Boys and Girls are Different! True Differentiation
Begins with Understanding those Differences
A modest proposal: A compilation of the latest research about developmental differences between boys and girls and strategies to differentiate teaching to create better learning for all.
Kenneth E. Wallace, Ph.D
Assistant Superintendent For Curriculum and Instruction
Maine Township High School District 207
Park Ridge, Illinois
Boys and Girls are different – Understanding those differences is the first step
to closing the achievement gap; true differentiation only happens AFTER we understand our students better.
My Mission:
Despite a mountain of overwhelming data which suggests that boys are faring much worse than our girls in a variety of academic and social areas, schools are often slow to react to this data for a variety of reasons; further, schools of education that prepare our next generation of teachers are also failing to pay attention to the educational data and research about which they ought to be expert. My mission is to inform schools and new teachers about important new discoveries about boys and girls that must inform our classroom instructional practices if we hope to meet the educational needs of our students. New technology and studies are showing us more clearly than ever before that there are a myriad of developmental and performance differences between boys and girls. While no one child ever represents the “typical” boy or “typical” girl, our failure to understand basic biological differences between boys and girls is slowing the educational system from taking significant steps to acknowledge the real problems of some learners, much less address them in any meaningful way.
Meantime, a steady stream of boys is achieving less than possible, failing, getting further behind, dropping out of school, becoming incarcerated or committing suicide. While not each of these problems is ever solely the responsibility of our school systems, we do play an integral part in any solutions that will be forged to make a difference. The first step to that is making sure that every adult who comes in contact with students in this country has a basic understanding of the biological and developmental differences between boys and girls that would allow them to better understand and empathize with students, even (and especially) with those who are most difficult to teach. Accomplishing this task is my mission. It will only be achieved if our nation’s educational leaders have the political courage to stand up and acknowledge that a generation of boys that falls woefully behind its female peers creates many untenable conditions in society that are neither good for males themselves or good for the very social fabric of our country. It is challenging and compelling work, but it is also among the most important work that needs to be done in our schools.
My Presentations:
Part I. School and Performance Differences
Part II. Developmental and Biological Differences
Part III. Strategies that Schools can use
Each of these areas is compelling. The section on performance differences is striking; however, many educators who pay attention to this data also know that it is axiomatic, which is to say that it is well known and accepted within the educational community, at least in the parts of the community that study data trends. Interestingly, when we get into the political framework, we will see that there are groups who misrepresent this data for their own political gain, which is unfortunate, but is an aspect that we must confront if we are going to make progress.
The developmental and biological section is extremely compelling because it reveals so many differences that have only been discovered in the last few years. Audiences are always fascinated about this data, and the feedback is exceptional. A consistent refrain that I get from administrators or teachers is, “Every teacher needs to see this!”
I sometimes include a “politics of the topic” section which is the shortest section for a variety of reasons, principally because most actual educational practitioners don’t care about the politics nearly as much as about making a real difference in their schools; however, this section is key because the politics involved with this topic permeate virtually every aspect of American public schools, and unless we understand the political motivation behind what is printed in the mainstream media, we risk not doing anything or not doing enough because of bad information.
The strategies section is the one that people want the most. While they are often fascinated and educated by the other sections, many people in the field simply are asking, “What can we do about the problems?” This part of the presentation has evolved the most since I began doing these presentations, and this is simply a reflection of both audience feedback as well as my own recognition that delivering common sense strategies is critical once people are aware of the problem. I see my work in gender developmental differences folding into my work in Differentiated Instruction. It is my plan to continue to study how people are making a real difference through the use of more informed instructional practices that are grounded in an understanding of basic developmental differences between boys and girls. Further, it is also my goal to help all teachers understand that each child is unique and that putting on our metaphorical “lab coat” is necessary if we are really going to know each of them as an individual learner. We must transform our classrooms from teaching centers to learning centers.
