Girls Meet Girl Meets STEM

Hello, friends!

We know we said that our new friend (Robot, as we like to call him for now) would be taking over the blog for the duration of the build season. However, seeing as he has been napping for the past few days while we take our exams, we figured we could take back control for one little (big) post. 

The reason we needed to write a post for you all is because we are so beyond excited about one of the newest episodes of one of the coolest shows around. Of course, we are talking about Girl Meets World, the spin-off of Boy Meets World. In case you aren't familiar, the plot surrounds Riley, the daughter of Corey and Topanga who is now in middle school, her friends, and the people who make her world so exciting. Each episode, Riley and her friends tackle an issue and learn a lesson along the way, but the most recent episode's lesson hits close to home.

In this episode, whose title is 'Girl Meets STEM', the students are partnered up in boy-girl teams for their science mid-term experiment. Each pair is given a marble and a beaker of clear liquid. One team member must place the marble in the beaker after school to let it dissolve and another must analyze the sludge in the beaker the next morning and turn the liquid clear again. Essentially, one partner gets to do all of the science while another plays the role of assistant. The teams are allowed to choose who does which job. While most of the girls back off and let their male partners do the work, Riley is not so happy to give up her role in the experiment. When her partner, Farkle, suggests that she drop the marble so he can earn them a good grade, she is offended (as she should be!). After school, while every other girl drops her marble, Riley refuses. The next morning, Farkle is shocked to see that she did not complete her job as he instructed her to. Riley, after giving a fantastic feminist speech to her female peers, invites them to her bedroom bay window, the place where all of the pivotal conversations in the series occur. 

There, when all of the girls question what was wrong with their actions, Topanga explains to them the importance of being a strong, confident woman. "You cannot be lazy and you cannot think that it's more important to be liked than it is to be leaders. Don't talk yourself out of pursuing something because you're afraid of how it's gonna make you look. What you need to know is don't let anyone get in the way of pursuing your growth and curiosity no matter what you want to do."

It appears that the girls take things a little too far when they form their own lab group in science the next day. Riley and Farkle are the only team that remains intact. Upon observation, they realize that the marble is simply mud. They then realize that the project is not about the sludge at all. The teacher uses this experiment each year and every year the girls drop the marble without batting an eye. He noticed that around the age of middle school, girls lose an interest in STEM. He continues to run this experiment because he hopes that he can help girls to see their potential.

At one point in the episode, Riley and her best friend Maya, who tends to live on the wild side, are chatting at the bay window. When Maya asks Riley if she thinks Maya could be a scientist, her response is wonderful. "I think if you were a scientist the world be a very dangerous place. But if you don't believe you can be a scientist then it's even more dangerous."

As students, whether male or female, we need to not only believe in ourselves and what we can become, but we also need to take the time to lift up those around us so they can believe that they can become something greater as well.

Go out there and take on the world!
The Firebirds