Shaken Or Stirred

Historically boys were top of the class. Today that is no longer the case. A recent article in The Economist discusses a 2009 study by the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) that examined how 15-year-old boys and girls performed in reading, mathematics and science. They found that girls are performing better than their male classmates. This gender gap is worldwide. Girls score higher than boys on tests measuring reading ability in every country in the world (Loveless).

There are multiple reasons why Kelley King, Michael Gurian and Kathy Stevens are on the pro side. For one reason, they believe that the differences exist due to boys being more interactive with certain topics and methods that don’t usually interest girls or vice versa. For example, the Wamsley Elementary School in Rifle, Colorado has both boy and girl students. However, in the past, the girl students over accomplished the boy students due to the school staff being more experienced in understanding how to teach girls than understanding how to teach boys. So, the school focused on teaching the boys with their own learning styles that are also girl friendly such as online courses. The result of this was successful as boys became more accomplished than they were from before. (Pages 147 – 148).

Single-gender classrooms would allow boys and girls to be instructed in a way that is conducive to them. Literature choices could be offered to girls that are different from the ones offered to the boys. Science experiments for the boys could be more hands-on and messy as opposed to the girls’ science

This would likely promote and encourage higher levels of female participation inside and outside of the school environment as well as throughout their lifetimes.

If the percentage of men earning secondary degree continues to drop the gender gap and inequalities will increase and boys will be in serious trouble. With the intention to help set up boys for future success, I would personally change numerous problem in our education system beginning with changing the age in which boys commence school to the age of 7. Leonard Sax made the provided the point that boys are not psychologically developmentally ready to learn at the age of 5, therefore, I would change the age for when boys are more prepared to learn. By changing the age to seven, this will allow boys the opportunity to develop further and mature before they start school. Furthermore, I would make same-sex classes which would tailor to the learning abilities of the specific gender. This would make it easier for boys to learn motivating them to attain success. I do not believe society doomed as we have several bright men and woman who are capable of making sure society continues to thrive. However, if boys continue to underachieve, we will not be able to close the gap between gender

McArdle says “We should start teaching them according to how they learn, not according to some idea that boys and girls have to learn the same way” (167). This could be a new possible system of teaching the two sexes differently without holding anyone back in the process. Male and female have different brain activity and also very different ways of learning. When it comes to teaching there needs to be a more specific study, to come with a more evolved teaching criteria. Lastly Conlin says “A new world has opened up for girls, but unless a symmetrical effort is made to help boys find their footing, it may turn out that it’s a lonely place to be. After all, it takes more than one gender to have a gender revolution” (179). Schools need to start taking responsibility for what goes on in schools and their teaching methods that are failing everyone especially

the first things we as a society need to confront is two truths that I think our largely mollycoddling society tries vehemently deny. The first being that boys and girls are different and that gender is not a social construct, it's a biological one. Boys are naturally wired to want to move around, one way some have suggested would be to have them do more moving around in class. That could be as simple as having them using their hands to make triangles when learning geometry (Dixon). They also naturally crave competition, which is why the decline of recess and renaming games actually have an effect on these boys. More male teachers would have a marked effect, first they understand the way boys learn and secondly it would give boys without a strong male role model to look up to a healthy male influence, a thing many of them lack. An extreme measure that's been suggested has been gender segregated schools, which might not be a bad idea, if a curricula could be devised that work for boys. Maybe something like vocational high schools where they spend half their day on academic pursuits and then half working on engines or computers or tinkering with robotics and stuff boys tend to like. The graduation rates for boys from these schools is typically vastly higher with more student engagement than traditional schools.

“Where is Andy? This is his second day absent”, Mr. James asked Jake at the beginning of class. “Oh Mr. James, Andy said he wants to drop out and start looking for a job because he knows one day he will find a wife who will have to cook and clean the house while he works. You know girls are not supposed to work Mr. James”, Jake remarked. Mr. James glanced to the right of the classroom and hears Steven and Christopher debating on the new disease girls have called the “cooties”. “Steven and Christopher you know there is no such thing as the cooties, right guys?” Mr. James implies. “But there is Mr. James. All of the boys around the school are talking about it and I am terrified to catch the cooties,” Christopher responds. “Billy wake up”, Mr. James directed during 5th grade language. “I’m so bored Mr. James. This all boy class is not the reason I will do well in school or pay attention. Where are the girls?” Billy replied. Based on the situation in Mr. James 5th grade class, should more American elementary school students be taught in single-sex classrooms? Single-sex classrooms are not the reason for academic success and will not be a good educational decision for our future generations, therefore, public schools should not establish single-sex classrooms. Even though some people say single-sex classrooms is a smart decision for education, it can cause extreme sexism and is not the true reason for academic success.

