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There has been a lot of discussion that schools are becoming feminized, and I tend to agree. I went back to school to finish my degree and become a teacher (still working on it) and realized early on that I couldn't teach elementary ed because I just don't do well with little boys. Teenage boys, no problem, but the little ones I just can't handle.
I think - and there is some research to bear this out - that *some* of the behavior "problems" seen with boys in school is the simple fact that they aren't allowed to be active. Girls can sit quietly and play, read, talk amongst themselves, etc, but if you watch little boys play they are up and about, in constant motion. That is not part of school anymore - everyone needs to sit quietly and behave themselves for hours at a time. Now, I don't think that is healthy or fair to kids of either sex, but I think it is much harder on boys. Kids should have PE every day, they should have LOTS of outdoor recess time. There was an article I read not too long ago about a teacher who had the boys in the class meet him/her about 1/2 hour before school and they ran a mile together every day. The positive behavior changes were noted right away - the boys were more focused and alert, and less "antsy" when the school day started because they had already run off a little of their energy.
I think I'm qualified to respond to this post. As a male teacher for lower grades in elementary school, I notice some things. The most outlandish (and most humorous) one involves the first grade team at my school.
The first grade teaches their students "hips and lips" for walking in the halls. They literally have their students (males and females) put one hand on their hip and one hand on their lip. Now, wonderful teachers they are but . Seriously...
Yes, most teachers are females (especially in elementary schools). In a school of over 50 staff members that work with students, 5 of them are males. Yes, schools are geared towards females. There's an article I have to grab from my staff development teacher about this.
Now, I've noticed certain kids crawl under several staff members' skin. Most of those students don't bother me. Heck, I actually like them. Maybe I have a higher tolerance for this kind of activity. They're not angels with me but they're not malicious either.
However, I don't tolerate certain activity. Anything aggressive meets me immediately. I'll redirect anything hostile to me and I put a stop to it.
The saying "boys will be boys" doesn't excuse fighting. I don't let students touch each other. Even if it's horse play/wrestling. I understand it but that's something that can easily escalate, so I stop that activity too. I volunteer for bus duty so I see a lot of it.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Annie3
There has been a lot of discussion that schools are becoming feminized, and I tend to agree. I went back to school to finish my degree and become a teacher (still working on it) and realized early on that I couldn't teach elementary ed because I just don't do well with little boys. Teenage boys, no problem, but the little ones I just can't handle.
I think - and there is some research to bear this out - that *some* of the behavior "problems" seen with boys in school is the simple fact that they aren't allowed to be active. Girls can sit quietly and play, read, talk amongst themselves, etc, but if you watch little boys play they are up and about, in constant motion. That is not part of school anymore - everyone needs to sit quietly and behave themselves for hours at a time. Now, I don't think that is healthy or fair to kids of either sex, but I think it is much harder on boys. Kids should have PE every day, they should have LOTS of outdoor recess time. There was an article I read not too long ago about a teacher who had the boys in the class meet him/her about 1/2 hour before school and they ran a mile together every day. The positive behavior changes were noted right away - the boys were more focused and alert, and less "antsy" when the school day started because they had already run off a little of their energy.
I definitely agree that boys sitting for hours is near impossible. Elementary schools (at least around where I work) actually encourage all students to move around. It's the middle and high school age where they sit in their seat for an hour without getting up. Though, boys tend to be more restless at the lower grades.
I like the idea of the running with students. I may actually start doing that at recess. Unfortunately, I'm tied down in meetings with team members and with individual students - which could make it difficult. However, I'm excited about the idea and determined to make it work!
Last edited by endersshadow; 12-02-2009 at 10:26 PM..
Many female teachers seem to have an ideal image of the perfect student who sits quietly, listens attentively, waits his/her turn, follows directions, is rarely, if ever, a discipline problem, etc. Inevitably, every teacher will have at least some kids like this in their classroom, mostly girls, and so unconsciously holds the rest of the class up to this standard.
This makes it tough for boys to live up to that expectation as most boys are just not wired that way.
