You Do Not Need to Worry about my Intellect
I found Susan Jacoby’s article ‘When Bright Girls Decide Math Is “A Waste of Time” ’ truly offensive. I think it is unfair with women and, most of all, with social sciences. As a literature student I do not see how I could possibly be “limiting my own intellectual development”. Following Jacoby’s reasoning, I could say she is limiting her intellect by not reading Flaubert or Hardy.
At high school I had to choose between Economics or Humanities. Since all my friends chose Economics I did the same because I wanted to have some fun at school. I hated every minute of it. Math, Accountancy and Economy were a torture for me. Literature was my therapy after so many horrible hours. Since I was a child I have always felt immense passion for reading. Every book I read revealed a new aspect of the world which I had not discovered before.
When Susan Jacoby writes about this girl dropping Physics and Calculus because she wants to do a major in Art or History, I feel she is diminishing art and social sciences. I find her opinion both depressing and outrageous. It is disappointing to see someone has such a bad image of art and humanities. Personally I think it is infuriating, because what Jacoby seems to imply is that studying social sciences is embarrassing or dumb. I have chosen to study literature and I am proud of it because it makes me feel fulfilled.
Jacoby also says that parents’ expectations play a role in shaping girls’ choices. I believe this is true of women as well as men. However, parents’ expectations differ very much. Some have a high opinion of math and physics; others prefer art, education or sports. Anyway, I believe parents should not push their children in any direction. Choosing a course of studies is something very personal. College is very demanding and studying something you do not really enjoy will probably lead to failure, because you will sooner or later become tired of it. Therefore, I would tell Susan Jacoby that her ideas on parents’ influence on children seem to me a bit outdated; probably because her article was written about 15 years ago. Jacoby concluded that parents should not allow girls to drop Math or Calculus. I find this opinion encourages an abuse of power on the part of parents. It does not call for communication and understanding.
Women choose their studies based on their likes, just as men do. I do not think girls drop Math because they feel unattractive if they study science. The ones who drop do so because they are interested in other subjects. This is not a limitation. Quite the contrary, when people have the possibility of choosing what they want for their lives, they are as free as anyone can be.
Verónica Fernández