Worksheet—
for
--A
Humorist’s Look at Gender (2
--Background
A Humorist’s Look at Gender (2
______________________________________________________________________________________
Dave Barry:
Turning Over a New Leaf Blower
The Miami Herald ^
[
Have you ever wondered why the entire world runs so smoothly? The answer is:
Guys.
Don't get me wrong: I have the deepest respect for women. My own wife is a
woman. But when things need to get done, you cannot beat the results you get
when guys swing into action.
For an excellent example, we turn now to a news story from the Greenville
(S.C.) News, written by John Boyanoski and sent in by alert reader Michael
Ester. The story concerns a guy -- let's call him Guy A -- who had a problem:
There were leaves in his yard. So he fired up his leaf blower.
Leaf blowers are the ideal guy tool, because they have engines, they're loud,
and they enable you to blast debris, ray-gun-style, from one place to another
without having to actually pick it up. I'm willing to bet that somewhere in
America, there's a guy who, at least once, cleaned his living room by firing up
his leaf blower indoors and blasting everything -- pizza boxes, beer cans,
ancient potato-chip shards, underwear, deceased spiders -- into a less-critical
area, such as the dining room. (This guy is not married.)
But getting back to our story, which I am not making up: Guy A, taking action,
used his leaf blower to blow the leaves off of his property. Problem solved!
Except that the leaves wound up in the yard of another guy. Let's call him Guy
B. He now had leaves in his yard. What do you think he should have done about
this? Should he have asked Guy A, politely but firmly, to remove the leaves?
Should he have avoided a potential confrontation by picking them up himself? Or
should he have decided that life is too short to be bothered by this kind of
petty annoyance, and simply ignored the leaves?
If you answered "yes" to any of these solutions, you are, with all
due respect, a woman. What Guy B did, according to the
So now the leaves were back where they started. This was a crucial moment -- a
moment when some people, realizing that nothing good was going to come of this
situation, would have said the heck with it. But these were not "some
people." These were guys, and when guys start a job, guys want to finish
it, no matter what. That is how we got the pyramids, the interstate highway
system, and World Wars I and II.
So Guy A blew the leaves back onto Guy B's yard. This left Guy B with no choice
but to blow the leaves back onto Guy A's yard, leaving Guy A with no choice but
to blow the leaves back into Guy B's yard, and so on. They played leaf-blower
tennis for a while, until apparently it dawned on them how silly this was. And
so, according to the sheriff's report, as recounted in the Greenville News,
"they started blowing air in each other's face."
From there, things went downhill. According to the sheriff's department report,
Guy B claimed that Guy A head-butted him. Guy A claimed that Guy B hit his leaf
blower with a hammer and knocked his dust mask off, scratching his nose. (Yes:
Guy A wore a dust mask. It's important to follow leaf-blower safety
guidelines.)
Finally a sheriff's deputy was called to the scene of the dispute; after
listening to the two sides, he shot both guys in the head, to improve the gene
pool.
No, really, the deputy couldn't determine who was at fault, so he decided not
to charge either guy. I don't know what the situation is now, but it would not
surprise me to find out that both guys -- having learned a valuable lesson
about how a stupid little dispute can escalate into a potentially dangerous
situation -- have purchased bigger leaf blowers.
Speaking of which: A lot of leaves get blown onto the
Until that happens, I urge you guys in northern states to grab your leaf
blowers, organize into units and patrol the Canadian border, intercepting
incoming leaves and blasting them back where they belong. You should wear
camouflage. Also, of course, dust masks. No point in taking chances.
DAVE BARRY is a humor columnist for the Miami Herald. Write to him c/o The
Miami Herald,
________________________________________________________________________
Dave Barry:
We've got the dirt on guy brains
The Miami Herald ^
|
I like to think that I am a
modest person. (I also like to think that I look like Brad Pitt naked, but that
is not the issue here.)
There comes a time, however,
when a person must toot his own personal horn, and for me, that time is now. A
new book has confirmed a theory that I first proposed in 1987, in a column
explaining why men are physically unqualified to do housework. The problem, I
argued, is that men -- because of a tragic genetic flaw -- cannot see dirt
until there is enough of it to support agriculture. This puts men at a huge
disadvantage against women, who can detect a single dirt molecule 20 feet away.
