Remember a couple of years ago when Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers suggested that the shortage of elite female scientists may stem in part from "innate" differences between men and women. Well, eat your words, Mr. Summers.

Girls in Iceland are kicking butt when it comes to math. Government researchers who tested 15 year-olds in Iceland two years ago found that boys significantly trailed girls - the only place among 41 countries that participated. The difference of 15 points paled in comparison to a small fishing village, Sandgerdi, where the difference was almost 30 points.

The difference - motivation. The boys can't wait to quit school and go to sea. The girls see a good education their ticket out of town.

Seems to me that everytime we agree that girls can't do math, we are chipping away at girls' motivation. Let's start telling them about the girls in Sandgerdi. And explaining to them that all grils need a ticket out of town in their back pocket!

Gillian Parrillo
The Sacramento Executive