Thinking back to even before I started reading this chapter, I knew that most of the people seen in the education field consist of mostly women. Many of whom do not hold high positions nor are required to have advance degrees such as math, sciences or english. Although this is not through for high school as there seems to be an equal number of men and women teachers, when it comes to the younger grade levels, there are more female teachers than males in the classroom. From this chapter it becomes easier to understand the different biases in the world and why people view them the way they do. Not everyone is given the chance to understand that there are other options out there, most people are born into one way of society and spend the rest of their lives there never branching out.

In today’s society, education has become a very important factor in a student 's life. Everyone tries to do and implement whatever is best for the student to learn and become successful. Therefore, as a result, society tries to separate schools based on gender. Schools should be separated by gender for many reasons. The first reason is that gender separation will help eliminate bullying. It has been demonstrated that boys, in general, tend to be more rude and violent than girls causing the boys to “bully” girls. Another reason they should be separated is to help break down stereotypes. An example of this is that girls are free of the pressure to compete with boys in male dominated subjects such as math and science. Another reason they should be separated is that it makes it easier on the teacher to use different learning techniques that are geared toward specific genders. It is a great idea to separate students by gender at schools if they want the students to have a better education. This will help prevent bullying at schools, help breakdown stereotypes, and encourage teachers to use different educational techniques.

Among education in today’s world, statistics shows number of males and females in colleges and universities have widen. In my research, 57% of undergraduate degrees were awarded to women, only 43% to men. I found in my research that there are many factors that contribute to these stats. Men tend to get good jobs straight out of high school or during college. There are debatably more high paying jobs for a male high school graduate than a female, even though most of these jobs are mainly either hazardous, manufacturing based, physically demanding, or all the above. The gender techniques of how genders are taught in kindergarten through 12th grades. Research show that movement, particular in young boys in the motor stage of development,

According to Roudi-Fahimi, “As female education rises, fertility, population growth, and infant and child mortality fall and family health improves.” Allowing girls an education could benefit a country’s population, improving or even saving the lives of many children. More education also improves the health of families, showing how education for girls can affect the quality of life. This is also seen in research conducted by Unicef, who says that “If all women had a secondary education, there would be 49 percent fewer child deaths… Investing in girls so they can complete the next level of education could lead to lifetime earnings of up to 68 percent of annual [GDP]” (“Girls' education”). Both sources agree that allowing girls to have an education will improve their lives and the lives of the next generation. Education allows for girls to better support themselves and their family, and will help a family’s economic issues. If families had more money, they would be able to afford education, healthcare, food, and many other resources that could improve their quality of life. A better economy is shown to have better living standards, presenting another benefit of educating

That's why it doesn't make sense to put students into separate classes based on gender. Girls are better for everyone in the class, in reality women and men all live together, and kid can help eachother out. Studies have found that being with more girls is better for everyone. Prof. Schlosser concluded that classes with more than 55 percent of girls resulted in better exam results and less violent outbursts overall. This is a positive influence that the girls are adding to the classroom environment.

Moving on, to gender roles in education as Sadker once said “ sitting in the same classroom, reading the same textbook, listening to the same teacher, boys and girls receive very different educations.”(1994). People who Identify as female have been treated differently sense day one, as state din the article; “Teachers socialize girls towards feminine ideal. Girls are praised for being neat, quite, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently,

A second example to help argue my point is when United Kingdom educator Graham Able compared student performance in 30 single-sex and co-educational schools, he found the academic advantage of single-sex schooling even greater for boys. This evidence shows that single sex is the better school option for learning and getter better academic results, especially if your child is a boy. Single sex schooling is the better choice when selecting your child’s future school specially when you are looking for the best possible education.