Parenting and Educating for Success in Math and Science Early Childhood through College
While the young women we focus on in this book have been successful in general in their schooling, they have achieved at the highest levels, in particular, in mathematics and science. Indeed, strong course work and high grades in mathematics and science courses in high school, along with high SAT scores in math, were among the primary criteria used to admit them to the Meyerhoff Scholars Program. As discussed in the first chapter, education and careers in math and science grow increasingly important in our technologically focused society, and African Americans, particularly African American women, are extremely underrepresented in these fields. To help increase the representation of Black women in math and science careers, it is useful to identify the factors which contribute strongly to academic success in these fields. In so doing, we hope to provide insights that will contribute to the success of future generations of African Americans in these disciplines. In Chapters 2 and 3, the mothers and fathers described a number of ways in which they helped support and encourage their daughters’ academic success, including approaches focused specifically on math and science. In Chapter 4, the daughters described the many ways in which their parents had been helpful and supportive in their academic endeavors overall. In this chapter, we listen as the daughters tell us, in their own voices, tell about those factors that helped them to be successful particularly in math and science. The first section, “The Pre-College Years,” focuses on the initial development and longer-term maintenance of the daughters’ interests in math and science, and the critical roles parents, teachers, and others played. In the second section, “Voices from the Community,” we hear directly from a number of people from the community who have had contact with some of the daughters during their pre-college years. The young women identified these educators, church members, and other community members as playing a significant mentoring role in their lives. These mentors share with us their experiences related to the pre-college math and science pursuits of the young women, as well as other Meyerhoff students, and African American youth more generally.