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What follows below is an interview with
Beth Alexander, who has
taught Science and Math in the junior and intermediate grades
at
Linden for the past 3 years. She is a strong advocate and
excellent role model, encouraging her students to take a greater
interest
in science and math, through her innovative and fun lesson
plans.
Linden: There seems to be a strong desire
for more young women to pursue careers in the science and
math fi elds, since it has been typically considered a male-dominated
area of study. Do you think programs and initiatives have
worked to change this dynamic?
Beth: We discuss this in class a
lot, actually. Here’s an interesting fact reported by
Maclean’s last year: In the past few years, most students
who entered university undergraduate programs in Canada were
women. However, most students who enrolled in graduate programs
in science—in all fields except psychology—were
men. Why is this? Clearly, initiatives designed to attract
girls to the sciences are working, but most women still aren’t
reaching the highest levels in the field, at least at this
time. I think that there are complicated dynamics at work
here, and I’ll be interested to see what happens in the
years to come. In general, things are improving. It is certainly
encouraging to hear that our government has fi nally responded
to the threat of global warming and has become more committed
to environmental policies. I think that as our society continues
to connect science to the idea of saving the world, we’ll
see more and more interested girls. Girls are especially interested
in saving the world!
One thing we try to emphasize at Linden is the importance
of math and science in activities that engage girls on a social
or humanitarian level. It doesn’t have to be about isolated
lab work, working endlessly with data, or creating technologies
that damage the environment—these are all misconceptions
about careers in math and science, and they’re fed by
media images that present scientists as unfeeling or socially
isolated. Here, we try to connect science to its potential
for doing good. For example, we present case studies of women
engineers who improve water fi ltration systems in developing
nations. Last year, Darlene Lim, a paleo-biologist for NASA,
came to speak about testing space equipment designed specifi
cally for women. (I love my job, but I was a little jealous
seeing the photos of Dr. Lim in her spacesuit, rockclimbing
in the desert.) We also try to connect science to things the
girls see every day in their regular lives. In grade seven,
for example, we prepared tea and studied the physical reactions
at work on the particle level. (And then drank the tea, naturally!)
In grade six, we studied ads for cosmetics and identified
examples of claims that are unscientific in nature. Overall,
the girls should feel as if their science education is relevant
to them, even if they eventually choose to pursue careers
in other fields.
Linden: How is Linden unique with its girl-centered teaching approach?
Beth: I think that Linden is unique
in its ability to marry an innovative teaching approach with high academic
standards. Much of the culture here—such as calling teachers
by first names, or allowing students to "talk back"
when they disagree with something—ultimately empowers
the girls to act, which fosters thinking and learning, and
which leads to academic success. It’s a positive cyle.
Girls are not allowed to be passive in our classrooms, and
teachers have high expectations. I also think that combining
a nurturing environment with the expectation that girls will
work hard fosters a real resilience in our students: the girls
will take risks, knowing they’ll be supported if they
stumble. One thing that is really special about Linden is
that it’s a place where girls don’t need to hide
their intelligence for fear that they’ll be less popular
for it. I also think that the community here does an incredible
job of meeting the needs of a very diverse student body.
In math, we teach in ways that research
has shown to be effective for girls, specifically. That means
allowing them to sit face-to-face so that they can discuss
solutions. It means that teachers don’t posit one absolute
way of solving problems, but encourage discussion about a
variety of ways to do math. We develop spatial- logical skills
by working with math puzzles. Girls develop understanding
by working with real, hands-on materials. We also make sure
we connect math to things the girls are really interested
in, such as credit card interest, body proportions, and statistics
about meaningful events around the world.
A funny thing happened in one of my junior
science classes that illustrates some of the challenges we
face in delivering an academic, girl-centred programme. My
grade four students were designing experiments to test different
aspects of erosion. One of the girls decided to see whether
extremes of temperature affected the size and mass of her
rock samples. Girls at this age are developing their skills
in experimental design, and this student was doing a particularly
admirable job of isolating different variables in order to
ensure that her experiment was a fair test: she was taking
care to label her samples, she was running multiple trials,
etc. However, as I discussed her work with her, it became
clear that her data was supporting the idea that her rocks
were losing mass when heated! This presented a dilemma: I
knew that it was impossible, scientifically, for this to be
happening, and suspected that her inexperience with using
the balance may be the explanation. As her science teacher,
I wanted to ensure that her discoveries reflected accurate
scientific facts. On the other hand, I want the girls to trust
what they observe and test themselves, rather than just accepting
what authority figures (me, in this case) tell them is correct.
After puzzling over the problem, I decided to be honest with
her about what was worrying me. To my great relief, she confessed
that she had also been confused by her results, and enthusiastically
reran the experiment. (Have I mentioned that the students
here are incredible?)
Linden: You worked on an article with the
faculty and co-principals regarding Social Justice recently,
exploring how Linden expresses a feminist pedagogy through
its curriculum. What were the most important aspects for you
as an educator and how do you feel you infuse these ideas
into your classroom?
Beth: Ursula Franklin—who is
an incredible role model for female scientists and a source
of inspiration for those looking to better the world through
science—once said that those of us who are privileged
to have gained some understanding of the world have also taken
on the responsibility of bettering it. If we have learned
that something is a problem, in other words, we must act to
help solve that problem. It’s pretty easy to fall into
the trap of feeling pressed for time, especially given the
considerable demands of the Ontario curriculum. It’s
important that we build opportunities for activism into our
work, though. Linden is a pretty amazing place in this regard.
