Why Can't a Boy Be More Like a Girl?

[Modern School]

My first reaction upon seeing the title, “Why Can't a Boy Be More Like a Girl?” was, “Why would we want boys to be more like girls? Boys are perfectly fine the way they are.”


The article was actually a summary of a TED video of Ali Carr-Chellman, discussing why boys are more likely than girls to tune out and fail at school. Unfortunately, her hypotheses are just as absurd and sexist as the title of the article:


1. Zero Tolerance for boy toys, such as toy guns and violence. Boys are not allowed to write about subjects they are most interested in - whether it be about a favorite video game or about violent tornadoes. Boys feel that a teacher "tells me what to write". If a boy does display an interest in these types of things, the question that inevitably arises is "Should we send this child to a psychologist?"

2. Fewer male teachers in the classroom sends the message to boys that school is for girls and "I don't belong here".

3. "Kindergarten is the new second grade." Today, what students once learned in second grade is now being taught in kindergarten. This "compressed curriculum" is due to accountability measures that teachers "must get through" regardless of readiness for No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Race to the Top, and other standardized measures. Compliance, not the love of learning, is the rule of the day.

For the full article, please visit http://modeducation.blogspot.com/2011/01/why-cant-boy-be-more-like-girl.html

[FreakinDJ]

1. Its true

I've witnessed school administrators discussing the need to revert back to "Old-Math" teaching techniques to give little girls a better chance

[lumberjack_jeff]

2. The fact that boys can't find any role models in the education system is relevant.

They get exactly that message.

His evidence for his belief that this theory is "sexist and absurd" is his "suspicion" that there are more male teachers than 30 or 40 years ago.

HIGHLIGHTS of the Teacher Survey Results

The public school teaching force in the United States is getting more female and older. Eight out of 10 public school teachers (82 percent) are female. This is up from 74 percent in 1996, 71 percent in 1990 and 69 percent in 1986. Eighty-four percent of teachers who have five or fewer years’ experience teaching in 2005 are women. This is up from 79 percent in 1996. While 28 percent of teachers with 30 or more years experience are male, only 16 percent of those with five or fewer years of experience teaching are male.

This is seven years old (the disparity has gotten more pronounced since then) and took me about 60 seconds of googling to find.

93% of grade school teachers are women. They come to school without any first hand knowledge of what it is like to be a boy, and don't have any peers with experience to draw from.

[FBaggins]

3. I'd love to see him try to back up "KG is the new 2nd grade"

If anything, the shift has been in the other direction over the last several decades.

[Xenotime]

4. Agree on many points...

The preferred play patterns of boys are often too aggressive and dangerous. In which case, the school can be sued if a boy acts out violently. It's important to point out that these same 'boys' are future rapists and murders if their actions can not be controlled.

Boys and men in general are often too dangerous in this day and age.

[houstonintc]

5. This is a joke right?

I really hope it is.

[houstonintc]

6. Gender exclusive schools...

In my opinion the best real solution is to have gender specific class rooms.

Boy's classes and Girls classes with each catering to the specific genders traits, strengths and social patterns.

Boy's do tend to be more high energy. We like to compete, have challenger's, win merits and other things like that (I speak in generalities of course). A competitive environment with aggressive answer seeking is something that could be made part of the boys classes.

Girls, lets face it, collaborate and thrive off of a different learning style then boys do.

Another element of this should be male teachers for male students (mostly). It helps to have someone who understands how you think and you can emulate.

Overall I liked the talk.

[Kucinich Feingold]

7. Number one was a shit reason

Come on, why can't guys just have some fun. The world is getting more and more pussy with this rule. When I and the others are done working in classes such as history, me and the other guys all talk about girls, Call of Duty, MMA, NHL, and the NFL.