Diatribune

Pink Floyd - Another Brick In The Wall. YouTube.

© copyright 2007 Betsy L. Angert. BeThink.org

The Detroit Free Press published an article that initially intrigued. The title Boys can make the grade, if they're not bored, seemed sensible. I thought to myself as I read the banner headline, this is true for all of us no matter what the gender. Why might this be significant. As I perused further, I could feel myself reacting, refuting the reality some educators think remarkable. Boys will be bored if not actively engaged is a valid supposition; however, I do not think that is news; nor do I think we cannot say the same of girls.

As my eyes scanned down the page, I became more and more disillusioned. Nuances were neglected. The nitty-gritty was nil. It seemed to me, educators were negating what we create and giving rise to new norms that mirror the old.

There's a big difference in Pamela Dean's English 9 class at Salem High School when Grammar Bowl begins.

The boys clamber over desks and race for the chairs, sitting with shoulders hunched forward, buzzers clutched in hand. On a recent day, the boys beat the girls to the buzzer for 42 out of 45 questions.

That level of engagement doesn't usually happen in English classes, where girls typically far outperform boys on testing. But turn it into a sport, and suddenly the boys get it.

I thought of the many educators that function as entertainers. This teaching style alienated me as a child and as an adult it still does. I recognize many are amused by antics, frolics, and fun. I am not personally among these.

As a child, I rejected cartoons. Silliness bored me; it still does. I continued to assess the text, wondering ; will this article cause me to cringe. The concept of "play," when I first encountered it in at an educational Fish! Philosophy seminar did. While engaging with Fish! folks, I came to understand that "play" need not be gamey. It can be pleasurable, stimulating, as learning is when we love the process. I continued on my quest. What might the Detroit educators think and what are they truly doing.

Plymouth Canton Community Schools is one of the few districts in the metro area making a dramatic effort to change how boys are taught in response to research showing they learn differently than girls.

"You can teach boys anything as long as you don't do it in a boring way," said Sharon Strean, assistant principal for curriculum and instruction at the district.

I embrace this principle whole-heartedly; however, I ponder. Why does this discussion devote itself to boys. Perhaps, these instructors are cognizant; boys are falling farther behind.

I have long advocated for educational practices that focus on teaching to the individual, to the whole child. I think, if we wish to thrive as teachers we must meet students where they live. Lessons must be personally relevant to pupils as individuals. Relationships need to be established. As a girl, I know, when in a classroom if the curriculum is perfunctory, I am easily bored. I have faith that boys are not alone in feeling as they might.

I recall a semester or two when studying under a certain teacher's guidance. I taught myself how to write upside down and backwards. I was able to practice these skills Monday through Friday. By the end of the term, I perfected this talent. I believe I was awarded a "D" for dexterity. A year earlier, in the same subject area, with a different teacher I received an "A." Hmmmm? My gender did not change. One instructor was no more animated than the other. The lessons in one class were not more interactive than they were in the other. Nevertheless, there was a huge difference.

An educator can teach a student how to learn and how not to teach.

Now, as an instructor, I recognize that if I alter the program slightly and engage a pupil as a person and not as part of a classroom, I can be extremely effective. However, I loathe what is popular and preferred by many, competitive curriculums. I prefer not to pit one student or group of learners against another.

The district is encouraging more competition in the classroom and finding ways to make lessons more hands-on, all rooted in studies that suggest physiological differences in the brains of boys and girls are the main reason an achievement gap between genders exists in some subjects.

"This isn't about boys versus girls. It's about identifying who the students are and identifying their strengths and potential," said Richard Weinfeld, an educational consultant and the author of "Helping Boys Succeed in School." "As we're able to do more brain research, we see more differences between male and female brains."

My personal experience and research suggests that we, as a society tell boys they are competitive, active, and better when they engage in a project with hands on. We encourage them to be active. Educators, parents, and professionals believe boys are kinesthetic learners and they lead young lads in this direction. I think boys and girls are as we train them to be.

