Girls and School Culture
American schools have a long and varied history. During the early years of our country, several unique factors influenced our educational system, including the existing Native American child-rearing practices, the settlers' home cultures, and an emerging sense of nationality.
As our school systems progressed and came into their own, the idea of practicality was most important. It was for that reason that early on, much learning was gained in the school of hard work. Later, as towns and school districts began to emerge, boys in many parts of the new country received a rudimentary education but girls were generally excluded. While this practice changed gradually, most often girls were only admitted to the public schools many years after the boys. This practice had a detrimental effect on girls' scholastic achievements.
Even when school attendance for all children finally became mandatory, girls did not fare as well overall as they should have. They were often channeled into less academically rigorous classes, such as home economics. They were caught up in the enormous bureaucracy that comprises today's public schools. Like all huge bureaucracies, schools are slow to change.
Alert
Any time your daughter's grades drop more than half a letter grade on her report card, for example from an A to a B, you want to find out what the problem is. Don't delay. While all children do not excel in every subject, you want to be alert to all negative trends in her school progress.
Does Quiet Equal Good?
Even today quite a few schools still show traces of the belief that boys are more deserving of an education than girls. This attitude does not show itself in pupil attendance, which is usually higher among female students than among male students, but it does reveal itself in lowered expectations for many girls. For example, when boys show a disinterest in schoolwork, they are often the subject of emergency meetings by the school faculty. The male students' parents are notified at once and extra lessons are advised.
When girls follow a similar pattern and lose interest in school, they are allowed to slide — just as long as they behave in class. One underlying reason is that our schools are sensitive to the potential of violence, and in boys that potential is often accompanied by dropping grades. In girls with falling grades, the violence potential is less prominent. As of yet, there have been no Columbine-style tragedies instigated by girls.
Fact
Underperforming schools exist in many communities. Keep up with the annual achievement scores of your daughter's school, especially the reading scores. If you are not satisfied, ask about alternatives. Some systems now allow for a transfer to a high-performing school. Attending the school board meetings and asking questions are civic duties that pay off big time.
What works extremely well is your networking with other parents. Join the PTA and other supportive parent groups. Use your e-mail or smart phone to get the latest hints, reminders, and news-letters. Volunteer for a committee or two. As you work within those organizations, you will meet parents with high-achieving girls. Feel free to text them for advice. Too often, parents feel they have to reinvent the wheel when all they have to do is connect with other parents who have already successfully shepherded their daughters through the school system.
Another option is to join an informal parent group or to start one. Put a note into the PTA newsletter asking all parents of girls to e-mail or otherwise contact you. Brainstorm with the correspondents about what you can do to ensure that the culture at your daughter's school changes.
