The classroom is a place where we all want to feel that we have an opportunity to participate and our comments and ideas are given as much weight as anybody elses. Unfortunatly a recent and disturbing trend has been seen in virtually every classroom. Girls seem to be getting less attention and less encouragement in their studies. This isn't a planned conspiracy rather a inovert pattern that hinders the progress of girls. Myra and David Sadker have been looking for and analyzing this inequality for 20 years. They now have a book called Failing at Fairness: How America's Schools Cheat Girls. They come to the conclusion that there has been progress in the types of education that girls recieve and the new jobs that they choose to explore.

On the other hand there is still a lot of discrimination that is not being delt with. A Senate House Committee last year passed the Gender Equality in Education act that was supposed to make a quality education acsessable to everyone. This may seem like a simple task, just treat everyone the same. In reality it is much harder to find a solution. Some legislatures believe that sexual discrimination was ended by the time congress ended all sexual discrimination in '72. Others believe that new actions must be continued. In tests conducted by the Sadkers in the classroom teachers gave more attention to, feedback and praise to the male students in the classroom. Even when the teachers knew that the studies were being done their actions were still the same.

The Sadkers came to the conclusion that this type of discrimination cannot be changed overnight by awareness. It represents a ongoing trend in the way that girls are treated and the only remedy is a change in societies values. You be the judge.

Do you think that girls really do have less onf an advantage when it comes to education? Have you ever felt discriminated against because of your sex? Who should be the one to change those patterns, parents, teachers, congress?