This is why a man and a woman
can both be looking at the same bathroom commode, and the man -- hindered by
Male Genetic Dirt Blindness (MGDB) -- will perceive the commode surface as
being clean enough for heart surgery or even meat slicing; whereas the woman
can't even see the commode, only a teeming, commode-shaped swarm of bacteria. A
woman can spend two hours cleaning a toothbrush holder and still not be totally
satisfied; whereas if you ask a man to clean the entire
When I wrote about Male
Genetic Dirt Blindness, many irate readers complained that I was engaging in
sexist stereotyping, as well as making lame excuses for the fact that men are
lazy pigs. All of these irate readers belonged to a gender that I will not
identify here, other than to say: Guess what, ladies? There is now scientific
proof that I was right.
This proof appears in a new
book titled What Could He Be Thinking? How a Man's Mind Really Works. I have
not personally read this book, because, as a journalist, I am too busy writing
about it. But according to an article by Reuters, the book states that a man's
brain ''takes in less sensory detail than a woman's, so he doesn't see or even
feel the dust and household mess in the same way.'' Got that? We can't see or
feel the mess! We're like: ``What snow tires in the dining room? Oh, those snow
tires in the dining room.''
And this is only one of the
differences between men's and women's brains. Another difference involves a
brain part called the ''cingulate gyrus,'' which is the sector where emotions
are located. The Reuters article does not describe the cingulate gyrus, but
presumably in women it is a structure the size of a mature cantaloupe,
containing a vast quantity of complex, endlessly recalibrated emotional data
involving hundreds, perhaps thousands of human relationships; whereas in men it
is basically a cashew filled with NFL highlights.
In any event, it turns out
that women's brains secrete more of the chemicals ''oxytocin'' and
''serotonin,'' which, according to biologists, cause humans to feel they have
an inadequate supply of shoes. No, seriously, these chemicals cause humans to
want to bond with other humans, which is why women like to share their
feelings. Some women (and here I am referring to my wife) can share as many as
three days' worth of feelings about an event that took eight seconds to
actually happen. We men, on the other hand, are reluctant to share our
feelings, in large part because we often don't have any. Really. Ask any guy: A
lot of the time, when we look like we're thinking, we just have this low-level
humming sound in our brains. That's why, in male-female conversations, the male
part often consists entirely of him going ''hmmmm.'' This frustrates the woman,
who wants to know what he's really thinking. In fact, what he's thinking is,
literally, ``hmmmm.''
So anyway, according to the
Reuters article, when a man, instead of sharing feelings with his mate, chooses
to lie on the sofa, holding the remote control and monitoring 750 television
programs simultaneously by changing the channel every one-half second (pausing
slightly longer for programs that feature touchdowns, fighting, shooting, car
crashes or bosoms) his mate should not come to the mistaken conclusion that he
is an insensitive jerk. In fact, he is responding to scientific biological
brain chemicals that require him to behave this way for scientific reasons, as
detailed in the scientific book What Could He Be Thinking? How a Man's Mind
Really Works, which I frankly cannot recommend highly enough.
In conclusion, no way was
that pass interference.
Worksheet
Learning Styles and Needs--Observation
Of course, the humorist Dave Barry was in
the above two readings, exaggerating and stereotyping gender differences. He
was making gross generalizations for the sake of comedy, and social criticism.
No one thinks the matter is really so simple—or so absurd! We do all have our
own individual personality and character traits, many of which have nothing whatsoever
to do with gender. Our identities are incredibly complex!
However,
there is currently a national debate on whether, in some cases, females and
males would, because of general gender differences, learn better if placed in
separate schools, or at least separate classes. Before you read what others
have to say on this issue, you can begin to make your own observations on the topic.
This is “primary research.” When you read the articles that follow, you will be
doing “secondary research.”
In your high school, begin to observe
whether you think some female students would learn better in same-sex classes.
Or some or male students. Also, observe your own behavior and learning style and needs along these lines.
Note: In your notes below, do not give the names of teachers or students. Respect their
privacy. Indicate “Teacher A” or B,
or “Student A”, B, or C.
1.
