Today in Algebra 2 and Trig, I was surprised to witness some mansplaining. A group consisting of 3 girls and 1 boy called me over to settle which student factored a quadratic expression correctly. Of course I wasn't going to say, 'You're right, and you're wrong.' Instead, I asked each person (1 of the girls, and the boy) to explain the work in the hopes that speaking aloud would allow the group to decide who was right and who was wrong.
What followed was a long explanation from the boy in a tone that made it sound like he was sure he was right. In fact, the longer he spoke, the more sure of himself he sounded. When he stopped speaking, the girl said nothing. She made no attempt to present or explain her own work. The group simply seemed ready to accept the boy's solution, though no one looked particularly excited by it or made any comment truly agreeing with it.
Did I mention that the boy was completely wrong, and the girl who shrank back and said nothing was the one who had it right?
I was really hoping that by letting the students speak, I wouldn't have to jump in and save them. Instead, I pointed out that the girls just let the boy speak and went along with his answer without questioning it at all. I reminded the girls that mathematical arguing is an important skill in this class!
It's only the beginning of the school year. But I can see already that I'm going to have to really encourage these girls to not let the boys steamroll them. And I need to encourage ALL of my students to have confidence in their own work!
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