Keith, I started to read the attached story, then stopped when I saw the group attached to it. The Center on Education Policy frequently appears on Faux/Fixed/Fox news. Take whatever they say with a salt mine.
On Thu, Mar 18, 2010 at 1:58 PM, Keith Johnson <keithbjohn...@comcast.net>wrote: > > > Interesting. I'm not well informed on the latest data on how boys and > girls learn. I know there's the feeling that boys are more mechanical, > mathematically gifted, hands on. Girls are supposed to be more conceptional, > "dreamy". But things like saying girls read what's put in front of them, > while boys are harder to control? Is that genetic or societal? Not sure. I > never needed motivation to learn to read; in fact, i couldn't *wait* to > learn the magic of words as a child. That's a girl's trait, according to the > article. At the same time, I loved--and still love--informational books > about dinosaurs and outer space (boy's trait). I love "storybooks" (girl's > trait), always read what was put in front of me in school (girl's trait), > but really like to do my own thing (boy's trait). I learn most efficiently > from discussing broad concepts, open forums, and creative thinking, but > managed to obtain an EE degree in a fairly inflexible engineering world that > brooked no arguing of the rules. > > So I'm not sure what it means to say that current curricula favor girls. > Are girls lacking in creative thought, self-expression, and more used to be > controlled in a inflexible learning program? don't know. What I will say, > though, is that the emphasis more and more on passing tests, rote > memorization, and narrow teaching systems hurts *all* kids, regardless of > gender. > > I just listened on Wednesday to a really good Public Radio program from the > dean of Tufts University about how people learn. He discussed how he was > labeled "slow" as a kid, almost put back a year, and later, told by a > college professor he had no ability for psychiatry. Years later, he led the > American Psychiatric Association. What he realized was that how he learned > didn't work with the rote memorization that was the standard back then. When > he was allowed to learn in a freer, more open way, he excelled. > > And yet here we are, closing schools left and right (four elementary > schools to be closed in DeKalb County, GA where I live), putting the burden > of more students on fewer teachers, and somehow still expecting teachers and > students to be more proficient at taking standardized tests whose efficacy > is dubious at best. > > School not good for boys? I'd say it's not good for anyone right now... > > ********************************************************************* > > > http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/03/17/lots-of-news-on-boys-none-of-it-good/?cxntlid=sldr > > Lots of news on boys and school. None of it good. > > 12:01 am March 17, 2010, by Maureen Downey > > > A new report comparing math and reading skills by gender offers “good > news for girls but bad news for boys,” says Jack Jennings, president ofthe > Center on Education Policy.<http://www.cep-dc.org/>The study shows a gender > gap in reading with girls taking a decided lead. > > > Released Wednesday, the center’s report on the achievement levels of boys > and girls on state reading and math assessments found that boys lag girls in > reading in all states across elementary, middle and high schools. “Something > is going on in our schools that is holding boys back,” says Jennings. ‘Let > me emphasize, we do not want a war of the sexes in education…but we need a > broad conversation on how boys can do better in schools.” > > The study confirms the concerns of many educators who have been sounding an > alarm for year over the flagging academic performance of boys and the > worrisome male dropout rate. > > > While educators worried 20 years ago about the gap between girls and boys > in math performance, girls have achieved parity with boys in math, says > Jennings. > > Historically, boys trailed girls in reading in the very early grades, but > caught up and exceeded girls by fourth grade. This study shows that is no > longer the case. Boys are not making up for lost ground in reading at any > point in their k-12 careers. > > > And a reason may be that the hands-on play that helped young boys develop > intellectually and learn to problem solve is increasingly curtailed by > inflexible academic approaches that better suit how little girls learn. > Without that developmental foundation, boys are not progressing in reading > or becoming interested in books. > > Education researcher Susan B. > Neuman<http://www-personal.umich.edu/%7Esbneuman/>, > an expert in early literacy, was part of a conference call Tuesday to talk > to the press about the Center on Education Policy findings. She said the > study mirrored what she is seeing in special education where boys, > especially minority males, dominate. Neuman is a University of Michigan > professor and former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Elementary and Secondary > Education. > > > Calling the study “a rallying cry,” Neuman said it suggests that schools > are not meeting the needs of young boys because of a curriculum that does > not reflect their interests and classroom management that does not tolerate > their learning styles. > > > The problem is as basic as the content that we put in front of young > children, says Newman, noting that while girls prefer storybooks, boys like > books that are informational, that tell them about dinosaurs or outer space. > > “Girls tend to read what people give them,” says Neuman. “They’re intrigued > with learning to read. With boys, we have to motivate them to read.” > > > In the past, young children had more choices in school, says Neuman, but > the focus on testing and academic learning has left less time for choice and > more demand for conformity. The strong emphasis on teaching reading skills, > sounds and letters succeeds with girls, but not with boys, she says. > > > (We did not discuss the impact of video games on boys and reading, but a > new study suggests > th<http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=10116984>at > school performance suffers because of the time boys spend playing video > games.) > > One of the experts expressing concerns about boys has been Anthony Rao, > co-author of the new book “The Way of Boys: Raising Healthy Boys in a > Challenging and Complex World,” My interview with him is here. > <http://blogs.ajc.com/get-schooled-blog/2010/01/25/we-are-less-willing-to-let-boys-be-boys-in-classrooms-today/> > > From the vantage point of working with families for 20 years, Rao says that > he has seen less and less tolerance in schools of little boys who can’t sit > still or who are overly aggressive. Boys, for example, are expelled 4.5 > times more often than girls in preschools — a rate that exceeds even high > school expulsions. > > > Today’s classroom is better suited for the ways girls learn, says Rao. > “When you promote all this assessment and increasing standardization, you > narrow the way you are going to teach kids, eclipsing the ways that boys > learn better. You go to much less hands-on and manipulation of objects and > to more sit down and lectures.” > > Also on Tuesday, the MetLife Survey of the American Teacher > series<http://www.metlife.com/about/corporate-profile/citizenship/metlife-foundation/metlife-survey-of-the-american-teacher.html?WT.mc_id=vu1101>issued > its own gender gap report. Among its findings: > > *Girls are more likely than boys to:* > > Strongly agree that it is important they go to school or college after high > school (71% vs. 65%) > > Plan to attend a two- or four-year college (85% vs. 73%) > > Be very confident they will achieve their goals for the future (59% vs. > 50%) > > *Girls are less likely than boys to:* > > Agree that they only do enough work to do as well as they need to get by in > school (31% vs. 41%) > > Speak one-one-one with teacher about their interests and things that are > important to them at least once a month (43% vs. 52%) > > There is a lot here – and it’s midnight so I am closing before this turns > into the first chapter of a long book. Let’s discuss in the morning. > > > > >