In two classes, note if the teachers tend to call on boys or girls more, or
about the same. Maybe even count the times for a part of the class, (if you can
and still pay attention!)
Class
one: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
Class
two: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
2
In two classes, note whether there is a pattern of females or males tending to
raise their hands more? Saying more—or speaking in a different manner when they
do speak? Describe your impressions:
Class
one: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Class
two: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
3.
In two classes, see if you find any patterns of behavior that would suggest
that certain individual students, or groups of students, would learn better if they
were in a same-sex school or class. Include yourself, too! Explain what you
notice; and what you conclude, and why:
Class
one: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Class
two: ____________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
_____________________________________________________________________________
Background
THE POWER OF
ONE
By
Joe Dolce
No stranger to privilege, educator Ann Tisch volunteers her
heart, her soul, and her social commitment to a trend-defying girls' school in
From the street, the Young Women's
Young Women's
Four years later, when she was 36, her life took an unexpected turn. She met
and eventually married Andrew Tisch, whose family who owns the Loews
Corporation. Although she married into money, Tisch knew her dream couldn't be
bought. She bristled at being repeatedly called a socialite in the press. Tisch
felt that money without action wouldn't change anything. She was ready to get
her hands dirty. As Andrew puts it: "A socialite goes to the lunch to
honor a school in
In late 1993, having left her full-time TV job, Tisch laid the groundwork for
her publicly funded all-girls school that would focus on math and science. At
that point there were only two other single-sex public schools in the
Today, on the school walls are photos of Young Women's Leadership School's
first class of graduates—every single one of them accepted into college,
including such places as Smith, NYU, and Mount Holyoke, most with full
scholarships. Of these 32 girls who got their diplomas last June, 90 percent
are the first generation in their families ever to attend a university, 25
percent are immigrants, and almost three-quarters live below the poverty line.
The five-year-old Young Women's
Asked how she took on such a behemoth project, Tisch paraphrases Mother Teresa:
"If I look at the masses, I will never act; if I look at one, I
will."
From the October
2001 issue of O, The Oprah Magazine.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
-- Write:The Young Women's
--Use your
life to make a difference.-- Participate in the Ideas
Exchange Message Board.
.
(This article is from an Internet search. Did
you notice the source above?)
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BOY BRAINS, GIRL BRAINS
Author:
Source: Newsweek (Atlantic Edition);
Document Type: Article
Database: MasterFile
Are separate classrooms the best way to
teach kids? Three
years ago, Jeff Gray, the principal at Do
Mars and Venus ride the school bus? Gray is part of a new crop of educators
with a radical idea--that boys and girls are so biologically different they
need to be separated into single-sex classes and taught in different ways. In
the last five years, brain researchers using sophisticated MRI and PET
technology have gathered new information about the ways male and female
brains develop and process information. Studies show that girls, for
instance, have more active frontal lobes, stronger connections between brain
hemispheres and "language centers" that mature earlier than their
male counterparts. Critics of gender-based schooling charge that curricula designed
to exploit such differences reinforce the most narrow cultural stereotypes.
But proponents say that unless neurological, hormonal and cognitive
differences between boys and girls are incorporated in the classroom, boys
are at a disadvantage. Most
schools are girl-friendly, says Michael Gurian, coauthor with Kathy Stevens
of a new book, "The Minds of Boys: Saving Our Sons from Falling Behind
in School and Life," "because teachers, who are mostly women, teach
the way they learn." Seventy percent of children diagnosed with learning
disabilities are male, and the sheer number of boys who struggle in school is
staggering. Eighty percent of high-school drop-outs are boys and less than 45
percent of students enrolled in college are young men. To close the
educational gender gap, Gurian says, teachers need to change their
techniques. They should light classrooms more brightly for boys and speak to
them loudly, since research shows males don't see or hear as well as females.