Finally, I want to convince schools that an “educational history” of each child should be written, added to, paid attention to, and passed along from teacher to teacher so that the information and understanding that each teacher gains about a child is shared with other adults who teach that child, just as a medical profile is shared among medical professionals. We have the technology and understanding to truly be discrete instructors of learning for each child if we have the courage to do so. I hope you will join me. Thanks – Ken
For every 100 girls …
Tom Mortenson
Postsecondary Education OPPORTUNITY
July 27, 2006
Birth and Death
• For every 100 girls that are conceived 115 boys are conceived. http://www.wirednewyork.com/forum/archive/index.php/t-3840.html
• For every 100 girl babies born there are 105 boy babies born. http://www.census.gov/prod/2005pubs/06statab/vitstat.pdf
• For every 100 girl babies who die in the first 27 days of life 129 boy babies die. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf
• For every 100 girl babies who die after the first 27 days but in the first year of life 136 boy babies die. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf
• For every 100 girls ages 1 to 4 years who die 132 boys die. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf
• For every 100 girls ages 5 to 14 years who die 148 boys die. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf
• For every 100 girls and women ages 15 to 24 years who die 277 boys and men die. http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nvsr/nvsr54/nvsr54_13.pdf
K-12 Education
• For every 100 girls enrolled in nursery school there are 112 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 girls enrolled in kindergarten there are 116 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 girls who repeat kindergarten 194 boys repeat kindergarten. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006064.pdf
• For every 100 girls whose entry into kindergarten is delayed 150 boys are delayed. http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2006/2006064.pdf
• For every 100 girls enrolled in elementary grades there are 107 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 fourth grade girls who do one or more hours of homework each day 92 boys do the same. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_140.asp
• For every 100 fourth grade girls who watch television four or more hours per day 123 boys do. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_140.asp
• For every 100 girls ages 9 to 11 years enrolled below modal grade there are 102 boys enrolled below modal grade. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html
• For every 100 girls ages 12 to 14 years enrolled below modal grade there are 129 boys enrolled below modal grade. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html
• For every 100 girls ages 15 to 17 years enrolled below modal grade there are 137 boys enrolled below modal grade. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html
• For every 100 girls enrolled in ninth grade there are 101 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 girls enrolled in tenth grade there are 94 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who watch television 5 or more hours per day on weekdays 110 tenth grade boys watch television 5 or more hours per day on weekdays. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who read for pleasure one or more hours per day 81 boys read for pleasure one or more hours per day. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who play video or computer games one or more hours per day 322 boys play video or computer games one or more hours per day. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who perform community service at least once a week 68 boys do the same. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who play non-school sports 169 boys play non-school sports. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who take music, art or language class 52 boys take music, art or language class. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who use a personal computer at home at least once a week 99 boys use a personal computer at home. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who work on hobbies at least once a week 104 tenth grade boys work on hobbies. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who do things with friends at least once a week 77 boys do things with friends. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 tenth grade girls who take sports lesions at least once a week 115 boys take sports lesson. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 girls enrolled in eleventh grade there are 109 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 girls enrolled in twelfth grade there are 98 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who participate in academic clubs 83 boys participate. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who participate in cheerleading or drill team 15 boys participate. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who participate in newspaper or yearbook 60 boys participate. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who participate in music, drama or debate 70 boys participate http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who participate in vocational clubs 71 boys participate. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_138.asp
• For every 100 high school girls who felt too unsafe to go to school 104 boys felt the same way. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who carried a weapon on school property 287 boys carried a weapon. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who were threatened or injured with a weapon on school property 178 boys were threatened or injured. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who engaged in a physical fight on school property 214 boys got into a fight. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who had property stolen or deliberately damaged on school property 126 boys had the same experience. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who smoked cigarettes on school property 108 boys smoked. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who used smokeless tobacco on school property 258 boys did this. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who used alcohol on school property 143 boys used alcohol. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who used marijuana on school property 205 boys did. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 twelfth grade girls who offered, sold or were given an illegal drug on school property 128 boys did the same. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_145.asp
• For every 100 girls enrolled in high school there are 100 boys enrolled. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school/cps2004.html
• For every 100 girls enrolled in gifted and talented programs in public elementary and secondary schools there are 94 boys enrolled. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_055.asp
• For every 100 girls who graduate from high school 96 boys graduate. (NCES, unpublished tabulation.)
• For every 100 girls suspended from public elementary and secondary schools 250 boys are suspended. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_144.asp
• For every 100 girls expelled from public elementary and secondary schools 335 boys are expelled. http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d04/tables/dt04_144.asp
• For every 100 girls in grades 10 to 12 that drop out of high school 121 boys drop out of high school. http://www.census.gov/population/www/socdemo/school.html
Special Education
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with a special education disability 217 boys are diagnosed with a special education disability. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with a learning disability 276 boys are diagnosed with a learning disability. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with emotional disturbance 324 boys are diagnosed with emotional disturbance. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with a speech impairment 147 boys are similarly diagnosed. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with mental retardation 138 boys are diagnosed as mentally retarded. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with visual impairment 125 boys are visually impaired. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with hearing impairment 108 boys are diagnosed as hearing impaired. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm
• For every 100 girls diagnosed with deafness 120 boys have deafness. http://www.iteachilearn.com/uh/meisgeier/statsgov20gender.htm