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Homeschool-Your-Boys.com - Boys Learn Differently Than Girls
August 13, 2008

The education of our sons could be in jeopardy! The number of boys who are on antidepressants has tripled in the last ten years. Boys are increasingly growing disengaged from school. They are also less engaged in the real world than they were in previous generations. Men only make up 42% of people who attend college. Also, most women who attend college will earn their degree while most men who attend will not.

Boys and girls are very different - I've seen it, I've experienced it with my own children, and I believe it with my whole heart. I've recently learned that boys are even MORE different from girls that I had previously realized.

I just finished reading some eye-opening books by Dr. Leonard Sax: "Why Gender Matters" and "Boys Adrift". These books include scientific evidence showing that boys not only behave differently than girls, they also hear differently, see differently, respond to stress differently, and think differently.

The things they can learn are very similar, but the way they go about learning is very different. Boys require a very different educational environment and teaching approach if we are going to help them reach their full potential.

In This Issue:

1. Boys SEE Differently
2. Boys HEAR Differently
3. Boys THINK Differently
4. Boys SEE THEMSELVES Differently

Click on the above image for more details!

1 - Boys SEE Differently

Males have more rods in their eyes versus cones. Rods help us to see distance and speed. Females have more cones than rods. Cones help us to see color and shape. Because of this difference, boys tend to draw verbs with little color variation in their pictures while girls tend to draw nouns with lots of different colors.

When asked to draw a picture, Sally will draw a house with people and flowers and lots of pretty colors. Steve will draw a tornado which is knocking down a house - and his picture will look like a large black swirl.

Implications for teaching boys

  • Do not ask boys to draw something recognizable or to draw something with lots of colors. When we find fault in this way, boys begin to think that art is for girls and not for boys.
  • Allow them to draw verbs and to do it in a way that is fast and furious.
  • Don't hold eye contact with a boy unless you're disciplining him.

    • 2 - Boys HEAR Differently

    Baby girls can hear ten times better than boys, and this difference gets even worse as they get older. Boys can only hear every 3rd word or so of soft-spoken teachers. When boys can't hear what their teacher is saying, they tend to drift off - getting some boys the incorrect diagnosis of ADHD.

    Boys also tend to make little noises wiggling and tapping pencils which are irritating to girls - but they don't even realize they are making them.

    Implications for teaching boys

  • Speak more loudly than you normally would and be very expressive.
  • Use lots of voice fluctuation and hand motions to engage boys.
  • While working with your son, sit down next to him, spread the materials out and look at them shoulder to shoulder.

    • Click on the above image for more details!

    3 - Boys THINK Differently

    We don't know all of the differences in how boys and girls think but we now know that their brains are arranged differently. We've all heard that we use the left side of our brain for verbal activities and the right side for art. Actually, we now know that this is only true in males.

    Males who have a stroke on the left side of their brain lose 80% of their verbal ability. The verbal ability in females who have a stroke on the left side of their brain is much less impacted, proving that their verbal ability is spread across both sides of their brain.

    There are many other differences in how male and female brains are arranged. For more details, see Dr. Sax's books.

    Implications for teaching boys

  • Book learning is essential; but, without practical, hands-on experience, boys will hard a hard time grasping concepts that seem simple to us. They will disengage from their lessons.
  • Boys need real world experiences in their education which engage all of their senses.
  • Boys also need plenty of time outdoors.
  • Boys have a hard time processing their emotions. Don't ask boys "How would you FEEL if..." questions. Ask them "What would you DO if..." questions.
  • Boys like to have at least some control over their environments. Put each day's schoolwork into a folder and let them decide the order in which they will complete it.
  • When studying literature, try these tips:
    1. Have boys draw maps based on clues in the book.
    2. Assign articles from the daily newspaper.
    3. Have them read books with strong male characters doing unpredictable things (i.e., C.S. Lewis, Hemingway, Dostoyevsky, Twain, etc.)

      4. 4 - Boys SEE THEMSELVES differently

      Girls tend to underestimate their own abilities. Boys tend to overestimate their own abilities. Boys also enjoy taking risks much more than do girls. The more a boy takes risks the more favorably they are seen by their peers.

      Danger itself gives boys a pleasant feeling of exhilaration as opposed to the fearful feelings it causes in girls. Moderate stress also helps boys to perform better as adrenaline causes more blood to flow to their brain. Stress has the opposite effect on girls.

      Implications for teaching boys

    4. Boys respond well to a challenge if there are winners and losers.
    5. A competitive team format works better than individual competitions for boys because they don't want to let their teammates down.
    6. Participating in single-sex activities such as boy scouts or team sports are very good for your sons.
    7. If your son seems to crave danger, take these necessary steps:
      1. Give them lessons with a professional (i.e., skiing) to help them to more accurately evaluate their own abilities.
      2. Supervise your child. Their risk is lower if they aren't allowed to be alone with groups of peers because they will be less likely to try to "show off" for their friends if an adult is present.
      3. Assert your authority - don't argue with your son. Don't negotiate. Just do what you have to do (i.e., lock up their bike).

      By the way, the optimum tempature for learning for boys is 69 degrees, while it is 74 degrees for girls. If you set the temperature so that it is comfortable for you, you may find your sons falls asleep or their minds wandering instead of focusing on their lessons.

      If you have the opportunity to set up a single-sex learning environment for your children that works well. Try using different methods to teach your sons as opposed to the ones you use to teach your girls and you will be amazed at how your sons respond to your efforts!

      Armed with this knowledge, we can set up more ideal learning environments where we can engage our sons and help them to reach their full potential.

      Thanks for reading this month's newsletter. I hope you enjoyed it! See you next month...

      Michelle Caskey

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