On the Differences of Women?
Furor Lingers as Harvard Chief Gives Details of Talk on
Women
By SARA RIMER and PATRICK D. HEALY
Lawrence H. Summers released a transcript of his
contentious remarks about the shortage of women in the
sciences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/education/18harvard.html?th
..................
My personal experience with the education of women goes back quite some time. I started my own teaching in a woman's college, Vassar, continued on in what had traditionally been the CUNY woman's college (Hunter), did a visiting year at Barnard, had had close experience with Sarah Lawrence College in the 1950s, which was my home away from home when I was in college, participated in a CUNY faculty seminar (Balancing the Curriculum) which had evolved from a woman's rights seminar and included me as its only lasting male member).
My overall observation is that women are fully able to do anything but the most strenuous physical jobs, given the opportunity and encouragement to do so. I watched Sarah Lawrence students -- will not name drop -- go out into the world and do whatever. That college particularly distinguished itself by advising students with comments on their work rather than giving them grades so that they did not categorize themselves by letter grades. In contrast I had the experience of meeting one of the Vassar grads whose name in widely known now for her distinctive contributions to worthy causes who introduced herself to me -- "I was only a 'C' student when I was at Vassar." My wife and I while serving as Mellon House fellows at Vassar encouraged our students to do the things that women were not then allowed to do, e.g. become lawyers. Many did and now include judges and whatever. One became the co-chair of the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU (probably just after Ruth Bader Ginsburg undertook that role when no other jobs were available to her).
To jump over a number of my women students from the early days who have become distinguished philosophers (women were not welcomed in philosophy then), I recall a telling moment in our CUNY faculty seminar when it emerged that our two women mathematicians had BOTH had gender segregated educations! One of my few disputes with Norman Siegel was over his opposition to a women-only public school established in East Harlem which similarly was designed to free young women from the social pressures that hit them with puberty and get in the way of learning.
My only social observation on the differences in approaches to learning between women and men was stimulated by one of our faculty seminars at Brooklyn College on our introductory core program in which we faculty were asked to play the role of students in a typical class. I noticed that the women took careful notes during the lecture whereas the men did not. Thereafter the men participants offered 90% of the questions and comments on what had transpired. At the risk of over generalization I suspect that our educational systems put more pressures on women and, perhaps, generate more anxiety about getting things right and thus make women more cautious about innovating or breaking loose from the pack? And -- men may be more aggressive by nature whereas women are more caring and compassionate? Frankly, if this is an accurate insight, all power to our women before we end up destroying the human race! EAK
Women
By SARA RIMER and PATRICK D. HEALY
Lawrence H. Summers released a transcript of his
contentious remarks about the shortage of women in the
sciences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/02/18/education/18harvard.html?th
..................
My personal experience with the education of women goes back quite some time. I started my own teaching in a woman's college, Vassar, continued on in what had traditionally been the CUNY woman's college (Hunter), did a visiting year at Barnard, had had close experience with Sarah Lawrence College in the 1950s, which was my home away from home when I was in college, participated in a CUNY faculty seminar (Balancing the Curriculum) which had evolved from a woman's rights seminar and included me as its only lasting male member).
My overall observation is that women are fully able to do anything but the most strenuous physical jobs, given the opportunity and encouragement to do so. I watched Sarah Lawrence students -- will not name drop -- go out into the world and do whatever. That college particularly distinguished itself by advising students with comments on their work rather than giving them grades so that they did not categorize themselves by letter grades. In contrast I had the experience of meeting one of the Vassar grads whose name in widely known now for her distinctive contributions to worthy causes who introduced herself to me -- "I was only a 'C' student when I was at Vassar." My wife and I while serving as Mellon House fellows at Vassar encouraged our students to do the things that women were not then allowed to do, e.g. become lawyers. Many did and now include judges and whatever. One became the co-chair of the Women's Rights Project at the ACLU (probably just after Ruth Bader Ginsburg undertook that role when no other jobs were available to her).
To jump over a number of my women students from the early days who have become distinguished philosophers (women were not welcomed in philosophy then), I recall a telling moment in our CUNY faculty seminar when it emerged that our two women mathematicians had BOTH had gender segregated educations! One of my few disputes with Norman Siegel was over his opposition to a women-only public school established in East Harlem which similarly was designed to free young women from the social pressures that hit them with puberty and get in the way of learning.
My only social observation on the differences in approaches to learning between women and men was stimulated by one of our faculty seminars at Brooklyn College on our introductory core program in which we faculty were asked to play the role of students in a typical class. I noticed that the women took careful notes during the lecture whereas the men did not. Thereafter the men participants offered 90% of the questions and comments on what had transpired. At the risk of over generalization I suspect that our educational systems put more pressures on women and, perhaps, generate more anxiety about getting things right and thus make women more cautious about innovating or breaking loose from the pack? And -- men may be more aggressive by nature whereas women are more caring and compassionate? Frankly, if this is an accurate insight, all power to our women before we end up destroying the human race! EAK
posted by Ed Kent at 7:46 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home