          
      Start young. Yes, it is great to have the special
activities for middle and high school girls, but many
girls have opted out before this and won't be moved
by these special resources.
    Get girls role models and mentors. Use anyone
you can find. I have recruited people to help with my
GEMS club from conversations at the Haircuttery, at
the voting booth, and from the handbell choir.
    Provide multiple opportunities to "tinker" with
materials. This needs to happen in all the grades, not
just the math manipulatives in the early grades. Ask
parents and community members to donate
machines and wood scraps to provide a rich scrap
box for building and assembling. And make sure the
girls do as much of the work as the boys. Give points
for creativity and design as well as technical
prowess.
    Watch your pronouns. Is every generic thing or
animal a "he"? Do unidentified people in stories
automatically become boys/men?
    Watch what you read aloud. Do you choose
books with male characters so that boys will be
quiet? This is a major teaching opportunity—
confront the issue head on and deal with it and then
read books with equal numbers of female and male
characters.

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