Gender Education
SEARCH BLOG: EDUCATING BOYS
Being grandparents lets you see things for the second time. Obviously, there is the happiness of new life coming into the family. Then there is the fun of watching your grandchildren discover their surroundings.
With two new grandsons, ages 7 months and 4 months, it is possible to see some "wired" differences from girls already. There is a way of constantly moving from one thing to the next that our educators would classify as "short attention spans" or "hyperactivity" that seems to characterize a large portion of the male population. Sure, young girls have a lot of energy and curiosity. It just seems to manifest differently.
About 3-1/2 years ago I wrote:
Males just seem to be more hands-on learners. They generally do not do well sitting for hours in class, followed by sitting for hours doing homework. There is a tactile, spatial element of male learning that is missing. I would guess that the ratio of avid video game players is roughly 9:1 male versus female. Oh sure, call it a macho thing. Sure the games are macho themes for the most part... war, racing alien-invasion... but guys love the interactive, hands-on aspect of the games. It's just a whole lot different from Jeopardy.What I am observing in my very young grandsons was confirmed a couple of years ago here. At Carpe Diem, testing results in various subjects show what I believe to be the inherent tactile/spatial learning bias in boys versus the quiet/contemplative learning of girls. Then there is the matter of long tests in themselves....
Perhaps that's why so many guys gravitate to computer and high-tech stuff. It's a hands-on challenge. They guy who daydreams during English literature is a prodigy when it comes to wireless interconnectivity. Jane Eyre doesn't have that mixture of visual-tactile that really intrigues and interests so many young males. Years ago, the high school day was a combination of math, science, language and literature, punctuated with wood-working or automotive or metal shop. A sedate environment all day just puts boys to sleep. At least that's my opinion.
Sure, this is a generalization, but generalizations generally have some basis in observation.
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