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Also, the Hope, Arkansas school system is going single-sex for 9th grade. "The board was unanimous in its support for same-gender classes in the ninth grade building at HHS, with Muldrew joking that part of the rationale was to 'help us men catch up with the ladies.'
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I can't resist reflecting on how the "Man from Hope" might have evolved if he'd gotten any more help catching up with the ladies.</p>
<p>Mackinaw, LOL.</p>
<p>Cangel, BRAVO:
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My point is maybe it is the corporate expectations that are broken, not the girls' attitudes?
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</p>
<p>I've heard anecdotal evidence that some corproate cultures change when some "tipping point" is reached with respect to women (& family-oriented Dads) are pervasive enough in the environment.</p>
<p>DSC, one of the other factors with private elementary/secondary schools, including parochial schools, is that they don't <em>have</em> to keep the discipline problems. In fact, the rule of thumb seems to be, "Mess up more than once and you're gone." In contrast, the public schools have to keep the discipline problems, which act as a drag on the whole system.</p>
<p>Having had the same experience of being unable to draw resulting in poor grades, I had my sons take drawing and computer graphics classes so the same wouldn't happen to them. They are not great artists, but at least they could hold there own in "science" class.</p>
<p>One of sons had an 11th grade English assignment to create a "story board" for whatever the novel was that they had read. It was a big sheet of paper divided into ten squares, each square to include an illustration with a one- or two-sentence caption. It was to be colorful and neatness counted. (Don't even get me started on how stupid I think this assignment was for an 11th-grade English class or how easy it would have been to choose 10 things off Sparknotes to create it without even reading the book.) </p>
<p>By this point in his life, my son had gotten used to this kind of the thing and rather than be furious the way he was freshman year when he discovered crayons were still part of the curriculum, he thought it was hilarious and he pawned the assignment off on his 11-year-old sister who thought it was a perfectly lovely project which she enjoyed very much. He was quite pleased with the results. He told her what to draw and write and she did it. The whole family agreed it was much better than anything he could have produced. LOL.</p>
<p>Those who advocate single sex schools aren't advocating the teaching of "boy things" or "girl things". It's more about removing the "drama" that occurs in coed schools. For girls its a big plus because all the leadership positions are held by girls (which was a big change years ago -- now it is more common for girls to have leadership positions in coed.) All girl schools create strong girls (not slutty girls like that ridiculous earlier post). </p>
<p>It is a myth to say that girls that attend all girls schools never see boys so it makes them "desperate" and slutty. Single sex schools go out of their way to have the kids "mix" with their "brother schools" at athletic events and other social events.</p>
<p>DSC:</p>
<p>They can now collaborate to produce graphic novels! The nest Maus, maybe?</p>
<p>And elem. school "science" fair projects! - please! don't get me started!</p>
<p>Drivesitcheer: Who knows how many households across America have little sisters (or momma's) doing "artsy projects" for their big brothers (or sons). It would be one thing if these poster board projects were for art class (then the kid is on his own) but when they are for English, Spanish, World History, etc, such assignments are forwarded to the family member with the most creative hand and the most time. (My sons wonder if their teachers ever notice that the "look" of these projects are from the same "artist." LOL) </p>
<p>Having my boys do these assignments for a neatness/creativity grade would be like having hubby remodel the living room for a Better Homes and Gardens contest.</p>
<p><<< I can't resist reflecting on how the "Man from Hope" might have evolved if he'd gotten any more help catching up with the ladies. >>></p>
<p>LOLOL Maybe he would have stuck with "catching up with ladies" instead of playing "hide the cigar" with near children.</p>
<p>While it's okay to make some generalizations - yes, more boys major in physics at college and more girls major in dance - by CHOICE - (since girls as a whole do better in science in high school itis obviously choice if they don't go there in college) - you can't stereotype everybody. My 10 year old nephew is by far the most gifted artist in any of our extended family of anty sex - including adults. He also has very neat handwriting. My 15 year old son, on the other hand, has trouble with his handwriting (I can't read it) but is doing well in school.
