“Many girls perform well academically during their elementary school years, but during middle school low confidence results in poor academic performance, less assertiveness, and lower expectations for future educational plans and career paths.” (p. 60 Brown, 2007)

Many stories in this week’s reading remind me of my middle school life. The quote above resonates with me most. When I was in elementary school (Grade 1-6), I had good grades and gain much attention from teachers and peers. Then I entered middle school. In the first math class, the teacher said learning math well in middle school made a huge difference in your future academic achievement; girls, including those who did well in math in elementary school should work harder because boys could make quick progress in middle school. Though she also reinforced that boys should also word hard in math for one reason or another, her suggestions for girls really sent me an implicit message that I might have somewhat difficulty in learning math. Interestingly, it turned out that my math scores just met the average, sometimes below the average, till the end of high school, while my scores of other subjects were obviously above the average. I gradually lost confidence in learning math and believed that it was true that I was one of the girls who did not have a math mind. Ironically, when I was in my senior year in college in which I did not have math courses for those four years because of my major (English-Chinese translation), after one month preparation I took GRE test and got 167 out of 170 in quantitative sections.

Adolescents, in seeking their identity, can be easily influenced by their surroundings, by their peers and adults, by others’ opinions and expectations, and by how others view them and how they view themselves. As teachers, we should give support and guidance in a positive way, but we should be sensitive enough.