Gender Matters: How Boys & Girls Learn Differently

Spring 2013
Reflection
I had been a stay-at-home Mom for many years before deciding to go back into the classroom.
Both of my boys were school age, so I found out what I needed to do to renew my teaching
certificate. I found an independent study course that I thought looked interesting, and I signed-
up! It was a paper/pencil course, meaning I would have assignments mailed to me, I would
complete them, and I would mail them back. It seems so strange now that I would not just do
everything online!
I really enjoyed being a student again, and I liked how this course and the text helped me
develop a gender friendly classroom. It had been some time since I had my own classroom. It did
a good job of pointing out the natural differences between boys and girls, and it showed how to
build an equal learning environment based on those differences. It was common sense
information, but could easily be overlooked in the classroom.
I was very interested to learn more about the discrepancies in subjects. Why are boys more likely
to take and excel in Mathematics and Science classes and girls in Language Arts? I made it a
point, over the years, to get girls excited about Math and Science. I have chosen writing topics
and novel studies that appeal to boys. It has been about finding topics that interest each gender,
but especially each child, the most.
After all these years, I still have the book I read for this class. I have had a few of my student
teachers look it over because I found so much good information in it.
(I do not have any projects or papers, as I took the class some time ago on an old laptop.)