Boarding Schools for Girls

A March 20 article by Whittier Daily News staff writer Brian Charles reports that the desire to attend college is now more common among female student than among their male counterparts:

According to a study by the Center for Education Policy, 85 percent of girls in grades three through 12 said they planned to attend college, while 77 of boys planned to attend college.

Girl were also 13 percent more likely to see a four-year college in their future than boys, and 10 percent more likely to do more than the bare minimum amount of work to pass a class.

"We have closed the attitudinal gap between boys and girls," said Kathy Onoye, chief executive officer for elementary education at Pasadena Unified School District. "We were very aware 20 years ago about the gap in math, for instance, and we've closed that gap."

Labels: colleges, education, school

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It is okay to encourage students to go to college even if they don't show promise academically, according to a new study in the American Sociological Review. Children who do not get into college or complete their degrees do not suffer mental health damage if encouraged to do so.

• Professors John Reynolds and Charlie Baird found that the percentage of high school seniors who want to get college degrees had doubled compared to the percentage of people who had earned degrees between 1976 and 2000.
  
• This created an effect they called "ambition inflation."
  
• In order to study this effect, the researchers used data on 4300 participants in the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, comparing symptoms of depression among those did and those who did not achieve their educational goals.
  
• There was little difference between the two groups.

However, students with lower levels of education showed depression relating to lower attainment, but not from feelings of failure. Many young people believe that they can go back and earn degrees in their 30's or even later.

"Aiming high and failing has consequences to mental health, while trying may lead to higher achievements and the mental and material benefits that go along with achievements," Dr. Reynolds said. "Young adults with college expectations may visualize having their entire lives to realize their educational plans."

Labels: colleges, education

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One of two candidates in a Dec. 1 runoff election for mayor of Atlanta, Georgia, used part of a Nov. 30 radio broadcast to promote her familiarity with  and support of  single-sex schools and other innovative educational approaches.

A Nov. 30 article by Atlanta Journal Constitution political reporter Jim Galloway included the following comments from mayoral candidate Mary Norwood:

I have been a strong advocate for charter schools. I've been a strong advocate for innovation. & I do love people being able to think outside the box and have some different rules. ... Other cities have many more charter schools than Atlanta does right now, and we have buildings that are vacant.

We need to be very thoughtful about what our resources are, and how we can best educate our children. ... I'm also a big proponent of single-sex schools. I went to a girls college for two years, and I understand the difference in single-sex education.

Labels: colleges, advocacy, single-sex education, girls school, politics

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Eighth graders will be able to take their first College Board examination starting in 2010, according to the nonprofit College Board, which owns the SAT, PSAT, and other tests.

Most college-bound students take the Preliminary Scholastic Achievement Test (PSAT) in their junior year. PSAT scores are used to award National Merit Scholarships. During senior year, students take the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) as well as tests in individual subjects. If the students do well on their subject tests, they can qualify for college credits.

College Board's rival, the American College Test (ACT), has already introduced an eighth grade exam called "Explore," now used in California.

College Board officials said results from the "8th grade SAT" would not be given to colleges. Instead, parents and school counselors would use the grades in writing, mathematics, and reading to develop a realistic assessment of each student's abilities, and thus become better able to guide them in college choices. The test would identify academic weaknesses and strengths so that students could make better choices in planning their high school curriculums.

Labels: colleges, tests, high-school

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One hundred twenty-three college presidents are taking part in the Amethyst Initiative, an effort to stop college binge drinking. The controversial plan calls for lowering the drinking age to 18 years old.

Binge drinking, defined as having five or more drinks in a row, took the lives of 157 college-aged individuals between 1999 and 2005, according to the Associated Press.

All 50 states set the legal drinking age at 21 years, partly in response to pressure from Congress. If a state raises its drinking age, it loses federal highway funds.

The presidents, including ones from Duke, Tufts, Dartmouth, Johns Hopkins, Ohio State, and other major universities, signed a statement saying that the current laws are not working, instead creating a "culture of dangerous, clandestine binge drinking." Many privately acknowledge that they cannot enforce the law on campus or control underage drinking.

"Kids are going to drink whether it's legal or illegal," said Johns Hopkins President William R. Brody. "We'd at least be able to have a more open dialogue with students about drinking as opposed to this sham where people don't want to talk about it because it's a violation of the law."

Some of the college presidents who signed the Amethyst Initiative argue that having the legal limit at 21 years old means that many students drink in the early evening because they know that once they go out to parties or public places, they will not be served alcohol.

"If they drink too much in the beginning [of an evening], they can get alcohol poisoning," said Baird Tipson, president of Washington College in Chestertown. "They're really not aware of how their judgment is impaired. We hope they don't get into a car. Or, if they're a young woman, go to a fraternity party. It's just not healthy."

Many experts oppose lowering the drinking age, arguing that it will simply push the current problem on to high schools. Donna Shalala, former Secretary of Health and Human Services and current president of the University of Miami, said, "I remember college campuses when we had 18 year-old drinking ages and I believe we have made some progress since then."

Others, like Joanne Glasser, president of Bradley University in Peoria, Illinois, believe that universities should instead promote activities that reduce the abuse of alcohol instead of talking about age limits. The recent deaths of two Bradley students were linked to over-consumption of alcohol.

Laura Dean Mooney, president of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said that lowering the drinking age will result in more automobile deaths and that "even a 21-year-old drinking age will not be enforced on certain college campuses." She is asking the public to call or write to signatories of the Amethyst Initiative and demand they remove their names from the list.

The Governors Highway Safety Association plans a workshop "to help highway safety agencies counter any effort in their states to lower the drinking age."

Labels: colleges, alcohol, drinking-age

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As adolescents enter high school, they’re thinking about classes, Friday night football games, and the cute boy (or girl) in study hall. Teachers, guidance counselors and parents – however – are thinking about college. It’s a decision most kids aren’t ready to make yet, but parents can help.

“There are many things parents can do to help teens prepare for making this decision such as helping them to organize thoughts and goals about what they would like to do as far as a career. Parents can help them to write down accomplishments they have achieved during the middle school years and high school years so that they can see a pattern of activities and interests that can help them to make future career decisions.” - Source: Associated Content

Helping your teen make decisions about college requires some balance, too. You can make all the lists and get all the college brochures you want, but some kids just don’t yet know what they want to do. And that’s ok. Keep an open dialogue, and an open mind. Let your teen make the decision at his own pace.

 

Labels: colleges, parenting

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If a female college freshman lives with an overweight roommate, she is less likely to gain weight, according to a new study from the University of Michigan.

The average female gains between 2.5 and six pounds during her freshman year. However, girls in the new study with overweight roommates added only a half a pound, compared to those with slim roommates, who gained an average of three pounds.

"It's not really the weight of your roommate that's important, but the behaviors your roommate engages in," said lead author Dr. Kandice Kapinos. "These behaviors are what may really be 'contagious.'"

Dr. Kapinos and her colleagues studied 144 randomly-assigned roommates, asking them about how much they weigh, their heights, and whether they diet to lose weight. Overweight women tended to diet and use the gymnasium more often.

"Previous studies have suggested that having an obese spouse, friend or sibling increases one's likelihood of being obese," Dr. Kapinos said. "But these relationships are obviously not random. People pick their friends and spouses, and they often select people who are similar to themselves. And even though we don't pick our siblings, we share a genetic inheritance and an early environment that may influence adult weight."

The study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Health Economists.
 

Labels: colleges

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