Because boys are more-visual learners, teachers should illustrate a story
before writing it and use an overhead projector to practice reading and
writing. Gurian's ideas seem to be catching on. More than 185 public schools
now offer some form of single-sex education, and Gurian has trained more than
15,000 teachers through his institute in To
some experts, Gurian's approach is not only wrong but dangerous. Some say his
curriculum is part of a long history of pseudoscience aimed at denying equal
opportunities in education. For much of the 19th century, educators, backed
by prominent scientists, cautioned that women were neurologically unable to
withstand the rigors of higher education. Others say basing new teaching
methods on raw brain research is misguided. While it's true that brain scans
show differences between boys and girls, says David Sadker, education
professor at Natasha
Craft, a fourth-grade teacher at Southern Elementary School in 70%
of all school-age children who are
diagnosed with learning disabilities are boys PHOTO
(COLOR): Move it: Sixth graders at Foust take a break ~~~~~~~~ By
Peg Tyre |
|
|
|
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CRIICS ARE TOO HASTY: ALL-GIRL’S SCHOOLS MAY HELP
Source: USA Today; 05/10/2002. Section: News, Pg. 14a
Document Type: Article
Database: MasterFILE Premier
_______________________________________________________
Today's debate: Improving public schools
Our view: Girls and boys learn differently. Schools could develop strengths .
As early as elementary school, the different learning styles of boys and girls are obvious. Most girls catch on to reading and writing skills faster than boys do. In fact, many boys never catch up in literacy skills.
Those differences are not a result of unfair educational opportunities. Gender-based learning differences are a fact of life. But they're overlooked by groups objecting to the Department of Education's decision this week to relax rules limiting same-sex education in public schools.
Many education experts believe that same-sex schools offer a promising alternative for boys who are easily distracted or intimidated by girls. If successful, they may offer a partial remedy to the sharp decline in the number of boys going to college.
Likewise, single-sex schools present a way for girls to develop self-confidence and leadership skills without being fearful of showing off their brains. Every educator knows girls who were brilliant in elementary school and then became cowed when competing with boys as a teen.
In many cities, however, expensive private schools are the only options for parents interested in single-sex education. The Bush administration wants to encourage more experimentation by removing the legal barriers that restrict all-boys and all-girls public schools. The Department of Education sees the move as a way to expand school choice.
But some civil-rights groups and women's organizations oppose the plans and argue that the changes are unnecessary and dangerous. The National Organization for Women, for example, maintains that separate schools will lead to unequal schools that discriminate by gender. Their worries have a legitimate historical basis, considering the nation's sordid history of providing inferior education to blacks while hiding behind the "separate but equal" mantle.
But the Education Department appears to be laying out tight rules to ensure that comparable courses would be offered for boys and girls. And same-sex schools must still comply with the equal-protection clause of the Constitution's 14th Amendment.
Done right, same-sex public schools could actually create opportunities and solve some problems in inner-city districts, where parents have the fewest school options.
Consider the success of the Young Women's
Critics say there's no reason those girls can't be just as successful in a well-run, mixed-sex school. Maybe not, but too often they're not. Critics also say those girls aren't learning the lessons they need to get along with men later in life. But they may be gaining valuable leadership opportunities and self-confidence that will prove even more valuable. At all-girls schools, the class leaders and yearbook editors are girls. Those same leadership advantages exist at all-boys schools. Plus, educators say boys in single-sex schools are more likely to try activities such as drama and choral singing.
Same-sex schools aren't right for all students. But for some students, the separation can lead to greater equality.
--------------------[TEXT OF INFO BOX BEGINS HERE]---------------------------------
Profile of Young
Women's
* History: All-girls public school formed 6 years ago.
* Location: East
* Enrollment: 365 girls, grades 7-12.
* Racial/ethnic mix: 59%
* Student profiles: 67% fall below the poverty line; 25% are first-generation immigrants; 90% will be the first in their families to attend college.
* Academic background: Most test below grade level when entering.
* Academic performance: 100% pass state Regents exams; 100% of seniors accepted at four-year colleges.
Source of chart in info box: The Young Women's
Database: MasterFile
_____________________________________________________________________
Stabiner, an acclaimed journalist and author, spent a
year following students at two very different all-girls schools: the private
and prestigious
Indeed, by delving into the girls' personal backgrounds, Stabiner shows that their single-sex educations are not terribly significant factors in their lives. Most of the girls at Marlborough, for example, come from wealth and privilege—true defining factors—and would probably fare just as well academically at a coed equivalent of their elite school.
