At times, I get the feeling that we are not aware of all the women who have been scientists in history. Women like Marie Curie, Rosalind Franklin, Jocelyn Bell, Margarita Salas, Elena García, María Blasco or the wonderful Jane Goodall. All of them were and are just as important as the most renowned scientists. But, to this day, there are still people who are surprised to hear a girl say that she wants to be a scientist.
In this post dedicated to the Day of Women and Girls in Science, we are going to talk about how parents You can help your daughters to discover their passion for science and to promote their scientific thinking. Hopefully soon the phrase "Dad, Mom: I want to be a scientist" will stop sounding strange and strange in society.
Before I start talking about the ways in which scientific thinking could be fostered, I would like to mention some of its benefits.
- Considerably improves reasoning. And it is essential for solve complex problems.
- Scientific thought puts into practice the active and meaningful learning.
- Help solve real life problems.
- Scientific thought favors creativity, analytical skills and initiative.
So what can parents do to help a future scientist?
Fostering curiosity: something fundamental
That parents encourage your daughters to investigate, discover and experiment for themselves is very important. Is your daughter restless, a curious born and does not tire of continuing to try despite the fact that she is wrong? That's great because ... What if maybe you are training a future scientist?
Ask questions and questions about the environment
Questions are very important to activate reasoning, scientific thinking, and analytical skills. For example: if you have seen a movie as a family or have visited a museum or you know that they are reading a specific book, take the opportunity to ask them questions about it.
Those questions will make reflect, think, ask many things and there will be a debate in the family. In this way, you will also be favoring creativity, imagination and the resolution of possible real conflicts. And you will also be promoting communication at home!
Opportunities to investigate and discover for themselves
There are parents who immediately answer their daughters' doubts, believing that this is the right thing to do. I can think of some answer alternatives: What if you find out? What if you look it up in the encyclopedia? What if I accompany you to the library and you look for the answer in the books? In this way, opportunities are being provided for girls to develop their scientific thinking to the maximum.
Searching for information, discovering, experimenting and finding out the answers is promoting active and meaningful learning. Also, the girls would be the protagonists of their own learning.
Without fear of mistakes or failures
There are families whose greatest fear is that their children will make a mistake or fail at something. I would like to make it clear that the Trial and error is an active and very important way of learning. From mistakes, children can learn many things and discover many others. Getting them wrong is not a bad thing and shouldn't frustrate some parents that much.
Do you have a girl who keeps trying despite making mistakes sometimes? No problem! You may be a potential scientist figuring out the best way not to make the mistake again. In these cases: remember the famous phrase of Benjamin Franklin: I have not failed. I have only found ten thousand solutions that do not work.
Overprotection is not an ally
If you often give your daughters everything resolved, if you give them all kinds of facilities and do not provide them with activities or situations for them to develop their autonomy and independence, it will be difficult to favor their scientific thinking. In the future, it will be difficult for them to be the ones to find a solution to the problem.
They have to discover for themselves the world in which they live, they have to investigate and they have to experiment. In this way, they will know how to deal with specific situations, will be aware of their environment and will be sensitive to what is happening in the world.
Family activities: great to promote knowledge
I know of many parents who take their daughters on a hike in the mountains and encourage them to observe the plants, trees, land, and animals that may be there. Y there are parents who dedicate their Saturdays to touring the museums and historical corners of their city with their daughters.
Through these family activities, they are promoting active and meaningful knowledge of girls. They are making it possible for them to learn experientially and experimentally (which is the best way to learn). Cultural leisure activities are great for encouraging girls' scientific thinking. What if you are living with a future scientist? Make the most of it!
Do not forget something very important: the game
With play, imagination, creativity, initiative and analytical skills are developed. Through it, children actively solve problems and become great inventors. One of the most wonderful things about the game is that it doesn't understand genres. Unfortunately, it is society that creates the stereotypes.
Therefore, it is essential that as parents you do not put limits to the imagination of your daughters in the game. It's great that you like it with dolls but don't think you can only play that. I advise you to try neuroeducational games. With games that promote their skills and help them develop their full potential.
The role of society in equal opportunities
Finally, I would like to talk about the role of the society and the media. Although we are in the XNUMXst century, parents have to fight so that your daughters have the same opportunities as children. And sometimes, society and television will not make it easy for you. Together, we have to fight because the question of a presenter to a future astronaut is not: What if you find the boy of your life sooner?
We have to fight for the media to support women scientists (who are many and very important). And we have to fight for society to open its mind, broaden its horizons And don't be surprised when a little girl says she wants to be a scientist when she grows up.