I am acquainted with a young man who thought he was expected to play football. He was a big, burly fellow. Of course, he would enjoy the sport. He did as he was "supposed to do," while suffering in silence. He was injured. A brain concussion or two and the doctor would advise him to leave the team. That ultimately, and he will tell you, thankfully occurred.

Another gentle soul, male in gender was often asked if he wanted to shoot hoops. He was tall, athletic in appearance, and limber. The man could leap bounds; yet, he had no interest in doing so.

Then there was the active chap. As a child, he was enrolled in every class his parents could find. He learned to in-line skate, play soccer, and golf. Little league games were frequent. Those familiar with the boy thought these were fun. Nonetheless, this particular lad was happiest when singing. Of all the activities he did, he enjoyed stretching his vocal chords most. I believe boys and girls are often not as they appear, or as people think they might be.

The research Strean cites shows that boys tend to be right-brain dominant, making them better able to deal with spatial thinking and more mechanically inclined. Testosterone tends to make them more aggressive and competitive.

In girls, the left-brain, which deals with verbal skills, tends to be dominant. Physiological differences, research shows, also make girls' brains more inclined to regulate anger and aggression and more involved with emotion and memory.

I recall the words of Danish Philosopher, Soren Kierkegaard. His wisdom is my belief.
Once you label me, you negate me.

Society pigeonholes us and then we think we should be as others claim we are. When I study brain research and read of theories I am reminded of the chicken and the egg. Which came first? Brain chemistry is fluid, as is biology. However, people seeking answers search for statistics.

A 2006 Vanderbilt University study found girls had an advantage over boys when tests and tasks were timed, something that's common in classrooms. The study showed boys fared better when studying interesting or challenging material in smaller chunks, and without hard and fast time limits.

Never in my life have I worked quickly. When taking tests, I am often, perhaps always the last to finish. I am extremely analytical, mechanically inclined, and yes, I am better able to "deal with spatial thinking." I am not an anomaly. I am as many of the female persuasion.

Still researchers hypothesize and prove as was proven to them. Tell me as a boy I am kinesthetic and I will go on to validate this truth.

In addition, female teachers outnumber male teachers about 3 to 1, according to the Michigan Education Association. The ratio is roughly the same in Plymouth Canton's secondary schools. And women, with the best of intentions, teach classes in ways that are compatible with their learning styles, Strean said.

The result? "School might not be as friendly a place for boys," Strean said.

I laugh, or more accurately sigh as I read this statement. Experts in education go out of their way to teach future teachers that they must be aware of their own learning style. All human begins when instructing teach in a manner that matches his or her own preferences.

As an auditory learner, I tend to talk. I learned years ago, that those of us that acquire knowledge as we speak often gain insight from our own words. Nonetheless, I am extremely conscious of the fact that friends and family are very visual. They need to see, read, envision before material matters to them. Thus, when teaching, I remind myself I must include visual aides.

I understand that the kinesthetic learner must be considered. We see these as we watch children. At times, Play-dooh can help mold a mind more than any words, written or spoken might.

I truly trust in human interaction. A touch, a smile, a caring connection can move mountains.
Too often, we underestimate the power of a touch,
a smile, a kind word, a listening ear,
an honest compliment,
or the smallest act of caring,
all of which have the potential to turn a life around.
~ Leo Buscaglia

Bring on the action.

The solution, Strean said, was to add elements to the classroom that would engage boys' learning styles, such as more physical activity tied to lessons and less reliance on the lecture-recite mode. Programs such as Grammar Bowl were born out of that effort.

Frankie Dinicola, 15, a Salem 10th-grader and a member of last year's winning Grammar Bowl team, said he had little interest in grammar before the program began.

"When it was just a work sheet, just a lecture, yeah, it's boring," Frankie said. "To be honest, I didn't know much grammar."

Once grammar became a competition, his attitude and his learning curve shot way up.

