Are Girls Different Than Boys?

Wow...how can anyone possibly answer this question fully? Boys and girls are definitely different in many aspects of life. As far as education goes, i do not think they are that different. Malcolm Gladwell references gender divided classrooms in his book, Outliers, but he does not advocate for one side or the other. Carol Dweck discusses the differences in gender very briefly in her book, Mindset, but she also does not show strong leanings towards one side of the issue. However, the ideas they base their respective books on can be used to examine the issue of possible differences between males and females.
Gladwell says that some people get special opportunities because they are outliers. In other words, they had some special set of circumstances that allowed them to get ahead of everyone else (Gladwell, 2008). A difference along these lines can arise between boys and girls only if a teacher is sexist or something to that effect. It is no secret that some children have harder home lives than others. The ones with the easier home live with parents that encourage learning and productivity will, more than likely, have an advantage in school. However, this does not happen based on the child's gender. If a teacher picks favorites that are all of one gender, then one could make the argument that this gender, whether it be male of female, had a slight advantage. Most teachers do not do this, though. 
Dweck's book focuses on people's mindset and how it affects their lives. The fixed mindset causes people to dwell on failures while the growth mindset allows them to use setbacks as challenges and learning experiences (Dweck, 2006). Once again, a child's home life and upbringing will play a major role in determining which mindset the child employs. This does not vary from one gender to the other either. For these reasons, I do not believe that an accurate generalization can be made about males and females and any differences between them in education.
In the article I got for class ion Wednesday, the author brings up a very interesting point. The author, Kenyon Wallace, argues that boys have a disadvantage because of the images of "cool" that are provided by pop culture (Wallace, 2010). I believe that if any differences do exist between boys and girls, they are caused by thins like this. Wallace says that boys do not feel encouraged to be smart, but instead strive to be a gangster (Wallace, 2010). This statement really caught my attention because I can see this in today's school system. Another common stereotype is that girls should not be super smart. I know many girls who will act dumb even though they are quite bright. I guess this is a way of getting attention or casting the aura of disinterest in education that teenagers seem to love. To me, these are the main causes for differences that may arise between boys and girls. The differences show themselves in boys or girls who try to be "cool."
Neither Gladwell or Dweck goes into detail about gender differences. However, a huge debate regarding the possibility of gender-divided classrooms exists. While some scientific differences may exist, there are too many studies that contradict each other and I can't force myself to believe any of them. When scientists come out with solid proof of differences in the minds of boys and girls that can be repeatedly tested, I will begin to believe that a difference is naturally there. Until that point, I believe that the only differences that may exist are caused by society's view of what people should be like.

Dweck, C. S. (2006) Mindset:The new psychology of success. New York: Ballantine Books. Print.

Gladwell, M. (2008) Outliers:The story of success. Hew York: Little, Brown and Company. Print. 

Wallace, K. (2010, October 16). "A class of their own; Schools hope single-sex


education will help boys excel." National Post, p. A12.