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The premise that women who became nurses and teachers were "the best skilled and most intelligent" women would need support.
I would guess that to be right since women were pushed into "girl jobs" and those two careers were the educated jobs of the girl jobs.
I wanted to see if scores slipped along with the 1979 creation of the Department of Education with my thought being before that teachers could teach and didn't have to do as much administrative type work or follow a lot of rules. I also thought it might be attributed to an entitlement society as in you no longer have to be educated, work hard to get money to get stuff, the government just gives it to you, but then how would that explain Europe? I found this. The biggest drop off comes after the 1970s - that's the women's movement and the Department of Education.
"...Yet low performance is not limited to these more challenging subjects. Americans barely reach the international literacy average set by advanced democracies, according to a report issued by the Educational Testing Service after looking at the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Unlike the math and science surveys, the IALS was given to a cross section of adults aged 16 to 65. Despite the high expenditures on education in the United States—and the large numbers of students enrolled in colleges and universities—the United States ranked 12th on the test. The United States is living on its past. Among the oldest group in the study (those aged 56–65), U.S. prose skills rose to second place. For those attending school in the 1950s, SAT scores reached an all-time high. As the years go by, the United States slips down the list. Americans educated in the sixties captured a Bronze Medal in literacy, those schooled in the seventies got 5th place in the race. But those schooled in the nineties ranked 14th."
I would guess that to be right since women were pushed into "girl jobs" and those two careers were the educated jobs of the girl jobs.
I wanted to see if scores slipped along with the 1979 creation of the Department of Education with my thought being before that teachers could teach and didn't have to do as much administrative type work or follow a lot of rules. I also thought it might be attributed to an entitlement society as in you no longer have to be educated, work hard to get money to get stuff, the government just gives it to you, but then how would that explain Europe? I found this. The biggest drop off comes after the 1970s - that's the women's movement and the Department of Education.
"...Yet low performance is not limited to these more challenging subjects. Americans barely reach the international literacy average set by advanced democracies, according to a report issued by the Educational Testing Service after looking at the International Adult Literacy Survey (IALS). Unlike the math and science surveys, the IALS was given to a cross section of adults aged 16 to 65. Despite the high expenditures on education in the United States—and the large numbers of students enrolled in colleges and universities—the United States ranked 12th on the test. The United States is living on its past. Among the oldest group in the study (those aged 56–65), U.S. prose skills rose to second place. For those attending school in the 1950s, SAT scores reached an all-time high. As the years go by, the United States slips down the list. Americans educated in the sixties captured a Bronze Medal in literacy, those schooled in the seventies got 5th place in the race. But those schooled in the nineties ranked 14th."
Forty plus years ago, educational standards tended to be higher than they are now. Standardized achievement tests have noted a gradual decline in the last twenty years in the performance of American students in English and Math skills.
If we go back in time, women were often constrained in their choice of occupations. It was rare to see a working woman who was not either a teacher or a nurse. As a result, education got the very most intelligent and best skilled women. Presumably, this translated into the country getting topnotch teachers at bargain wages.
I am not saying or suggesting that such a system was "just", "right", or desirable. I am simply articulating that was the reality than.
Than in 1964, Congress passed the Civil Rights Act which prohibited employers from discriminating against job applicants based on their race, sex, religion, or national origin. Many cultural changes occurred throughout the 1960's and 1970's which opened many doors for women into other occupations. Today, we find large numbers of women in every imaginable occupation including law, medicine, business, and engineering. There are many women owning and running their own businesses.
While this has been good for sexual equality, does anyone here believe it has had a negative effect on education in that the field can no longer attract "the best and brightest" teachers? Could we even conclude that this one factor is the major reason why educational achievement among our children has declined in the last 20-30 years? We aren't going to "roll the clock" back (and we shouldn't).
Am I right? Wrong? Or partly right?
Educational standards at schools like the University of Michigan are lower today due to the school's policy of admitting less-qualified students to bolster the school's diversity. The U of M was sued over this policy several years ago and lost the court case.
SAT is a college preparation test. It was historically meant for people seeking entrance to college. There are many more people from a wider variety of socio-economic backgrounds taking the SAT today than there have been in the past. That is what has brought the score down. It is not related to women.
I can remember in my early school days when almost all teachers were women. I can't say they were the brightest or most educated women even by a longshot. I think the really intelligent people know better than to become teachers as you can make a whole lot more money in other fields and not have to put up with bratty kids. What would probably help more than anything is having separate classes for boys and girls only because each gender learns in a different way and responds better to different teaching methods. It would also help if colleges quit letting just anybody in as it used to be only intelligent people could go to college. Now anyone who can afford it can.
I can remember in my early school days when almost all teachers were women. I can't say they were the brightest or most educated women even by a longshot. I think the really intelligent people know better than to become teachers as you can make a whole lot more money in other fields and not have to put up with bratty kids. What would probably help more than anything is having separate classes for boys and girls only because each gender learns in a different way and responds better to different teaching methods. It would also help if colleges quit letting just anybody in as it used to be only intelligent people could go tcollege. Now anyone who can afford it can.
You have consider that missions and entry standards vary among colleges/universities too. So, that has to be considered too.
Also, girls do better than boys and we have to find out why that is.
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