![]() ![]() They are not willing to take the risks that boys routinely take. When probed, they tell Orenstein that they are afraid of having the wrong answer and of being embarrassed. ![]() ![]() The classrooms at Weston Middle School ring with the symptoms: Even girls who consider themselves feminists tend to ""recede from class proceedings"" while their male classmates vociferously respond to teachers' questions girls who are generally outspoken remain silent in the classroom. The resulting narratives are likely to move and vex readers. ![]() In her attempt to delve more deeply into this phenomenon, Orenstein observed and interviewed dozens of young girls inside and outside their classrooms. By sixth grade, both boys and girls have learned to equate masculinity with opportunity and assertiveness and femininity with reserve and restraint. It revealed that girls' self-esteem plummets as they reach adolescence, with a concomitant drop in academic achievement - especially in math and science. Orenstein was motivated by the disturbing findings of a 1990 study from the American Association of University Women. An intimate and provocative glimpse into the lives of adolescent schoolgirls at two West Coast middle schools by journalist Orenstein (formerly managing editor of Mother Jones). ![]()
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