Girls Are From Venus, Boys Are From Mars.

Are girls different than boys? For years now, the gender gap has not just been associated with the work force, but also education. It seemed that girls progressed faster in reading, while boys mastered the sciences and mathematics. According to a recent article by Kathryn Wiens, however, the gender gap seems to be in a state of retroversion.

  “Today it seems that girls are winning the academic race and the gender gap…is as wide as ever and showing no sign of retreat, though the roles are reversed.” (Wiens). This is how Kathryn Wiens explains the complete reversal of roles between girls and boys. She states that the widening of the gender gap could be caused by “an overemphasis on serving girls”. (Wiens). Many people would think that since boys are supposed to be “naturals” at math and science, that encouraging girls to be interested in the STEM subjects must be helpful for girls, but it is actually having an unintentional, negative effect on boys. “It seems…in our rush to ensure girls are given an equal chance to succeed in school and in life, we have forgotten to acknowledge and work to enhance the strengths and weaknesses of our boys.” (Wiens).

The focus on girls is not the only thing responsible for the gender gap. Since boys are naturally more active and physical, they may be suffering in the classroom because of this. According to Wiens, “…alongside girls – who are typically more organized, cooperative, and accomplished school learners – those ‘boys qualities’ quickly turn from assets to liabilities. (Wiens). The influence of culture and stereotypes may also have an influence on boys and their school work. “Among school-aged boys, one of the most prevalent beliefs is the ‘real boys’ don’t work hard in school; ‘real boys’ don’t care about school.” (Wiens). Positive role models could immensely help boys and their relationships with school and learning.

Boys and girls are anatomically different and this can also cause a difference in success in school. Girls and boys have different ear structures even. Girls have a stiffer and shorter cochlea and also stiffer hair cells in the ear, making it easier to pick up sounds than boys. Wiens describes that “the anatomical differences present in boys’ and girls’ ears make it necessary for boys to exert a greater effort to hear what is being said in class.” (Wiens). And since boys have a harder time hearing in class, wouldn’t it make sense for them to be more frustrated and turned off to school and learning? The brain lobes are also different in boys and girls. “The temporal lobe of the brain, which is responsible for auditory processing, speech, comprehension, naming, verbal memory, and other language functions, matures six years earlier in girls. Scientists believe that this difference could cause girls to perform language-based tasks with greater ease, especially those with verbal cues and stimuli.” (Wiens).

Carol S. Dweck, the author of Mindset, would agree that the educational gap is caused by stereotyping. On page 75 of her book, Dweck says “When stereotypes are evoked, they fill people’s minds with distracting thoughts – with secret worries about confirming the stereotype.” (Dweck). She would say that girl’s are more likely to fulfill their stereotypes, however, due to their “vulnerability”. (Dweck, pg. 78).

Wiens states that “As we address the problems of boys we must not forget about girls; pendulum swings are dangerous and all too common in American schools. The pendulum must rest in a space where our schools and society are inspiring all of our nation’s children to learn and to contribute to our society in meaningful ways.” (Wiens). I completely agree that education does not need to be biased towards gender. If society continues to label boys as being “lazy” and girls as being “scientifically challenged”, then the gender gap will just continue to grow.

In my experience, I have never felt slighted due to my gender. While I agree that there are anatomical and stereotypical differences of males and females, it does not give the excuse for either boys or girls to sit back and blame failure on their gender. 


Works Cited:
Wiens, Kathryn. "The New Gender Gap: What Went Wrong?." 11-27. Journal of Education, 2005.Academic Search Premier. EBSCO. Web. 10 Oct. 2010.


Dweck, Carol. Mindset: The New Psychology of Success. New York: Ballantine Books, 2006. pp 78. Print.

He Said, She Said.

Outliers: the Story of Success, written by Malcolm Gladwell, is really the story of rich and high socially ranked people. Gladwell tells the tales of Silicon Valley billionaires, top New York lawyers, star athletes, etc. His view of success, as it seems, is that only the rich and people high in society can be considered successful. How they became successful is not just by their own terms either. He claims that “We pretend that success is exclusively a matter of individual merit. But there’s nothing in any of the histories we’ve looked at so far to suggest things are that simple... Their success was not just of their own making. It was a product of the world in which they grew up.”(pg. 67) This is Gladwell’s attitude throughout the book. He seems to be pushing a point that the way to be successful is already predestined and if you pass up on even one opportunity, then you will be passing up on being successful, according to Gladwell’s term of success. His way of measuring success is seen perfectly when he discusses Lewis Terman and his “Termites”. He states, “But few of [Terman’s] geniuses were nationally known figures. They tended to earn good incomes – but not that good.” (pg. 89) Not once does Gladwell speak of the “Termites” happiness or whether or not they feel self-fulfilled with their lives. So, in all reality, Gladwell’s view of success can be summed up at something of materialistic and shallow.

Mindset: the New Psychology of Success, written by Carol Dweck, is what she claims the book to be. Dweck focuses more on how a person’s mindset can affect how someone becomes successful or not. She shows how someone can fulfill his/her own potential and succeed, according to his/her own terms. Throughout her book, Dweck focuses on two mindsets, growth mindset and fixed mindset, and shows how these mindsets differ. On page 245 of Mindset, Dweck shows the two different mindsets and how they deal with challenges, obstacles, effort, criticism, and success of others. Those with fixed mindsets, as a result, “…may plateau early and achieve less that their full potential.” Those with growth mindsets, however, “reach ever higher levels of achievements.” (pg.245) Dweck states that “Those with the growth mindset found success in doing their best, in learning and improving.” (pg.98) Though Dweck uses famous athletes, a neurosurgeon, and famous artists to make her point, she does not say that the way success is measured is in the hands of others. Her book is all about bettering yourself and how success is more about achieving your goals and finding happiness.

Though both Gladwell and Dweck’s books are about success, the similarities of the books end there. Gladwell uses his book to just tell a story, while Dweck uses her book to inspire. Gladwell uses his book as more of a conspiracy theory, showing that the rich and high socially ranked people were born at the right time, location, and to the right family. Dweck uses her book more as a motivational work, encouraging people to approach life with a growth mindset and succeed by your own terms, not others. Personally, I agree with Dweck more than Gladwell. Her book just has more personal depth than Gladwell’s does. I actually learned that sometimes I have a fixed mindset to obstacles, and I will certainly work on that.