Gender and Math

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25836419/

First, dear readers, I have a story for you, and this is as true of a story as I will ever tell.
I've been waiting to tell the story, but as with any story, the timing has to be right.
There is a man in NE Ohio who is working on an advanced degree in business. That advanced degree requires math classes.
The man had a phobia of math.
Instead of pushing himself through the classes, the man went to a medical or mind doctor and had the doctor prescribe some anti-anxiety meds and then over the course of some time, the man proved to the university (a well-known, highly regarded university in NE Ohio) that his mental state (anxieties, phobia, depression) kept him from being able to complete his math requirements for the degree he was seeking.
The man was excused from some of the math requirements.
Oh, but alas, there were SOME math classes he would have to take. The system apparently couldn't be manipulated that easily.
So he's taking them online and paying someone to take the classes for him.
He still, apparently, will graduate with a degree which will make future employers think that he has completed coursework that enables him to perform duties within their companies that do require math skills.
This appalls me, and this story has appalled me, and here's why: in my formative education, I was not very good at math. Not at all. As a matter of fact, I barely passed my math classes in high school.
This wasn't because of gender. This simply was because I hadn't been exposed to it very much. In college, I took some math classes but only those that were required for my degree.
Then I started liking math a bit more. And here's why (I know this may sound shocking,) but it's because I was exposed to it and I could progress and teachers never told me I couldn't do it. But knowing my weakness, I knew that I would be behind the curve if I attempted to pursue an advanced degree for which math was required.
And there was a higher degree that I wanted that did require more advanced math skills.
So I worked. I had workbooks and I hired a tutor.
A muscle only gets stronger if you work it. If it's never worked, then it won't grow. If it's not nourished, it won't gain.
As most of you know, I am working on my master's degree in economics. And the last time I checked, I'm a girl. Economics requires calculus and matrix algebra and different forms of mathematical skills.
It was one of the hardest roads I've ever pursued, but I got here, and that's my point.
I've linked to a story above that has been distributed to the masses with the supposedly shocking news that GUESS WHAT .... girls' math skills are reaching those of boys.
Remember what I've said before? Gender is an issue if you make it an issue. It's always been an issue in the area of mathematics and science in the mainstream media. It's time we get over this, get past it, and move on.
I know that's asking too much.
But my purpose in leading with the story about that man and in writing this is to get my point across that a man made excuses for why he couldn't do math. Will anyone point to him and bother to examine the psychological intricacies for why he has such a phobia?
Of course not.
But he'll pass through and pass on, armed with a degree that carries with it a sign that he does have math skills, never performing any of those math requirements. The only thing I can hope is that he'll have to sit through comprehensive exams before the university officially grants his degree, and those skills will be his alone to perform, without a friend on the other side of a computer completing online courses for him.
Because here is the real truth, as sure as I sit here typing this: A person's performance in mathematics and science has nothing to do with gender. It has to do with perceptions, and if people don't realize this, then some girls never will gain.