"I Would Emphasize
the Joy of Science" by Jan Clarke
Ursula Franklin is well known for her interest in the social impact of technology. In her distinguished career as an experimental physicist and professor at the University of Toronto, she has influenced many women in their careers in science and technology. As a convinced pacifist, she has encouraged all women to become "citizen scientists," that is, to gain a general knowledge of scientific and technical information in order to understand issues which interest them both personally and politically. WEdf Guest Editor Jan Clarke interviewed Ursula Franklin when Ursula visited Queen's University in Kingston as a Scholar-in-Residence with the Art Conservation department. The interview took place in the relaxed setting of the Scholar's apartment where a lively discussion between Ursula Franklin and a small group of interested students and faculty covered topics ranging from math and science education, to art conservation, archaeology, metallurgy, and scientific research. Heather Jamieson, an adjunct professor of geology at Queen's University, joined Ursula and Jan in the following discussion of math and science education for girls and young women. Jan: What are your views on encouraging girls and young women in math and science? Are there any topics which you think particularly interest girls? Ursula: If I were to teach science in school, I would not necessarily encourage the girls, but discourage the boys. So often math teachers mention that boys are so competitive and so on. I would just send those competitive boys to the library. I'd say, "If you want to be competitive, why don't you do it in the library?" If they want to organize everybody, like a sports team, they can do their problems in the library until they respect other people's contributions, and realize it's not all a question of who gets what fraction of the mark!
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