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Question:
In some schools and universities, girls tend to choose arts subjects (e.g. literature), and boys tend to choose science subjects (e.g. physics). Why do you think this is so? Should this tendency be changed?
Response:
It has been observed a trend to choose liberal arts by girls and exact sciences by boys. There is a number of reasons behind this trend and some of them need to be adjusted.
Firstly, one of the causes, why young girls gravitate towards humanitarian subjects and boys towards science subjects, is natural interests. For example, boys are usually more keen on technics and less on beautiful and romantic things than girls, thereby technical subjects are more preferable by them. Thus, the current tendency to choose subjects could be changed if personal interests were changed, which would be unnatural in most cases. Therefore, the tendency should not be altered.
The second cause of the trend is traditional views. To illustrate, there is a stereotype that in order to take care of children and maintain the coziness in a home, there is no need to study sciences seriously by women and it is a waste of time for them. For this reason, science subjects are more associated with men. However, if it were not for the stereotypes, more number of young girls might select subjects, dominating among boys, and vise versa.
Nonetheless, traditional ways of thinking is not always true. For instance, if Van Gogh had not been fond of art, breaking stereotypes, he would not have become a famous artist. Hence, traditional views can hinder particularly gifted children from developing their talents. Consequently, young people should focus more on their individual abilities while choosing a subject.
In conclusion, natural interests and traditional views are the major causes, why subjects are mainly separated on male and female ones. Nevertheless, pupils should focus more on personal abilities and less on stereotypes, regardless of the gender.