In my usual scrolling on my phone through different news and articles, I came across an article written by Megan Quinn of Your Tango titled “10 Boys vs 10 Girls Were Left Unsupervised In A House For 5 Days and The Results Were Wildly Different.” Of course, being the middle school teacher that I am, I had to read it. I knew instantly my experience (as both a mother of sons and a teacher) would either agree or disagree with the article. I wasn’t disappointed.
The article by Quinn talked about a British TV show that placed 10 boys, and then 10 girls, in a house by themselves to see what they would do. It was more like a social experiment, but Quinn reported that the boys were unstructured, wild, and destructive while the girls were more organized in their stay by taking on the usual stereotypical female roles of cooking and cleaning.
I have to admit that I was not surprised by the outcome and had predicted the results prior to reading. Raising two boys myself, I realize that boys are noisy, messy, boisterous, and constantly moving. Even my grandson exhibits these same behaviors. As a teacher, I know that in the classroom, there is a different energy to boys and girls. Girls prefer quiet. Boys relish movement.
In Carol Kaufmann’s article in Readers Digest titled, “How Boys and Girls Learn Differently,” she acknowledges David Chadwell’s emphasis on the science behind segregating genders in the classroom. Chadwell, South Carolina’s coordinator of single gender education, states that science shows us that boys and girls do indeed learn differently. These learning differences are the reason why we see the behavior differences in the British TV’s social experiment.
What Boys Need to Learn
Boys tend to perform their best when they are allowed to move during learning. Even a teacher walking around the room while teaching is enough eye movement to provide the necessary kinesthetic and auditory stimulation necessary for learning. Having boys get up out of their seats and mime what they are about to write will provide them with the necessary information to put pen to paper.
This need for movement and hands-on activities explains why in the past there were so many male apprentices. Apprenticeships allow the males to learn their skill through a hands-on approach. They are immersed in the learning experience and they exit with the knowledge needed to begin their own businesses.
What Girls Need to Learn
Girls need warm and quiet environments to do their best. Girls also do not require a teacher circling the room. In fact, girls can work in circles facing one another and conversing. This in itself is the biggest difference between the two sexes. Talking in low tones allows girls to pay attention to the teacher whereas with boys, it is often necessary to raise ones voice to gain their attention.
Interspersing boys and girls throughout a mixed classroom can provide a buffer to the learning environment, but it may not solve all issues. Boys will still require movement. Always.
Thanks for the post!