Most of the valedictorians from the two high schools in town are girls...This doesn't necessarily relate to IQ--it's more work ethic. I wonder if there's an "obedience" component of getting great grades that is more suited toward women. For example, if a class is boring and an assignment or paper is bogus, my son will rush through because he feels confident and empowered to make the assessment that it is not worth much of his valuable time/effort. On the other hand, when I was a student, I would have worked to complete the assignment to the best of my ability, without questioning how worthwhile is was.
This operates in our house. I've occasionally met gifted girls who act 'like boys' in this regard - and boy oh boy do they catch flack! So I think it's easier to be a dis-obedient boy as that's just more withint the expected boy parameters. OTOH, I don't think my DS has the ability to read his teachers as well as most girls - so even when he is temporarily motivated to obey, he has a tougher time getting into the teacher's head and giving what is wanted. FWIW, DS would strongly dissagree with this last statement - he believes he knows what the teachers mean even when he doesn't. Perhaps a key skill to listening is clearning one's minds of the perception that one already knows what is going to be said? I've always thought my kid had a stone tablet memory when the other kids were given etch-a-sketches- very difficult for him to 'reset.'
Smiles,
Grinity
