![]() ![]() ![]() No young person deserves to be made to feel like they are less than, “not smart enough,” or “not right” for STEM or other educational pursuits. Now, nearly 40 years after that teacher made me believe STEM wasn’t for me, it’s disheartening to see that the same barriers I faced in my youth are ones that students are confronting today. These moments that can instill doubt have the potential to damage students’ self-worth for a lifetime.Īs adults, it can be difficult for us to see beyond our own negative perceptions about ourselves, but it’s critical we encourage students’ identity discovery through participation in activities that can build their confidence and self-esteem. It’s also a time when the adults around them can-often accidentally-send young people the message that they aren’t good enough because of their gender, race, identity, orientation, or family background. So, instead, I threw myself into sports and other subjects-such as English, the arts, marketing, and communications-where I felt more confident.Ĭhildhood through adolescence is a critical period for students’ confidence-building and identity formation. Unfortunately, at the impressionable age of 13, I fell into the trap of believing there were limits to what I could do. But had I known what I do today, I would have understood I was being deprived of the future I longed for. And I, as a young teen, unfortunately, never questioned her. I don’t know exactly why she thought I wasn’t “cut out” for science she never told me. As a child, I dreamed of becoming an astronaut or marine biologist, but my life’s trajectory changed during middle school when a teacher told me I didn’t have a place in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) subjects and that I would never be successful in those fields. ![]()
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