School Girls: Young Women, Self-Esteem, and the Confidence Gap (1994)
Peggy Orenstein's seminal book has become a clarion call for changewithin the public school systems regarding the disparity of treatmentbetween boys and girls. The book draws felicitous attention to thecritical issue of American culture's deleterious effects upon its youngwomen. According to Orenstein, within the educational system boys and girlsare treated differently, and the results are damaging to the self esteem ofht the latter. Orenstein focuses on the American educational systems'approach to girls and subsequent effects on the girl's self-esteem. Inaddition she discusses parental influences and examines coping styles, oradaptive propensities of various cultural subgroups in relation to theeffects these issues have on the developing self confidence of young women. Orenstein uses two west coast school system populations to draw herobservations. However, with such a small sampling the conclusions of herresults could be considered suspect. Her unique approach was designed tomake the subject matter relevant to a number of educational subpopulations. Educators from all levels should consider reading this book,as it addresses the conscious and sometimes unconscious differences in the
Unfortunately, one caution for young people is that thelanguage is often explicit. The suggested program offers some effective methods forattitudinal change in boys and girls. Like someone who is beating a dead horse,Orenstein's message wears out its novelty long before the book'sconclusion. While Orenstein offers wonderfully detailed descriptions of eachschool system, the students and teachers within, and highlights the uniqueeducational program at books end, the scenarios are still presented throughthe author's subjective feminist world view, and as a result are onlyanecdotal in nature. In conclusion, School Girls is an important work that details a numberof sensitive issues concerning young women in our society and thedetrimental nature of modern attitudes that discriminate between boys andgirls on the basis of gender differences. The influence of parents and educators inthe lives of girls and boys hold a major part in the development of thechild's self confidence. Byavoiding the tendency to over-stereotype, School Girls remains fresh andcarries a depth that will reach out to a broader audience. Each has to wrestlewith the awkwardness of adolescence, but testosterone affects boysdifferently then progesterone and estrogen affect young girls. The final chapter offers a means for effecting change in theclassroom, and is worth discussion. It is a book that reads like a novel at times but can speak to eachnew reader with the insight of the wise grandparent. Orenstein's approach allows the reader to makepersonal identification with these important issues. As she builds her case, Orenstein takes little ofthe emotional differences between boys and girls into consideration. Orenstein takes great pains to cover Caucasian, African-American, and Hispanic girls as individual groups, and the various waysAmerican culture uniquely influences their self-perception and behavior. The focus is on a deliberatelydeveloping an inclusive educational program in a class format. Strength of the research is in the author's longitudinal type ofinvolvement with each school system.
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