Interesting reads this week include Scottish separatism, why girls are better students than boys, overpaid CEOs and more.
Why Girls Get Better Grades Than Boys Do – The Atlantic – “In a 2006 landmark study, Martin Seligman and Angela Lee Duckworth found that middle-school girls edge out boys in overall self-discipline. This contributes greatly to their better grades across all subjects. They found that girls are more adept at “reading test instructions before proceeding to the questions,” “paying attention to a teacher rather than daydreaming,” “choosing homework over TV,” and “persisting on long-term assignments despite boredom and frustration.” These top cognitive scientists from the University of Pennsylvania also found that girls are apt to start their homework earlier in the day than boys and spend almost double the amount of time completing it. Girls’ grade point averages across all subjects were higher than those of boys, even in basic and advanced math—which, again, are seen as traditional strongholds of boys.” The Atlantic
Why the Government Won’t Let Colleges Reduce Tuition – “While high tuition gives schools the ability to extract a few thousand dollars more from a handful of wealthy families, the downside is that many other students find the advertised tuition too daunting to even consider applying to private schools. Many aspiring college students are unaware how few people actually pay the full tuition price that the media loves to gnash its teeth over. Instead, they limit their search to state universities or junior colleges. That’s not only a bad deal for private colleges — most of whom need all the quality students they can find — but also for students who might profit from the smaller classes and more personal attention that private schools typically provide. It isn’t necessarily the case that a private education costs prohibitively more than the local public college: Middle-class families typically get enough financial aid to put the actual cost of a private college within spitting distance of tuition at state university.” The American Magazine
The Overpaid CEO – “Rarely, however, does the press coverage go beyond the moral symbolism of a new Gilded Age. Coverage of CEO pay usually fails to show that the scale of CEO pay packages—and the way CEOs are paid—comes at a cost. At the most basic level, the company is choosing to pay executives instead of doing other things—distributing revenues to shareholders, raising wages for workers, or reinvesting in the business. But the greater cost may be the risky behavior that very high pay encourages CEOs to engage in, especially when pay is tied to short-term corporate performance. CEO pay also plays a major role in the broader trend toward radical inequality—a trend that, evidence has shown, precipitates financial instability in turn.” Democracy: A Journal of Ideas
After Newtown shooting, mourning parents enter into the lonely quiet – The Washington Post – “They had promised to try everything, so Mark Barden went down into the basement to begin another project in memory of Daniel. The families of Sandy Hook Elementary were collaborating on a Mother’s Day card, which would be produced by a marketing firm and mailed to hundreds of politicians across the country. “A difference-maker,” the organizers had called it. Maybe if Mark could find the most arresting photo of his 7-year-old son, people would be compelled to act.” Washington Post
The Guardian view on Scotland’s day of decision | Editorial | Comment is free | The Guardian – “In the coming hours, a hush will descend on Scotland. After these final weeks of loud, full-throated argument, the culmination of a two-year campaign, there comes the special quiet of the polling booth. In silence, millions of voters in Scotland will make their choice, a simple yes or no to a profound question: Should Scotland be an independent country?” The Guardian
Punishment or Child Abuse? – “While 70 percent of Americans approve of corporal punishment, black Americans have a distinct history with the subject. Beating children has been a depressingly familiar habit in black families since our arrival in the New World. As the black psychiatrists William H. Grier and Price M. Cobbs wrote in “Black Rage,” their 1968 examination of psychological black life: “Beating in child-rearing actually has its psychological roots in slavery and even yet black parents will feel that, just as they have suffered beatings as children, so it is right that their children be so treated.”” New York Times