The girls at the YWLS, on the other hand, are plagued
with problems associated with urban poverty. They lack basic academic skills
and confidence and are saddled with such tasks as spending long hours looking
after younger siblings. While the girls at
As Stabiner herself acknowledges, it is almost impossible when examining the impact of single-sex schools to disentangle the deep effects of race and class from those of gender alone.
______________________________________________________________________
INTERVIEW: Boys
at School: Q&A with Dr. William Pollack
This story was printed from FamilyEducation.com located at
http://familyeducation.com [This is an online source. No date was given.
The source which this website with this interview is given at the end of the article.]
____________________________________________________________
Excerpts from:
Boys at School:
Q&A with Dr. William Pollack
A National
Crisis
Q: You have alerted the entire country to a "national crisis of
boyhood." From the evidence in your book Real Boys, we also have a
"national crisis of boys' education." What are the facts behind this
crisis?
A: The statistics about boys' education are startling.
Eighth-grade boys are 50 percent more likely to be held back a grade than
girls. By high school, 67 percent of all special-education students are boys.
Boys receive 71 percent of all school suspensions and are up to 10 times more
likely than girls to be diagnosed with attention-deficit disorder.
. . . .As the study reveals, girls, due
to our special efforts, have made steady gains in math and science while
outperforming boys in reading and writing. The study found such large
differences in boys' and girls' writing that it concluded that males are at a
major disadvantage in what is a basic skill. That is a disparaging conclusion,
to say the least.
"The Condition of Education,"
issued by the U.S. Department of Education in 1997, says much of the same. For
the last 13 years, females have significantly outscored males in reading and
writing. Boys have fallen behind.
. . . .
"Guy-ifying" Schools
Q: In Real Boys, you refer to "guy-ifying" schools. How
do boys learn differently from girls, and what can schools do to make the
classroom a more comfortable and effective place for boys to learn?
A: I firmly believe that – depending on how curricula are structured,
how classrooms are run and what attitudes about boys prevail – a school can
either shape boys positively or confuse them and lead them terribly astray. By
addressing who a boy really is and what he really needs, a school can make a
difference in helping him do well academically, feel positive about himself and
develop a healthy sense of masculinity. A positive school experience, in short,
can bolster a boy's self-esteem.
Boys have a unique learning style that is
different from that of girls. Research suggests that, whereas many girls may
prefer to learn by watching or listening, boys generally prefer to learn by
doing, by engaging in some action-oriented task. I've observed boys who are so
resistant to reading books in class that they'll literally toss them aside to
pursue more hands-on activities. Yet some of these same boys have been
motivated to read on a computer, which allows them to have fun scrolling
through the pages using a keyboard or mouse. I've also seen boys who, though
identified as "lazy readers," became active, proficient readers when
given material on subjects that interested them, such as sports, adventure
stories and murder mysteries. Most critically, I believe we must make
absolutely sure that for every boy there is a "good fit" between what
makes him thrive as an individual and what his school actually provides for
him.
. . . .How Can We Change?
Q: Taking these examples and advice into account, where do parents
and educators go from here?
A: Ten years ago girls lifted their heads and raised their
voices that schools needed to address the ways in which they learn. Naysayers
said at the time that there couldn't be change. In 1999, girls have all but
caught up with boys in the critical areas of math and science where for so long
they lagged behind.
It
is completely possible in the here and now to make positive change for boys,
and we can start by doing for boys what we have done for girls. We can teach
teachers about boys' learning styles and help them adapt their teaching methods
and curricula accordingly. We can help parents and teachers learn to connect
with boys. Boys communicate and express in their own ways. The more we
understand this, the smaller a unit is in which a boy participates, the better
he is known in his group, the more clear the connection he has with his peers
and his teachers, the more likely a boy is to be successful in school and in
life.
* * *
Dr. William Pollack is a
Source: Henry Holt Publisher
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Worksheet
Same-Sex Schools Debate—Pro and Con
As you read
the above five articles on the subject of Same-Sex Schools or classes,,
underline pro/con points. 1) In the margin note either ”+” or “–“ to indicate
“pro” or ” con” points and/or evidence. 2) When you have finished reading,
review your annotations (notes) on the texts and pick the
three strongest points on each side. Write these points below, with the title
of the source/s in which you found them.
Pro
1. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
Con
1.. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
2. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
3. _____________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________________
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