Are We Doing Education Right?

For John, BLUF:  We need to rethink education and we need to go down range and think back to high school and before.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"From elementary school through college, girls are more disciplined about their schoolwork than boys; they study harder and get better grades."

From the Blog of Professor Ann Althouse, today, 8 February 2019.

Here is Professor Althouse's lift from an Old Gray Lady article, "Why Girls Beat Boys at School and Lose to Them at the Office/Hard work and discipline help girls outperform boys in class, but that advantage disappears in the work force.  Is school the problem?" by the clinical psychologist Lisa Lamour (That is one long title.):

"Girls consistently outperform boys academically.  And yet, men nonetheless hold a staggering 95 percent of the top positions in the largest public companies.  What if those same habits that propel girls to the top of their class — their hyper-conscientiousness about schoolwork — also hold them back in the work force?...  So how do we get hyper-conscientious girls (and boys, as there certainly are some with the same style) to build both confidence and competence at school?...  Th[e] experience — of succeeding in school while exerting minimal or moderate effort — is a potentially crucial one.  It may help our sons develop confidence, as they see how much they can accomplish simply by counting on their wits.  For them, school serves as a test track, where they build their belief in their abilities and grow increasingly at ease relying on them.  Our daughters, on the other hand, may miss the chance to gain confidence in their abilities if they always count on intellectual elbow grease alone."

Professor Althouse calls attention to her tag "Scrupulosity", which she says is the downside of conscientiousness.  I think of scrupulosity as being an almost psychotic concern for not sinning.  But that may be something peculiar to certain religious traditions.

So, does school set females up for failure?  We need to ask if there is any basis for that thought.  Or, are we fishing in the wrong pond?

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff