From: Jan Coffey <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Our education system use to place a lot of importance on logic, problem
solving, and creativity. Give them the tools, test them on creativly applying
those tools. This has now shifted to information retention, give them the
data, test them on whether or not they remember the data.
Do you have any references on this? When do you think this change in the educational system occurred?
Where as a "boy" might understand the system and how it works and be able to
use that understanding to solve a problem presented, the "girl" will better
remember what all the peices are called, how the system has been used, who
created it, which other systems are simmilar and different.
Ass a overly simple example (in the extreem): The "girl" will learn
multiplication tables easily, and remember the information that
multiplication takes addition and addition takes the successor function.
Where as the "boy" will understand that addition is the application of the
successor function and that multiplication is the application of addition,
even if they can't remember what to call these things. They "boy" may not
remember what 7*6 is, but will be able to discover the answer. The "girl"
will know all of the data, but not be able to -find- the answer as easily. So
if she has learned that 7*6 is 42 she will have the answer, but not the
answer to 146*23.
So, by this, girls should in general be better at something like spelling than
boys are? I wonder if spelling-bee results bear that out at all?
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