Helping
Girls as They Grow
It's a well-known fact that
girls start out doing better in school than boys. They talk earlier, read
easier, get higher grades, and are more likely to be identified as gifted
than their male counterparts.
Yet, somewhere between the
fifth and ninth grades, girls' progress often comes to a screeching halt.
They lose interest in school, take less rigorous classes and espouse lower
expectations for themselves and their futures.
Why be alarmed by this trend?
Consider these statistics:
- Women
are nine times more likely than men to be single parents
- Most
families in poverty are headed by women with inadequate education
In
a recent study, 95 percent of women who were college graduates reported
their lives were going at least fairly well, compared with only 3 percent
of the women who did not complete high school
Fortunately parents can
play an important role in shaping their daughter's choices. Research shows
that girls' achievements have more to do with family and cultural
experiences and expectations than with innate, intellectual capacity.
To steer girls toward
success, here are suggestions from the Women's College Coalition in
Washington, D.C.:
- Avoid
rescuing:
Allow girls to wrestle with problems and arrive at their own solutions
- Praise
competence and skill above appearance: Neatness and
attractiveness, beauty should take a back seat to intelligence and
drive
- Support
effort over outcome
- Boost
technological mastery: Provide access to tools, machinery or
computers
- Promote
participation in school activities
- Seek
involvement in girls-only groups: Research demonstrates that
young women excel in the absence of males
- Stress
the importance of math, science and technical classes: Such
courses teach girls the skills they will need to get high-paying jobs
while instructing them in problem-solving.
- Provide
role models:
Introduce girls to dynamic, successful women.
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