to teach at the elementary level. I would give kids tools of all sorts for kinesthetic learning experiences. I’d give the girls pliers and screwdrivers and cameras, and I’d give the boys measuring cups and eggbeaters and spatulas and we’d have a great kinesthetic classroom. With a curriculum that includes non-traditional use of tools, maybe stereotypes wouldn’t be so entrenched for adolescents…So worried about what people are thinking about them anyway.
Anyhow, a few thoughts,
d
October 27th, 2006 at 2:27 pm
i think there are many reasons why there arent as many girls as guys in video class such as: if there are mostly guys in the video class girls wouldnt want to be in it because their friends arent in it. another reason why not a lot of girls arent in it is because they didnt know. i know i didnt. it seems like in the video class it is mainly one group of friends instead of a variety of people. the final reason why i think there arent as many girls is because mostly in the video class they make kind of stupid movies and most girls are more interested in more serious topics. these are my reasons why i think there arent many girls in video class.
October 31st, 2006 at 10:43 am
I dont think the absence of girls present in technology classes is due to lack of interest. I’d say, and im sure most girls can agree, that girls may just not want to work with the guys. Our outtakes on technology are different and most girls dont want to be in crazy stunts that arent unlike the ones shown on MTV. Generally the guys take over the classes and they want to do different fight scenes or plots where people are getting injured, and sure, i’ll admit, it is all very entertaining. Although it is a role most girls wouldn’t want to play.
October 31st, 2006 at 12:17 pm
I think that the absence of girls in the technology class is a combination of many different things. I agree with danielle in that many girls do not wish to attempt to get into a class normally filled with boys whose idea of entertainment and journalism in the media is rolling the newsanchors down the outside bleachers in a trashcan. i think, however, that part of the reason lies in the fact that girls in general just are not as inclined as boys to be involved in technology. It is less interesting to us for much the same reason that home economics is less interesting to boys- it just doesnt appeal to as many girls as boys.
October 31st, 2006 at 3:38 pm
This is difficult for me to write about because I’m not a typical girl. I’m actually one of the few girls who would want to be in a technology class. I just never got the chance to be in ours which I’m sure is the case for other girls like myself. A couple girls have told me that they’re not “good” with different electronics which are required in technology classes. To me this says that they’re just not interested in it. Like I said, I’m not interested in the same things as a lot of girls so I don’t know why they don’t like technology. Maybe it’s because in the past, technology has been known as “a man’s career field.” I don’t know how we can encourage more girls to join these classes but hopefully we will see more in the future.
September 12th, 2007 at 12:11 pm
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