When will we accept that boys will be boys? [IrishTimes]
- Published: 18 January 2011
It seems that, after years of the education system discriminating against girls, the reverse is now the case, writes ELEANOR FITZSIMONS
THE STRUGGLE for gender equality is one that starts in the classroom. Girls have long demanded that the education system afford them the same opportunities historically offered to their male counterparts.
However, recent trends, particularly evident in the reporting of results achieved in State examinations, consistently suggest that girls are now outperforming boys across the board. Instead of welcoming this as a positive development, we might examine whether it means, in fact, that we are failing our boys.
Data compiled by the State Examinations Commission shows girls achieving a greater number of As, Bs and Cs than boys across almost all subjects at both ordinary and higher level. Female students excel by the narrowest margin, of 1 per cent, in higher level maths, traditionally a male preserve not even offered in many all-female schools.
In my own school, my Leaving Cert class was the first to sit honours maths. Prior to that, we mathematically adept girls were expected to cross the road to the local boys’ school and sit with them – an unpalatable prospect.
These trends are repeated internationally and are generally attributed to the greater emotional maturity of 17- and 18-year-old girls, plus the fact that by their very nature girls tend to prepare more diligently for exams.
Full Story: www.irishtimes.com
