🚀 go-pugleaf

"NGO" <ngo@newsgroup.com> wrote in message
news:anvbsv44t0vroijr93b2s7d3qfp9nkmq2m@4ax.com...
> On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 19:57:13 GMT, "Don H" <donlhumphries@bigpond.com>
> wrote:
>
> >I think too much emphasis should not be placed on the supposed difference
> >between boys and girls.  I attended a State school, and, although boys
and
> >girls were segregated in the classroom, and in the playground, this was
the
> >only distinction made.  That boys should be "macho", whether deliberately
or
> >implied, was not an issue - if the sexes have a natural tendency to be
> >different, then that's another matter.
> >However, on the topic of books, I liked short stories, eg. the SF tales
of
> >HG Wells; or Sherlock Holmes (by Conan Doyle). At a younger age, the
> >adventures of Dr.Dolittle appealed.  Then, the William books, Tarzan,
etc.
> >Full length novels nowadays, in an age of television and video games, is
a
> >big ask.  When I was a child there was only radio - and kids' Saturday
> >matinee at local picture theatre. Books prevailed, and public libraries
> >flourished.
> >The modern view, that girls have superior reading skills compared with
boys,
> >I regard as a pernicious offshoot of the fraudulent "whole word/language"
> >teaching system.  Perhaps it is that girls are more compliant; boys tend
to
> >view the teaching method with contempt - and don't want to participate?
I
> >was taught by Phonics, and there was no problem.
>
> That's an interesting idea.  I'm always tempted to look more closely
> at the measuring stick being used when I see such differences,
> especially in education theory.

I agree that the notion of any one discipline being better absorbed by
either gender is a bit subjective, however there have been some experiments
(here in Seattle, at Thurgood Marshal Elementary) where the results have
shown a marked change in behavior when specific classes are segregated by
gender. An that result is that BOTH genders excell at the particular
discipline, as the boys are do not tend to exhibit the macho behavior, as
there are no girls for whom to perform, and the girls a no longer inhibited
by boys' typical competitive nature. The net effect is that the separate
classes tend to approach the subject in the way best suited for the gender.
This study is also subjective, but the outcome is interesting.


-- 
"There are 10 kinds of people in the world:
those who understand binary numbers and those who don't."
-----------------------------
Byron "Barn" Canfield