The other day, my friend took this picture of her daughter and posted it on facebook. I asked her if I could put it on my blog because I think it captures the essence of what 21st century girls are all about. As part of my work in building the STEM Institute of Design and Innovation magnet program, I read and study research about current practices in STEM education and the importance of possessing those science, technology, engineering and math skills for the future. If you could boil down all of the data and facts and charts and graphs into one simple thing, it could be this picture right here. Look at how intent she is. She is determined to get inside that object. She is unafraid to use the tool she needs to accomplish her goal, even if it is big and cumbersome and maybe new to her. She is fearless. And not only that, she rocks it in her pink tutu! We say, "Oh how cute!" and "Isn't she sweet!", and of course those are all absolutely true statements. But it is more than that. Recently I saw a news article that stated that the graduating classes of engineers were still predominantly made up of men. Interest in engineering drops significantly for girls by the time they reach college and decide on a major. If we want to keep up with the roaring tide of technical jobs that are being created almost faster than I can type this blog, we need to impress upon our girls that they can do those jobs too. We need to help them discover what they like to do and what they are passionate about. Once they discover their passion, then they can begin to determine their purpose. Somewhere out in the world, their future awaits. They can do anything they want to do . They can do MANY things...and they can wear pink tutus if they want to.
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