ABCs

Are boys smarter than girls? Are girls smarter than boys? There's really no substantial evidence for one nor the other. Nor do I don't think that we will ever be able to confidently say that girls are smarter than boys or vice verse. As a teacher, I see lots of smart girls and lots of smart boys.. and some not so bright boys and girls. Their test scores are never gender dominated, but there is one thing that people wouldn't have a hard time arguing... girls do better in school.



This is a fact for the simple reason that girls try harder, girls care more about what other people think (teachers, parents, peers), and girls are generally neater and less lazy. This is evident by 1st grade when you're expected to write & color between the lines. The girls have neat, legible handwriting, and the boys do not. The other day, I was reading directions hand-written by a 28 year old male, and thought aloud, "Well, it's good to know that my 5th grade boys' handwriting is never going to improve." (My apologies to those of you men with really girly handwriting because I know you do exist.)


It's not just handwriting though. Its the overall quality of all their classwork. Boys finish quickly, without detail, and do the bare minimum to get the task accomplished. Girls make everything pretty. This is pretty much the basis for the blanket statement, "Boys are better at math & science. Girls are better at reading and writing." Makes sense. Math & Science have pretty clear cut formulas and answers, and the goal is to get to them as quick as possible. Reading & Writing require time, thought and details with lots of drafts, revisions, and rethinking.


I'm curious, how does this transfer to the real world down the line? Are woman more successful in the workplace because of their need for details and perfection? Or, does it hinder females performance because their employers want quick, but quality work? Efficiency. Then again, I think girls are capable of completing quick, quality work too. But are men able to recognize where & when neatness and details matter when they haven't demonstrated it their entire lives??

This got me thinking about Mad Men, naturally. Peggy is a copywriter. Probably the most up and coming and successful in the business (aside from Pete who is such a little bitch he may as well be female.) She's establishing herself in a predominately male job in a completely different era. Is she better at her advertising job because she can be creative and put in the extra details that the male copywriters are missing?

For so long, woman were kept in the kitchen probably because men knew they'd do their jobs better than them (or at least give them some competition and make them work harder.) I am by no means stating that woman should have every job and could perform better than men. I strongly disagree with that generalization because there are some jobs that women are just too emotional for and furthermore, I would love to have no job at all and be a housewife. I'm just pondering the long term effect of this lazy, bare-minimum work ethic that boys develop in elementary school.

Then again, I know many men who are successful at their jobs and can only imagine the quality (or lack there of) of work they turned into their 5th grade teacher.