Teen drama Gossip Girl shows single sex private high school culture.
Working at a co-ed school, I am constantly struck by how differently girls and boys behave and learn. I see many stereotypical things, and of course many girls and boys that do not behave stereotypically. I see enough differences to make me wonder if girls and boys should be in separate schools or at least separate classrooms. People tend to think gender only become an issue once adolescence hits, and attraction distracts from learning, but current research shows the differences between boys and girls can be a large distraction in elementary schools as well.
Most teachers in elementary schools are women. The rules and activities in elementary school classes are created by women, and geared to girls. I see that boys are much more frequently getting in trouble in my school. Even with the best teachers, the most consistent teaching and enforcing of discipline, supportive school leadership and mostly supportive families-boys are mostly the ones who in trouble repeatedly and for the same reasons. Should we keep trying to change the boys, or should we change the system they learn in?
Many schools have changed the system by becoming single gender, or have single gender academics within a mixed-gender class. The schools say the academic results are immediate. The teachers can teach to the gender and be more effective. Boys and girls brains work differently form birth. Girls make more eye contact, distinguish between people and connect with language and objects sooner than boys. Boys pay attention to movement, and use objects as kinesthetic learning tools. The way boys and girls sight and hearing perceive differs as well. Girls will be drawn to bright colors and the fluctuations in the teacher’s voice, while boys will be drawn to movement and a louder, excited voice. Boys learn well sitting in a circle, boys learn well when they are standing and moving, allowing increased blood flow to their brains. Boys like to take risks at school, and need to be taught how to be realistic about their goals, girls shy away from risk and need the confidence to push themselves to the next level.
With so many differences in how girls and boys learn, it is hard to create a learning environment where both can be achieved. The rules in most schools are easier for girls to follow. Sit still. Be quiet. Look at me when I am speaking. Keep your hands in your lap. While girls are able to focus in this situation, many boys brain’s ‘turn off’ while they use all their focus to sit still so they will not get into trouble. When the rules are not structured in this way, other problems occur. Girls complain they can’t focus, it’s too loud, he keeps bothering me by making noises. The expectation is that it will be a quiet, calm learning environment, so the girls get their way, and the boys sit out of recess.
When I envision my classes separated into only girls and boys, I envision learning the best ways to teach each gender, and have a much more productive learning environment. Asking children to be still and quiet for most of their day is a really bad idea, but it is a horrible idea to ask boys little boys to do this. The system needs to change so the academics are separate, and the social elements are together.
