A Girls’ School

This is the week. This is the week those carefully considered and constructed acceptance letters go out to families who have applied to independent schools in the area. It is a joyful, and perhaps stressful, time. Whether you have chosen the school of your dreams for your child or are just contemplating a change for your young student who is slightly less than happy in her current school, the acceptance letter designates that a choice needs to be made. A commitment is just two weeks away, and it is more than just a financial decision; you must decide on whether an all-girls education is the best for your daughter.

Why all girls? This question comes up frequently during the admissions season. Teachers who work with girls every day have been able to answer this for decades and now their observations are being backed up by research. In addition, the world we currently inhabit reminds us daily that girls deserve a more promising future, even though much progress has been made. How can we insure that our daughters and granddaughters have a path forward that fulfills their passions and potential? At Roland Park Country School, we firmly believe this starts with enrolling girls in an all-girls’ school. Surround them with leaders who are women! Surround them with girls who defy stereotypes because they like “boy” things – and are really good at “boys” things! It can be as simple as that; however, most girls’ schools realize that it takes more than just exposure to have a lasting impact on their students’ future success. It takes active teaching and modeling. RPCS uses a purposeful curriculum that incorporates leadership opportunities and weaves voicing opinions and presentation into daily class activities. Examples are many, but consider the typical math class where problems don’t just need to be “solved”, they need to be “proved and justified”. Girls speak up with ideas, disagree, debate, all while learning mathematical concepts and theory. During reading classes, book characters are discussed, compared and analyzed through group book clubs, Venn diagrams, and presentations using personal connections and creatively constructed props. STEAM activities often take front and center. Girls learn that they can program robots, artistically create three-dimensional probability games, and engineer structures that support hundreds of books. The research is clear, girls who have these experiences in all-girls’ schools are 80% more likely to go on to positions of leadership, and graduates from all-girls’ schools are three times more likely to consider engineering careers than their female peers at co-ed schools.

Girls’ schools like RPCS are also taking seriously the need for teaching confidence to our young girls. The article below, written by Lisa Damour for the New York Times, addresses the very issue of confidence building for girls. She questions if traditional schools do a better job teaching confidence to boys and encouraging competence in girls. Boys feel they can take short cuts if the results satisfy the requirements and will eventually find expedient ways to get good outcomes. Later in life, boys will be more likely to “lean in” to work problems regardless of prior preparation. Confidence leads to more risk taking and gets attention in the workplace. Girls, by contrast, will often over-plan, over-study, over-everything to make sure their assignment is perfect. This will often result in immediate good feedback but over time leads to a feeling that nothing short of perfection will be good enough. As educators of girls, we need to be very purposeful in making sure risk-taking is part of the daily routine and that good time management and realistic expectations are learned and valued.  At RPCS, we bring in speakers and spend considerable time reading and discussing just how to make sure our young girls and women leave this all-girls’ environment confident as well as prepared.

Decisions about a child’s education are never easy. Making the decision to send a daughter to an all-girls’ school promises a lifetime of benefits and rewards. We state this loudly and proudly-  Roland Park Country School is a community that stands for something important: shaping girls into women who will elevate each other to purposely impact the world.

https://www.nytimes.com/2019/02/07/opinion/sunday/girls-school-confidence.html

I hope that my communication with you encourages “talking points” to inspire weekend conversation with your children. Here are some “talking points” for this weekend.

• If you are in Kindergarten- What was your favorite activity from the 100^thday celebration? What did you enjoy most about being a “Secret Agent”?

• If you are in First Grade- What math activity did you complete for the 100^thday celebration? Have you been enjoying the new playground equipment?
• If you are in Second Grade- What did you learn from the business woman who came to speak this past week? What are some of the most important lessons about economics that you have learned? How did you finish decorating your rickshaw?

• If you are in Third Grade- What did you learn from the Chinese visiting students that attended class with you last week? What was challenging about the puzzle riddles you completed in math on Valentine’s day?

• If you are in Fourth Grade- What did you learn from the Chinese visiting students that attended your classes on Valentine’s Day? What is your favorite part of Sarah, Plain and Tall? Were you able to make it to the show “Art for Paws” to see your work be sold to benefit the SPCA?

• If you are in Fifth Grade- What was the impact on you from the experience visiting your delegates in Annapolis this week? What did you think of Governor Hogan? What did you learn from your extensive tour of the state capital and sitting in on a session of the Senate?