Are Schools Addressing Low Performance of Boys?

http://ezinearticles.com/?Factors-Responsible-for-Poor-Performance-of-Boys-in-School&id=6680678

The newsfeed entitled “Factors Responsible for Poor Performance of Boys in School” inspired this blog post because the classes I teach are single-gender. From my understanding, the single-gender concept was adopted in our middle school division based on the teachings of Dr. Leonard Sax, the author of “Why Gender Matters.” I happen to love teaching single-gender classes for the most part even though a number of my students don’t like being separated by gender. Nonetheless, the newsfeed article references some valid factors as to why boys perform lower in school. At my school, teachers are expected to develop gender-specific lesson plans. Things I’ve learned to help make the learning environment more conducive to boys as result of teaching gender-specific classes for two years now are:

·    Dimming the lights.

·    Allowing boys to stand if they opt to.

·    Speaking louder for boys than girls.

·    Incorporating physical activity usually in the form of teams.

·    Relating classroom lessons/activities to real men.

·    Using humor often but taking authority when necessary.

Just to share with other teachers, our staff was advised in training once that sending boys to the principal’s office will cause them to become behavioral problems in the classroom. From past experiences, this has proven true although sometimes that is the only alternative. “The lack of male teachers in the school may also be a reason for the poor performance of the boys” (Snehal P., 2011). I do believe however that customizing and differentiating learning for boys will significantly improve the achievement gap compared to girls. It would be interesting to know just how many school systems across the country actually incorporate gender-specific lessons/activities.

Below is a YouTube interview with Dr. Leonard Sax and some of his views on why genders matter. 

http://youtu.be/eXqiJLZm-DI