Thirty five years ago,many schools in united states,still segregated courses on the basis of gender.Secretarial courses and cooking were for girls,business and mechanical for boys.High school teachers were not likely to encourage girls to go on to college because they were expected to get married and stay home to raise children.If a girl was going to college,teachers advised her to choose a traditionally feminine career such as teaching,nursing,or social work.
These things do not happen now.American schools generally offers the same course to all students and expect both girls and boys to have
careers after they graduate.However some gender role differences are still common.Various study have shown.For example,that from preschool through high school,girls are given less attention than boys.Teachers tend to ask boys to do thing more often,offer them more helpful criticism.They tend to allow boy to shout out answers,but scold girls for doing so,especially in math and science classes.Studies also shown that because girls
receive less attention from teachers,they suffer a further drop in self esteem when they reach high school.At age nine the majority of girls are confident,assertive,and positive about themselves.By age 14 less than one-third feel that way.Perhaps partly as a result of this high school girls score lower in most subjects on standardized tests than boys.
The structure of the school also sends out a message about gender role differences.In most elementary and secondary schools in the united states,men hold the position of authority as principals and teachers are female,over two-third of all school principals are male.This male dominated atmosphere can lead children to
believe that women need the leadership of men.