The Miseducation of Women

by James Tooley

Overview

Girls and boys are different. So why do our schools insist on treating them as identical? Could this misguided equality have anything to do with the increasing dissatisfaction among women that is revealed in survey after survey? Do gender-blind educational policies in fact work to women's disadvantage? Bringing together many women's voices, from Bridget Jones to Simone de Beauvoir, Betty Friedan to Germaine Greer, James Tooley challenges education's sacred cows, demanding a radical rethinking of sexual politics and a fairer way forward for women. The Miseducation of Women landed like a bombshell when it was published in England a few months ago; but Mr. Tooley's book, replete with examples and anecdotes from the United States as well as Great Britain, has equal application to the gender arguments on this side of the Atlantic.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461724445
Publisher:	Dee, Ivan R. Publisher
Publication date:	07/21/2003
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	272
File size:	1 MB

About the Author

James Tooley is professor of education policy at the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne, and author of Reclaiming Education and The Global Education Industry. He writes frequently for the London Times, the Guardian, the New Statesman, and other newspapers and periodicals. He lives in England.

Table of Contents

The Bridget Jones syndrome • Stubborn girls • Romantic illusions • Le&tgrave;s hope it is not true • A theory of education as if Darwin mattered • Big sister is watching you • Celebrating the gender gap.

Editorial Reviews

A new and enthusiastic entrant into the [gender] debate takes the argument to a different, altogether more controversial level.

EVENING STANDARD

...Sensible and well-argued.

EVANGELICAL NOW

This book, written in England, is the latest in the modern cyclical trend of books about the role of women in the world. First there were the books written by Simone de Beauvoir and Betty Friedan, which made women aware of their limited options in the world and which "denigrated domesticity." That was followed by their impact in changing education policy so that boys and girls were treated equally and given a chance to excel in all areas. Tooley, a professor of education policy and writer in England, presents the argument that boys and girls are innately different and that girls have been forced to be like boys and women like men when they would be happier if they were permitted to do what comes naturally. He uses many examples from popular sources like Bridget Jones' Diary as well as academic ones to make his point that we should "celebrate" the gender gap. The book is well-written but filled with too many examples of unhappy career women and too few examples of happy and fulfilled professional women who have been given opportunities they wouldn't have had before the change in policy and are happy with their choices. KLIATT Codes: SA-Recommended for senior high school students, advanced students, and adults. 2002, Ivan R Dee, 258p. notes. bibliog. index., Ages 15 to adult.
— Nola Theiss

KLIATT