Girls' school?

stillinschool
Fri, 20 Dec 2013 21:59:27 +0000

I’ve lived (as a grownup) at several boarding schools, and I’ll offer this: while your daughter’s argument is a good one – and the one I used against women’s colleges when I was looking – I’ve warmed to them because the need continues. We recommended a women’s college for one student after observing that while she was usually better prepared than the others in her small advanced science seminar at our boarding school, she still let the (usually unprepared) most classically “male” boy in the room cause her to doubt her answers because he sounded so confident.

We’re still not great at preparing girls, especially in math and science. I remember in my freshman year of college, in a large intro chemistry class, the prof gave a prize for the highest grade on a mid-term. Had you asked me beforehand if I’d had any expectations as to who would win it, I would have said no. But when it was announced that it was a young woman, there was a frisson of surprise throughout the room, and I was part of it. We’re not there yet, but girls high schools and colleges seem to produce women who can rise above that. Just a thought for your daughter.