Closing the Gap for Boys

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Closing the Gap for Boys

• Presented by
• Anne Morrison Perry
• Gender Equity Coordinator
• Terri Sheldon
• ELA State/Federal Programs District Support
  Specialist

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Closing the Gap for Boys

• Should we keep trying to change the boys and
  their energy, or should we change the educational
  system they find themselves in?
• Is this just a pedagogical issue, or are we now
  facing a moral one?
• The Minds of Boys, p.53

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The following brain research is taken from

• The Minds of Boys Saving Our Sons from Falling
  Behind in School and Life
• Michael Gurian
• and Kathy Stevens

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Brain research shows that

• Males and females corpus callosum (connecting
  bundle of tissue b/t hemispheres) differ in size.
  Females allows for more cross-talk resulting in
  a greater ability to multitask.
• Boys pick up less of what is aural, especially
  when in words need more sensory-tactile
  experiences.

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• Hippocampus (memory storage)works differently.
  Boys need more time to memorize, especially
  written items. Male brain favors list making.
• Girls tend to get earlier and more advanced
  development of main language centers (Brocas and
  Wernickes areas).

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• Boys more dopamine increases impulsive risky
  behavior
• Girls more estrogen and oxytocin, direct impact
  on the use of words
• Boys higher level of testosterone and
  vasopressin, associated with aggression,
  territoriality and hierarchy
• Boys compartmentalize brain activity (use less
  shown by as much as 15 less blood flow than
  girls)

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• Boys focus for long periods of time on one task
  do less well when required to move from task to
  task quickly
• Changing tasks quickly
• overstimulation
• frustration
• swelling the amygdala (anger and aggression
  center)
• heightened levels of cortisol (stress
  hormone)and adrenalin
• all which can lead to discipline problems in
  the classroom

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• Male brain is set to renew, recharge, and
  reorient itself between tasks by moving to a
  rest state.
• Drooping eyes in classroom
• Zoning out in front of TV
• Sitting in a boat fishing for hours
• Tap pencils or fidget to self-stimulate

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• Female brain does not go to a rest state.
• Female blood flow during brain rest is very
• active male blood flow is not.

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Data to Support Research
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2005 District PLAN Mean Scores Comparison by
Gender
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.8
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.9
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1.6
1.0
.9
.7
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MEAP Writing Prompts

• 3rd
• Do you think Eric would want a porcupine as a
  pet?
• Using your Imagination
• 4th
• People can achieve goals when they work together.
  (agree or disagree)
• Believing in Yourself

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• 5th When you face challenges, you might have to
  try new things or do things in a different way
  than people did before. (agree or
  disagree)Friendship
• 6th
• Can peoples attitudes be changed by outside
  influences, or are attitudes only changed from
  within?
• Keeping Promises

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• 7th
• Some people believe that to be successful, we
  should know exactly what we want to do in life at
  a very early age. (agree or disagree)
• Pursuing a Dream
• 8th
• Discovery provides a strong motivation in some
  peoples lives. (agree or disagree)
• Balancing Your Life

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CAAP Writing Prompts

• K Draw/Write (wide prompt)
• 1st All About Me, A Special Day
• 2nd A Special Friend, A Special Place
• (being revised)
• 3rd My Favorite Book (being revised)

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• 4th
• THEME Deciding to judge or treat someone
  differently because he or she is not like
  everyone else.

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• 5th
• THEME The effects peer pressure can have upon
  an individual

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• 6th
• THEME Making the decision to help someone or
  something

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• 7th
• THEME
• Fall Apprehension of year
• Spring Reflection

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• 8th
• THEME Kindness (being revised)
• REVISED THEME Experience or person most
  affected you

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National Education Statistics

• Boys ages 5-12 are 60 more likely than girls to
  have repeated at least one grade
• 1st 5th grade boys are 47 more likely than
  girls to have disabilities such as emotional
  disturbances, learning problems or speech
  impediments
• USDE, CDC

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TCAPS Gender Statistics

• Special Education
• Grades Boys Girls
• K-6 318 152 68
• 7-9 237 122 66
• 10-12 219 115 66
• Total 774 389 66

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National ADHD Statistics

• Boys 3x more likely diagnosed ADHD
• National Institute of Mental Health
• Kids under 21 on stimulant drugs
• 1 female 4 male
• University of Maryland

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TCAPS Gender Stats (continued)

• ADD/ADHD
• Grades Boys Girls
• K-6 139 56 71
• 7-9 113 52 68
• 10-12 154 54 74
• Total 406 162 71

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TCAPS Gender Stats (continued)

• Discipline Incidents
• Grades Boys Girls
• K-6 1972 487 80
• 7-9 3113 1257 71
• 10-12 1880 710 73
• Total 6965 2454 74

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In the Classroom

• Use different teaching styles
• Appreciate different learning styles
• 3rd grade writing/art project
• Stair steppers/balls
• Drinking fountain/water bottles
• Track and record behavior incidents
• Give males more cool down walk while talking

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Resources

• The Minds of Boys Michael Gurian
• Real Boys William Pollack
• What Could He Be Thinking Michael Gurian
• Me Read? No Way! Ontario Education
  http//www.edu.gov.on.ca
• Conferring with Boys DVD to check out
• The Boy Crisis, Newsweek January 30, 2006
• Closing the Gap for Boys (this presentation)
• http//www.guysread.com/

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So what?

• Next steps?

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• Should we keep trying to change the boys and
  their energy, or should we change the educational
  system they find themselves in?
• Is this just a pedagogical issue, or are we now
  facing a moral one?
• The Minds of Boys, p.53