Maryland Superintendent Nancy Grasmick says the state''s female elementary school teachers are infecting young girls with an apathy for math.

"I hate to say it, because I'm a woman, but many women say 'math isn't for me , I'm good at reading.'"

She said the problem starts with teachers.

"If you go into a lot of our classrooms... there is much more time spent on reading than there is in mathematics," Grasmick said Thursday at a Senate Education, Health and Environmental Affairs Committee meeting.
"And the largest [population] of elementary school teachers are women, who say 'I'm not confident [in math].'"
She said teachers should begin empowering girls in math at least by fourth grade.