Yes, we all have been affected by the cloud of confusion that accumulates over our heads and sometimes rains on our parade.\u00a0 It creeps in softly like a quick passerby, then BAM\u2014stops you in your tracks more abruptly than actual rain in I-95 traffic.\u00a0 However, Dr. Carol S. Dweck argues in her article, \u201cIs Math a Gift?\u00a0 Beliefs That Put Females at Risk,\u201d that females not only get this dark cumulonimbus-looking cloud, but it causes an outright flood that can sweep through their minds and take out any lasting remains of confidence.\u00a0 Males on the other hand, may have a cloud of confusion resembling more like a flat, smooth nimbostratus, which merely produces a nice rain to make all the flowers grow. \u00a0So, what is with this gender splitting condensation?<\/p>\n
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I must admit, I personally identify with the content of this article.\u00a0 As a matter of fact, I am currently struggling with confusion brought on by the college transition, and all of the lumps and bumps confusion causes in the road.\u00a0 My confidence has definitely decreased.\u00a0 In a way, my case fits the data provided in Dweck\u2019s article.\u00a0 However, the crucial point is missing\u2014I am highly critical of Dwecks hard differentiation between considering intellect as a gift versus considering it as an expandable quality and how each viewpoint affects males\u2019 and females\u2019 performances through a \u201cconfusing\u201d transition in life.\u00a0 I believe intellect is expandable, and yet my confidence levels continue to deplete.\u00a0 My confidence relies upon how accurately and timely I complete an assignment.<\/p>\n
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The key word is timely.\u00a0 One can say intellect is expandable, but how long will that expanding take?\u00a0 Perhaps we\u2019re looking at tests\u2019 results through too narrow of a lens.\u00a0 Data collected by college board in 2013 shows \u201ceven though female high school students are better prepared academically on many different measures than their male classmates, both overall and for mathematics specifically, female high school students score significantly lower on the SAT math test, and the +30-point differences in test scores favoring males has persisted for generations.\u201d\u00a0 The SATs are timed tests.\u00a0 I have yet to find data investigating this other outlook.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
All in all, I believe supporting the belief that intellect can grow is important, rather than praising intellectual \u201cgifts.\u201d\u00a0 However, supporting in the way that doesn\u2019t own up to recognizing when someone takes an abnormally long time to learn the information, can be more damaging, for in the same vein, the one\u2019s teaching and \u201cencouraging\u201d are providing false hope.<\/p>\n
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References<\/p>\n
Ceci, Stephen J., and Wendy M. Williams, eds. Why Aren’t There More Women In Science. 1st ed. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association, 2007. Print.<\/p>\n
Perry, Mark J. “2013 SAT Test Results Show That a Huge Math Gender Gap Persists with a 32-point Advantage for High School Boys.\u201d AEI, 23 Sept. 2013. Web. 08 Sept. 2015.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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