Story: Harvard President's Comments Spark Debate About Gender, 01/24/05
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/jan-june05/harvard_1-24.html

Reading Comprehension Questions:

1. What is the current controversy at Harvard University?

2. How did Harvard President Lawrence Summers explain why there are few top female scientists at elite universities?

3. What was the response to Summers' comments?

4. How did Summers respond to the criticism?

5. How did some teens respond to the president's comments?

6. How did the young women respond to Summers' comments?

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. What is your opinion of President Summers' comments? Explain.

2. Are there things that women do better than men or men better than women? Explain your answer.

3. Have you ever felt like someone implied that you were good or bad at something because of your gender? What was the situation and how did it make you feel?

4. Is it wrong to bring up controversial ideas or hypotheses? Why or why not?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of these topics providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra [extra@newshour.org]. Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.