About co-ed vs. not co-ed: it depends on the school and the kid. I hated girls school and loved my co-ed private school and I ended up at an Ivy League college and I don't think it had anything to do with whether my school was co-ed or not. I do think for some kids who are really distracted by the opposite sex, it could help. I think it would be especially helpful for boys, but my son says no way!</p>
<p>Here is an article from today's Boston Globe about a Milton (MA) high school student who is trying to make a statement:</p>
<p>Quote from article: "Girls are outperforming boys because the school system favors them, said Anglin, who has filed a federal civil rights complaint contending that his school discriminates against boys.</p>
<p>Among Anglin's allegations: Girls face fewer restrictions from teachers, like being able to wander the hallways without passes, and girls are rewarded for abiding by the rules, while boys' more rebellious ways are punished.</p>
<p>Grading on homework, which sometimes includes points for decorating a notebook, also favor girls, according to Anglin's complaint, filed last month with the US Department of Education's Office for Civil Rights.</p>
<p>''The system is designed to the disadvantage of males," Anglin said. ''From the elementary level, they establish a philosophy that if you sit down, follow orders, and listen to what they say, you'll do well and get good grades. Men naturally rebel against this.""</p>
<p>Also from the article, "At Milton High School, girls outnumber boys by almost 2 to 1 on the honor roll. In Advanced Placement classes, almost 60 percent of the students are female."</p>
<p>I think it's expected that there will be variation within any group. The problem I see is when there is significant variation BETWEEN groups, as mentioned above. If you switch genders in the sentence above, most of us would get a little irate, and I think that's the reason so much attention was given to the success of girls in the classroom over the last 20 years. So if boys, as a group, are underperforming at Milton or at high schools across the country, I think that there must be something systematically wrong that's causing this. Whether it's gender or ethnicity, I think we have a problem when any group performs significantly worse than others. I don't think it's fair to compare individual students -- some have more natural ability, some are more motivated, some have more support and encouragement at home. There will always be differences -- but when a class of people has a problem then I think it's up to the educational system to look at it.</p>
<p>I completely agree with SJmom. Most of us with both sons and daughters know how hard our kids do or do not work and how bright (or not) our kids are. When we see high school students rewarded for "neat handwriting", it is nothing about teaching our kids to think and analyze, which is what they should be doing. Our high school now has all 90 minute classes which my son has trouble sitting through, though he does not have ADHD or anything like that. Almost all the teachers are women. My son does say there is one advantage: colleges are looking for boys since they are overweighted with girls. I love my daughter dearly and she is off to college next year, but I do see that her English teachers predominantly assign "chick lit" books (what happened to Herman Melville?), and I also see my son get deductions for "neatness." Sorry, but at my job we use computers and no one has to hand write papers and if anyone decorated memos they would be called in and told to stop.
I think it is great education has started taking care of the needs of girls, now it's time to look at boys.
P.S. Will someone explain to me WHY girls do better at math and science in high school, but fewer choose to major in them in college?</p>
<p>"P.S. Will someone explain to me WHY girls do better at math and science in high school, but fewer choose to major in them in college? "</p>
<p>Perhaps it is because they don't want the jobs that such majors lead to. Oh, wait, did Larry Summers suggest that?</p>
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"P.S. Will someone explain to me WHY girls do better at math and science in high school, but fewer choose to major in them in college? "
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</p>
<p>Now that's a huge lie.</p>
<p>I'd like to see any statistic from the Collegeboard on the AP Calc BC or the AP Physics C exam to back that up. Boys do better in high school at high end PHYSICAL sciences (not Biology) and mathematics.</p>
<p>1sokkermom: I thought the article was interesting, until I came across this at the end:</p>
<p>*Gerry Anglin, Doug Anglin's father, said the school system should compensate boys for the discrimination by boosting their grades retroactively.</p>
<p>''If you are a victim of discrimination in the workplace, what do they do? They give you more money or they give you a promotion," Gerry Anglin said. ''Most of these kids want to go to college, so these records are important to them."*</p>
<p>Ugh.</p>
<p>Spartan: How about showing us your sources?</p>
<p>I agree Screenname.</p>
<p>I also cringed when I read the fact that "Anglin -- whose complaint was written by his father, who is a lawyer in Boston.."</p>
<p>My first reaction was that this will be 15 seconds of fame for them both. :)</p>
<p>Girls are rewarded for following rules, boys are punished for breaking them? The horror, the horror!</p>
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My first reaction was that this will be 15 seconds of fame for them both.
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Maybe only 10. I bet it gets thrown out of court.</p>