Interesting, isn't it, how Smith turns out extraordinarily bright young ladies who become leaders in their field. Women's colleges, in general, have extraordinary track records of success in teaching math and the sciences: they graduate women in these disciplines at 1½ times the rate of coeducational schools. Women's colleges and their women-centered pedagogies, curricula, and environments – including female role models and leadership opportunities – must take the lead as national models not only for the effective education of girls and women, but also to inform, shape, and influence gender-equitable environments in pK-12, and college and graduate school.
In a recent Girls Inc. survey of 2,000 girls and boys in grades 3 through 12,
75% agreed that girls are under pressure to dress the right way;
63% agreed that girls are under pressure to please everyone; and
59% agreed that girls are told not to brag about things they do well.
How these influences shape the decisions that young women make about their futures should come as no surprise – including decisions about college, in which taking the female perspective into consideration is woefully absent.
Quote:
|
Maybe they should be measuring what comes OUT of the institution, as well as what goes in. It's called "value-added".
|
Amen to that! I think Mini's comments about research opportunities speaks volumes on behalf of Smith College.