The girls are regularly exposed to ways in which they can
help change the world for the better: attending an Out of
the Cold program; participating in the Amnesty International
club; joining EdGE, which one of our young students founded
to help girls around the world gain equitable access to education;
and so on.
I have incredible colleagues who I continue
to learn from when it comes to infusing social justice into
the curriculum, and each year, I’ve tried to add a little
more to my programmes. In grade five science, for example,
we study ways in which households can reduce the amount of
electricity they use. From there, the girls create brochures
that encourage Canadian households to pass on the money they
save--so that their conservation efforts can also benefit
communities around the world who are still in need of basics
like drinking water or safe shelter. We look for spontaneous
opportunities to act, too. For example, one of my grade seven
students noticed an inaccuracy in her ecosystems textbook.
The class encouraged her to inform the publisher, and she
wrote them a very persuasive letter about the importance of
scientific accuracy. It is not enough to just notice a problem—you
also have to act to fix it.
Linden: What is your approach to lesson
planning?
Beth: I have always believed
that classroom learning has to be fun. This mirrors what happens
in life outside the classroom; we are most successful learning
when we enjoy the process. Classroom activities need to be
interesting and to relate directly to students’ own lives
and interests. Instruction needs to be surprising, novel,
rich in detail, and varied in the way it’s presented.
Students also need to perceive their learning as connected
to “a big picture.” (If the students are asking
“Why do we have to learn this?”—as we often
did in my high school calculus classes—they are not going
to make meaningful connections to the material.) And when
it doesn’t hurt to be silly in the classroom, I’m
a big believer in silliness. I also think that some very traditional
approaches— pencil and paper drills for multiplication
facts, for example— have a place in a feminist classroom.
Our girls need the academic tools to take on leadership roles
in the world outside of Linden.
Linden: Linden has a long history of including
a Science Olympics and a Science and Technology Fair every
year. Can you explain a little about these events? Do you
feel these sorts of events de-mystify the subject for young
women?
Beth: These events provide an opportunity
for the community here to celebrate our achievements in the
sciences, and for our students to meet challenges outside
of regular classroom work. During the Science Olympics, our
senior students organize scientific challenges for teams of
students in the elementary program. Events in the past have
included building marshmallow catapults, designing rockets
powered by chemical reactions, and the forensic challenges
of “CSI: Linden.” This is an excellent leadership
opportunity for our high school students, and a chance for
younger girls to work collaboratively between grades. Our
Science and Technology Fair is an opportunity for girls to
investigate scientifi c questions of their own interest. All
of our students—from first to twelfth grade—pose
a question, test it using the scientific method, and conduct
research to help explain their experimental results. We see
an incredible diversity of topics and interests on the night
the girls present to the
community, and it’s really gratifying to see the level
of mastery they achieve in their chosen subject areas. Even
the very youngest students are able to describe their discoveries,
with confidence and scientific precision.
We also hold an annual Mother-Daughter Math
event, which allows our primary and junior students a chance
to solve math and technology challenges with a mentor from
home. On that afternoon, we fi ll the gym with a variety of
puzzles, games, and hands-on activities. One of the most popular
events is the “Take-Apart Table”, where girls dismantle
devices such as old blenders, tape recorders, etc., to see
what’s inside. This really is an opportunity to demystify
technology; when girls see and start to understand how machines
work, they lose their timidity around them. This happens a
lot when when we study electricity, incidentally. It’s
amazing to see girls’ reactions when they learn to build
and troubleshoot circuits and become adept enough to do things
like re-wire lamps or build electrical games. That sense of
power, when you’ve mastered something that was previously
so mysterious or dangerous-seeming—it’s very exciting.
I like to imagine that Linden girls never wait around for someone else to fix something around the house.
They take out the tools and do it themselves.
Linden: You have a very broad range of
background interests, such as costume design and work in film. How do these interests affect your teaching?
Beth: I think that the world’s
a fascinating place. Some of my greatest happiness in life
comes from learning new things, and I try to look for new
ideas, new experiences, new ways of thinking. A lot of these
ideas end up in the classroom eventually. This past summer,
for example, a friend recommended that I read Edward R. Tufte’s
books on visual information, and it changed the way I now
think about ways I present information in the classroom. I
also started to learn hangra, which is a form of Punjabi folk
dance. (I’m terrible, but it’s fun.) I taught a
few steps to the girls in my math class, to help make multiplication
drill a little less repetitive. I think that a lot of educators
look at the world this way, which is why they’re attracted
to a profession that encourages on-going learning.
Linden: Why did you choose to teach at
Linden? What are the advantages of teaching at Linden?
Beth: One day about six years ago,
I was walking to work and saw what appeared to be a nice little
house sandwiched between a parking garage and an alley. At
that time I was a publicist for a Hollywood studio, but was
working toward becoming a teacher, which I felt was a better
career for me. A woman (who I later learned was Diane, one
of the co-principals) was holding the front door open for
a group of children. They skipped past the flowerpots of pansies
on the porch and beamed up at her as they entered the school.
It really was an almost comically picturesque scene. A year
or so later, as I was graduating from teacher’s college,
a friend forwarded me an ad from Linden. I spent an afternoon on the website,
becoming more and more convinced that I had found the perfect
school for me: feminist, academic, committed to social justice,
with a very rich roster of athletics and activities (especially
given its size), high standards, and with—it seemed from
the articles written by staff and students—a sense of
fun. I applied, and very luckily for me, I was hired. I’ve
had a fantastic time teaching here.
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