Doing What Works

I used to blog for my old company, but they took the blog down. I am
not actually allowed to own the writings I put up on that blog, but as
I reference them on occasion in my writing I am putting those articles
up in my archives here for reference sake. I'll put the tag GS on those
articles noting that they were originally published on the http://schoolfinder.globalscholar.com/blog/

Doing What Works

April 30, 2008 – 6:43 am by Brendan

I have to tell you I like the name of the Department of Education’s recently launched web site, Doing What Works. Their recently added focus on Girls in Mathematics is not a bad place to start.

It is conventional wisdom that girls do better than boys in all areas up until somewhere around middle school. At that time boys start overtaking girls in technical subjects like Mathematics and Science. I’ve read a few research articles over the years that generally conclude that this gender gap is of a social nature and not because boys are better than girls or vice versa. Or as the Department of Education says: “Research has demonstrated that girls can achieve at the same level as boys in math and science, but many girls lose interest in these areas during their middle school years. The resulting interest and achievement gaps can be overcome by helping girls see themselves as capable in math and science and making the lessons relevant and interesting.”

If Lynn Swann, a USC grad, can be a ballet dancer, girls can excel in Math. So get out there and let’s return to parity in the education of our children.