Do Schools Cater More to Girls than Boys?
Elementary school classrooms have a tendency to be girl-centric. Most elementary school teachers are female and they often teach to the learning styles that best fit their girl students without even realizing their male students are suffering. The PBS Parents website has a terrific article about how schools seem to cater to girls. One example: example: do you remember ever keeping a journal in school? Sitting down to write introspectively is definitely a female learning style. Boys express themselves through action. However, many teachers make their male students feel that expression through physical behaviors is inappropriate for school, and certainly inappropriate come time to read and write.
Boys are Different
Boys are already behind girls when it comes to verbal and communication skills. It’s simply the way their brain develops; it is not a deficit or a handicap. And elementary schools are 4/5ths language based! Not only that, but since most teachers are female, the reading material introduced is often unintentionally suited for a female audience. Schools are losing boys’ interest before they can even learn literacy skills.
Boys and Literacy
There is an excellent book by Elizabeth Knowles and Martha Smith entitled Boys and Literacy. (See Mike McQueen’s in-depth review of this book.) The authors ask teachers to re-think reading strategies in the classroom. They encourage teachers to allow for frequent breaks from sitting and to be lenient about moving around in the classroom, and allow for more sensory activities throughout the day.
They also encourage adult male participation. Boys need male role models, especially when it comes to reading! Having a father, a male teacher, or volunteer come into the classroom to talk books and perhaps read aloud could make a huge difference to an incredulous male student.
Some other ideas from the book include:
- Stocking the classroom with reading materials that interest boys! (Comic books, Guinness Book of World Records, Sports Magazines, etc.)
- Read humorous poetry/ books aloud. Perform! Be wild! The boys will think it’s hysterical.
- Use reader’s theater. Expressing themselves through action helps boys become fluent thinkers.
- Allow boys to have choice in their book selection. Allow them to read nonfiction books.
- Put boys with similar interests together in book talks.
- Never make a boy read aloud unless he so desires or has had time to prepare beforehand.
- Most importantly, allow boys to be boys. This may mean letting them read, write, and draw about things like pro-wrestling, aliens, and the occasional fart joke. The point is to allow them to experiment with the writing process by giving them topics they are comfortable writing about.
Changing the Way we do Things!
I don’t believe the school systems are failing our boys. My husband, the definition of a guy’s guy, is an avid reader. Unlike me, he is perfectly happy to sit and read his novel in the midst of the commotion of four kids running about, jumping on him, vying for his attention. It must be a guy thing. Schools are not, however, making things easy for boys by only catering to female learning styles. Simply remembering the differences between the sexes can help both male and female students excel in the area of literacy.
Mike McQueen
Great post Holly! You are a wonderful writer! I especially liked your comment – "Never make a boy read aloud unless he so desires or has had time to prepare beforehand" It supports the concept that a boy will rather refuse or give up than to look weak or dumb. I look forward to reading your next article!
LLDonna
Elizabeth and Martha writing about boys and reading…a little ironic?? I’d like to add another book that may be hiding in this blog in many corners, one that looks at adolescent guys. Michael Smith and Jeff Wilhelm’s book, Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys, makes a similar case for the kinds of books guys will read and the uses to which they put literacy. And in a stereotypical way, it packs some extra pinch of credibility because Mike and Jeff wrote it.
meyrtwa
A book I love (and I’m sure you do too) is “Twilight” by Stephanie Meyer(here I downloaded Twilight by Stephanie Meyer for free).
I love this book because of the amazing details and description. One of my favorite parts is when Edward, an amazingly handsome vampire, brings Bella, a regular teenager, to the school prom.
The description is so detailed that it does not let go of you. It makes you pick up the book and never let go.
Twilight is part of a saga of four books, “Twilight,” “New Moon,” “Eclipse” and “Breaking Dawn.” Out of these four books, “Twilight” is my favorite.
Stephanie Meyer is amazing at descriptive writing. She is awesome at grabbing ahold of someone’s heart and does not let it go.
Lmartin
Twilight series rules
hitcliff
it’s like an obsession. have read all the books in 2 days, searched interenet for all the soundtracks, pictures, stories…(luckily my favourite http://torrents.rapid4me.com search engine was of great help) tell me I’m not mad! looks like a saga for teenagers, but we all do want to believe in fairytales. boys are not exception!
qatrimong
Classroom management is a term used by teachers to describe the process of ensuring that classroom lessons run smoothly despite disruptive behavior by students. The term also implies the prevention of disruptive behavior. It is possibly the most difficult aspect of teaching for many teachers and indeed experiencing advertising problems in this area causes some to leave teaching altogether. In 1981 the US National Educational Association reported that 36% of teachers said they would probably not go into teaching if they had to decide again. A major reason was “negative student attitudes and discipline”.(Wolfgang and Glickman)
According to Moskowitz & Hayman (1976), once a teacher loses control of their classroom, it becomes increasingly more difficult for them to regain that control (Moskowitz & Hayman, 1976, p. 283)) computer desktop. Also, research from Berliner (1988) and Brophy & Good (1986) shows that the time that teacher has to take to correct misbehavior caused by poor classroom management skills results in a lower rate of academic engagement in the classroom (Berliner, 1988, p. 310; Brophy & Good, 1986, p. 335). From the student’s prospective, effective classroom management involves clear communication of behavioral and academic expectations, as well as a cooperative learning environment (Allen 1986).
Classroom management is closely linked to issues of motivation, discipline and respect shoes. Methodologies remain a matter of passionate debate amongst teachers; approaches vary depending on the beliefs a teacher holds regarding educational psychology. A large part of traditional classroom management involves behavior modification, although many teachers see using behavioral approaches alone as overly simplistic. Many teachers establish rules and procedures at the beginning of the school year. They also try to be consistent in enforcing these rules and procedures. Many would also argue for positive consequences when rules are followed, and negative consequences when rules are broken watches. There are newer perspectives on classroom management that attempt to be holistic.
mayfieldga
While both boys and girls begin life equal, they are raised from birth to be different.The boys are given more aggressive treatment to make them tough. They are are given much less "kind" mental, emotional, social support for fear of coddling them. By intent, they are increasingly given love, honor, and respect, the essentials of self-worth, based on measures of achievement, power, status. This makes boys and later men more competitive for this makes them try much harder in order to achieve those feelings of self-worth from society. This creates higher average stress; less mental/emotional/social development; less ability to learn abstract skills such as reading; higher muscle tension that hurts handwriting and motivation to write; and more activity as a natural stress relief from the mistreatment they receive. Those boys who do not measure up will not only receive less honor and respect but will receive more aggression from society. This causes Males who not achieving in the classroom to look in other areas to generate love, honor, and respect from society. In the information age, all of those areas have led to a large decrease in academic learning and in turn ability to compete in the information age. The higher average stress created by this mistreatment is responsible for greater incidence of ADD, ADHD, and more active behavior in general. Note, nice middle to upper class Males do not have this problem. Women are now surging ahead.
Since girls and later women are not supposed to be strong this allows for much mental, emotional, social support from an early age along with much love honor and respect simply for being girls. In the information age, this support not only allows girls to mature faster but to do better in academics. This support continues through adulthood and now is showing up in economic advantages for women.
1. I fear the use of Male classrooms with more discipline and more time on task will only lead to more stern and even more harsh treatment and more stereotyping of Males to perform more physical or menial labor to match the growing caste system being portrayed in the media against Males today.