BUT, what is even harder is when a GIRL in the classroom has more of a boy's characteristics! When my first daughter was born, I actually had visions of a little girl who always wanted to dress up, play with dolls and have tea parties, sit quietly and color and play board games!
Ummm, didn't happen! My dd hates dressing up, dolls, board games AND sitting quietly! LOL! While she has girl friends, her closest friends are male. She had such a tough time in 1st grade because she clearly had a teacher that catered to the "ideal" girl student, and suggested to me that my dd was ADHD and while she was doing well academically in 1st grade, she probably wouldn't make it in 2nd! I believe she was more inclined to come to this conclusion BECAUSE my dd was a girl but behaved more like the boys in her class!
Luckily, I was smart enough to recognize this teacher's mentalility and pretty much blew off her concerns. Fast forward, my dd is in 5th grade, has made Honor Roll every marking period since 3rd grade, and her teachers love her!
Oh, and she STILL prefers male friends over female!
I just heard that sitting indian style is now called "criss cross applesauce style"
Then they cut gym classes and such. plus all the teachers are female, and these women tend to over react about minor things like a school yard fight.
They dont let boys play flag football anymore and they banned dodgeball.
And if they get any kind of rambunctious kid they just put them on ADD drugs.
They just teach to girls way too much at that age nowadays...
I admit I have a big hang up about generalizations. While I'll agree that boys and girls are different, I think sometimes that the feminizing of boys is not to make them into girls but to make it easier for the teachers to teach. Anyone that sits still and listens is easier to teach then someone that talks out. With my kids, the younger grades had a lot of hands on activities for teaching, but as they get older the teachers have too much information to cram into them (gotta get ready for those tests!) to allow much disruption at all.
Our schools have gym for all 13 years of schooling. Flag football is allowed. Dodgeball was banned but I think that was bound to happen - too much expensive orthodontia.
Allowing school yard fights?? That's way over the line. That's never been allowed in any school I know of, including my own in the 60's and 70's. Just as fights are not the norm in most adults world, it should not be the way to settle disputes for kids.
The stereotypical girl (quiet, submissive) is just as repulsive to me as the stereotypical boy (loud and bossy). Teaching ALL of our kids to think for themselves and have a strong moral compass is more important then molding them into some retro boy or girl.
The feminization (and holding back and dumbing-down) of boys in school has long been a pet peeve for me. I've seen these "quiet, well-behaved, sitting criss-cross applesause" expectations fail with my son, not only because he is disabled (with one of those disabilities being severe ADHD) but becuase his activity seemed offensive to teachers. For instance, standing at a desk to do work is not crime to me. But to some teachers, this somehow implies a slippery slope where suddenly ALL kids will want to stand at their desks to work instead of sitting down. And I guess this is supposed to be anarchy or the ultimate disruption. Also, boys often learn differently, and applying different teaching styles to different students really gets some (not all) teachers stumped.
I think the problem with teaching boys involves too many feminine influences and expectations as well as the "easier to teach" theory as mentioned above. I suppose it would be great if things WERE easy, and students would sit there quietly, absorb the material and pass the tests with flying colors. But educating children is not easy, for they are individuals, and I would hope that a person aspiring to be a teacher would know this.
This issue has been discussed before on this forum. I think it is ironic that people complain about school being "feminized" and point out that girls seem to get better grades than boys now, apparently, by this reasoning, b/c girls are able to sit still better, take turns better, etc.
Interestingly, back in my day, when boys supposedly did get better grades than girls, in general, the school atmosphere was even more rigid than it is now. There was no "experiential" leaning in my school, we sat at desks in rows in assigned seats from first grade on, you had to raise your hand to be acknowledged by the teacher, and so on.
A lot has been done for girls these past 20 years or so, to get them interested in math and science, and to get them interested in getting good grades and staying in school through college. I feel we could build on these gains, find out what worked and apply it to boys, instead of dissing girls. I don't think it's so much that boys learn differently than girls, but that all kids learn differently.
I don't think anyone is dissing girls. I am equally as concerned about my daughter's education as my son's. I am specifically criticizing the inflexible approach to teaching boys. This does a disservice to both genders.
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. Seriously... 
