Pink and blue

2nd May 2003, 1:00am

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Pink and blue

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archive/pink-and-blue
AS the exam season approaches, this is an appropriate time to be reminded that the Victorians were also worried about the pressures of tests on children - belying their stern image. While a national education commission in 1868 concluded that girls were intellectually as capable as boys (TESS, last week), its members thought the female constitution too “excitable” and “sensitive” for the stress of exams.

Apart from a few decades of the 20th century, it has been taken for granted that girls and boys are different. The Victorian commission pinpointed separate but equal strengths. Today scientific research also highlights gender differences. But individuals come with a range of characteristics.

The point is not, as feminists used to argue, that boys and girls are born the same, but that no child should be held back from their aspirations.

That goes for boys who want to sing in the choir as well as for girls who aim to be rocket scientists.

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