NYT: Education system unfair to boys

[Vladenschlutte]

Be careful, vlad. A certain college president was run outta town for suggesting such an idea be studied, using the scientific method.

Do you have a link to an article or something?

[Hanna]

"she said men dominated classes at co-ed institutions"

Only if you let them...

[ohiobassmom]

http://www.slate.com/articles/news_a..._hook_yet.html

@Hannah, easier at higher ed levels than elementary where one is dependent on being called on by a teacher, for instance.

[MD Mom]

Here's a link for you, Vladenschlutte.

Why women are poor at science, by Harvard president | Science | The Guardian

[Vladenschlutte]

That's not what I was saying...

[MD Mom]

I thought you wanted the article about the college prez. Sorry.

[Vladenschlutte]

I thought you wanted the article about the college prez. Sorry.

No, I asked for the article. What I meant was that I wasn't making the same claim as him.

[ecouter11]

Despite the strides girls have made, it was disheartening how the proportion of girls in the most advanced math classes fell off steadily as D2012 advanced through middle and high school. Her 12th grade math class was a dual-enrolled distance calculus class (for those who had completed AP Calculus BC as juniors). It had 8 boys and 2 girls.

I experienced this too. In my 1st semester Calculus AB class, I was one of maybe 5 girls in a class of 30, and perhaps the only one who took it seriously and did well. In my second semester BC class, I was one of 4 girls in a class of 28 again, with only 1 other girl taking it seriously. We both did rather well though- top 2 marks in the class

@vlad, I actually agree with you. Not everyone is wired the same away or has the same interests. If more girls choose out of free will not to take science but instead art, there is nothing wrong with that. Of course, if they are pressured not to, then there is an issue with that.

Re: Larry Summers. His examples seemed quite crude to me, and he has made other controversial remarks about women that I cannot agree with. That being said, it is certainly a matter worth looking into.

[ohiobassmom]

@vlad you said "maybe not interested" and Summers said "maybe not able", more or less. I understand the difference.

But maybe when girls are repeatedly told that math/science are boy things, or that women don't like STEM, or the only STEM profs they see are men, they indeed lose interest.

Or maybe when they're segregated by gender so they can learn in a "female" way with "nonconfrontational" methods and are assumed to not really need recess or much moving around or cool lessons based on burping they get a similar message...

[soccerguy315]

the lack of women in STEM fields is a huge problem... the lack of men in K-12 teaching is a non-issue?

[MizzBee]

At least where I am, there is no lack of male teachers. Partly because we seem to care about sports so much, we need coaches. In jr high ratio is 50/50, and 38/70 teachers in our hs are male. And the reason for fewer men in the teaching field has been uncovered-money. After all, it is hard to raise a family on a teacher's salary.

[saintfan]

My son had male teachers for 3/6 grades in k-5. He always did better with men because he likes straight forward direction and consequences. He also does fine with "old school" methods when employed by a woman. We found that many younger female teachers have a way of speaking that is weirdly indirect - "Is that what you're supposed to be doing right now?" "Do you want to think about that some more?" "Get out your math books, OK?" It drove him nuts. They ask when they should tell.

He has had many male teachers so far in 6-9.

[SteveMA]

greenbutton--why would you use that measure? What if someone was very successful in college yet doesn't WANT to be a CEO or in a "key position"? I also think that if you use that as a measure of what makes a successful college you might be surprised at the results...

[SteveMA]

I don't think there is a lack of male teachers in the middle and high school ages, grade 4 and below, however, there are very few male teachers. I also don't think that it is just because of sports that men go into teaching. Most of the male teachers in our school do NOT coach. I would say there is an equal proportion of female/male teachers that coach or are advisers for various activities. Also, in our science department, there is ONE male science teacher, the rest are female. The math department is equally split. Our Art and music teachers are all male the only female is the dance teacher. Maybe it's not this way everywhere but I think that in the education field the male/female balance is there for middle/high school.

Out is the corporate world, no, that is not the case, except for medical school/doctors. I think on the pre-med page here I read that the past few years, medical school admissions have been strongly female.

[weatherga]

Originally Posted by SteveMA

I think on the pre-med page here I read that the past few years, medical school admissions have been strongly female.

This reminds me of a family I used to know, decades ago, who emigrated from the Soviet Union to Canada. The mom was a doctor and had been head of a department in a large teaching hospital in the USSR, while the dad was an engineer. Both gained Canadian certification in their professions and found similar jobs to what they'd had before. The whole family was disconcerted that Canadians plainly regarded the mom's work as the more prestigious career. In the USSR, most doctors were women, and medicine was regarded as "women's work" and less prestigious than engineering.