"It kind of turned into a sport when we did our first competition," Frankie said. "Now every time someone says, 'You're doing good,' I'm like, 'No, you're doing well.' It annoys me now."

Jeffrey Blakeslee uses boy-friendly techniques in his advanced literature class on science fiction at Salem High. The course is always full -- and almost all the students are boys.

"When you assign something you can read, and you do it in the traditional style, the kids kind of fight it. It comes as a task," Blakeslee said. "Basically I open it up to any way they want."

As did I and do I, a girl! I loathe doing any activity that is tedious, dull, monotonous, or uninspiring. I revel in the imaginative, innovative, and inventive agendas. Please let my mind and spirit fly!

Often I speak out against standardized tests and rigid lesson plans. I do not think only those testosterone filled bodies reject the rote methods of instruction.

Instead of writing papers, Blakeslee's students are more likely to be making movies, writing stories or playing trivia games about the books they read. The projects are not only creative, they're often more extensive than book reports.

"It's the fun stuff," said Brad Lawrence, 17, of Canton, adding Blakeslee's lectures were typically no more than 10 or 15 minutes long. "This class is really a shared activity English class."

As I read I reject the many notions that I believe cause what occurs in society, a deep division. Then, finally at the conclusion of the article I notice words that cream out, almost as though they rose up from within me.

Don't forget girls.

Strean and other experts caution that while most girls and boys fall into these classifications, there are plenty of exceptions. And no one's talking about forgetting about girls -- it's important to mix teaching styles for both genders.

The gap is of concern because high-stakes tests, such as the MEAP, require more reading and writing, two female strengths, Weinfeld said.

"The skills we want kids to have at an earlier and earlier age, girls naturally have," Weinfeld said.

I sigh again and stress the skills any of us have are often learned from birth, or perhaps before. When the girl child's room is painted pink and the baby is encouraged to speak, to nurture her dolls, and feel her feelings, she does. The little lovely see examples everywhere, on television and in her role models. When the boy sleeps in a blue room, given toys that teach aggression, when he is told not to cry, or to go play, he does. Surprise!

"People are concerned. Boys are dropping out more than girls, fewer boys are graduating from high school than girls, fewer boys are going to college than girls."

For me, this is the great concern. The answers are not found in repeating what created this dilemma. The reasons are not necessarily found in our differences, many of which we as a culture create. They are discovered when we evaluate our similarities.

All kids could benefit from adding a little more movement in classrooms, said Cheryl Somers, assistant professor of educational psychology at Wayne State University.

There are no differences in intelligence between boys and girls, she said. While research shows some differences between male and female brains, research also shows that boys and girls are treated differently, from infancy on. Boys are bounced, girls are coddled. Boys fall down, girls are more protected, Somers said.

"I think a lot more of it has to do with temperament," Somers said.

Indeed temperament may be individual. Some girls are rowdy, others quiet. Numerous boys are noisy; plenty are pensive! Yet, stating the stereotypical continues.

"Boys are a lot more active. So if you're not doing something to stimulate them, they're going to tune out more, because they need more activity level."

This occurs as a reason is revealed.

"Kids come to school with these differences," Somers said. "No matter whether their parents are creating it or their biology is creating it, they come to school like this. So let's figure it out."

Please, let us engage as we never have. Might we consider the wisdom of a genius. Albert Eisenstein reminds us . . .
You cannot solve a problem from the same consciousness that created it.

As long as we continue to believe and act of the notion that "Boys will be boys," they will be. I invite you to have a heart to heart with the fellows in your life and in your classroom. You may discover as I repeatedly do; they do have feelings. They can sit still and contemplate the universe as well as a girl might. In fact, they are. It may not be their gender that causes them to dropout or tune out. It is likely the way in which we are teaching that effects them and the girls as it does. It is also what we teach that needs to be considered.

I trust that every problem is a sum of the parts. Some aspects are visible; others are not. In my mind, we need to probe more deeply and not rely on the consciousness that created the problem.

References, Resources, Realities Realized or Refuted . . .