Thursday, September 3, 2009

9/4/09 Show: Equalizing Girls' Education


School will soon be in session -- so it's time to focus on equalizing girls' education! We've come a long way since Title IX was passed three decades ago, but we still have a long way to go. Girls do get better grades than boys, but they're still lagging behind on standardized tests, and enrolling in the highest-tech subjects like physics, calculus, and chemistry. Teachers, whether they know it or not, still call on boys more than girls in class, and gloss over boys' aggressive behavior as part of their biological makeup. In this way, boys are also sold short by a perhaps-unconscious gender stereotype that expects them to be dominant in the classroom, and later the boardroom.

So what can we do about it? How do we help our students and educators work through gender stereotypes? And how can we continue to encourage girls to follow their dreams, and pursue careers in science, mathematics, and technology?

Join host Nico this Friday, September 4 at 6 pm for a discussion on girls' education worldwide, and efforts to level the playing field.

We'll be joined by Karen Jones from PCC/PAVTEC'S Middle School Girls Conference -- an annual conference that gives Portland-area girls exposure to careers in science, math, and technology.

We'll also be joined by Thomas Lwebuga and Julie Resnick, organizers at ZoomUganda -- a Portland-based charity currently raising funds to build science classrooms for a girls' high school in Uganda.

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