 Elementary
School Tries Single Gender ClassesSchool Puts Boys and Girls to a Test
Washington Mill Elementary experiments with single-gender classrooms. Mount Vernon Gazette - September 12, 2007 by
Second-grader Adrienne Becker said she is finding it easier to speak up
and to concentrate in class this year. This is not the result of some
new medication. "I can talk to my friends and work out what the problem
is without any boys getting in the way and saying, ‘Whatcha doing?’"
she reported. Mike DiCicco Adrienne is in one of four experimental single-gender classrooms being tried out at Washington Mill Elementary this year. She said her classroom is considerably quieter. Her teacher, Jean Demshur, said she expects her students’ newfound lack of trepidation to extend beyond calling out answers and into academics, "especially with math and science." For principal Tish Howard, this experiment is a brain child of long gestation. "The seed started in my head 18 years ago," said Howard. Working then in special education, she noticed that the majority of students in programs for reading help, speech and language help, learning disabilities and emotional disabilities were boys, she said. "It was a puzzlement, and I didn’t understand it." Later, working as a speech pathologist, she saw the same pattern. Howard said she also noticed that the majority of students being suspended from school were boys. "Then, I went to the A/B Honor Roll induction at Whitman [Middle School] last year," she said. Seventeen girls and three boys were inducted. "I thought, ‘OK, that can’t be right.’" She noted that, at the same time, enrollment at the magnet Thomas Jefferson School for Science and Technology was top-heavy with boys. "With more girls on the A/B Honor Roll in middle school. It doesn’t make sense," she said. When she stumbled on the book "Boys and Girls Learn Differently!" by Michael Gurian, Howard decided she may have found a key to the mystery. Among other findings, the book said boys respond better to brighter lights and louder sound than girls and that they need processes presented to them with the goal in mind, while girls tend to work out a process before worrying about the goal, she said. While she acknowledged that such generalizations would not hold true for every child, she said she felt that the "solid brain research" detailed in the book was worth applying. HOWARD SAID she chose the second and sixth grades to pilot the program because first-graders were too young and third-graders will take the Standards of Learning (SOL) this year, and because sixth-graders tend to allow their first rush of hormones to interfere with their learning. She sent out surveys to the parents of incoming second- and sixth-graders asking if they would be interested in having their children participate in the experiment. "I had more than enough that wanted a single-gender class," she said. The book that inspired this initiative has become required reading for all teachers in the school. "What’s in there can enhance every classroom, not just a single-gender classroom," said Howard. She and the teachers of single-gender classes will meet every two weeks to fine-tune lesson plans. "It’s a learning process," she said. "The kids are learning, we’re learning." The girls’ classrooms have lower lighting than the boys’ rooms, and the desks are arranged differently, according to gender. She said the boys and girls from the pilot classes still commingle during P.E., recess, lunch and field trips. "I’m not running a nunnery here," she said. After just a few days, said Howard, the teachers had reported a strong cohesiveness in those classes. "Mr. Reynolds informed me today that I need special permission to come in there, because it’s boys only," she said of Todd Reynolds’ second-grade classroom. Ultimately, she said, she hopes to teach to each gender’s strengths and support its weaknesses "before girls internalize that math and science are for boys, and before boys learn that poetry, reading and language arts are for girls." "Already, I can see that the girls are thinking much differently than the boys," said Demshur. "They love details, so when they write, they include a lot of details," she said. During a recent fire drill, members of the class raised questions about what might be done if there were a fire in the stairwell along their evacuation route. "They’re very curious. They notice all kinds of things, and they aren’t afraid to ask questions," she said. "Boys ask more general questions." Adrienne said the girls also play games in class that would not be favored by boys: "We pretend to give each other makeovers with invisible makeup and stuff." Reynolds said he too is enjoying the change. "I’m a high school wrestling coach, so I deal with boys quite a bit anyway," he said. In the past, said Reynolds, he found it difficult to raise his voice at girls who were passing notes or talking to each other during lessons. "The boys, I felt like I could growl at them and not feel bad about it." He said the fact that he has more in common with the boys makes it easier to pique their interest. "I’m able to tap into their previous experiences a little better," he said. "It makes for better quality teaching." "What I like about it is, I finally get a chance to be with no girls, because they sometimes get a little too annoying," said Christopher Ginn, one of Reynolds’ students. He speculated that, since he only makes friends with boys, he would be able to make more friends this year. However, Reynolds said he had noticed that many boys who would not have played with girls last year now sometimes seek them out during recess. "It’s like they need that little bit of estrogen in their day," he said. In the classroom, he said, he learned that boys take "considerably longer" to refocus after a disruption, that they do enjoy reading and writing although not for extended periods, that they are more competitive when it comes to answering questions, and that their work areas are "a little messier." IN HIS SIXTH-GRADE classroom, Forrest Chilton said he makes a point to keep the students moving. The boys might begin a lesson in their seats, he said, but by the end they may have performed a song or skit. "I’ve never gotten to do so much physical activity. I’ve always had to sit down," said Stefan Broecker, one of his students, adding that he found the class "more exciting." Chilton said he also has begun to use more physical cues, snapping his fingers to signal quiet in the hallway or simply moving closer to a student who is not on task, which he said is less intrusive. He said he can also more easily pick up on physical cues from boys, such as fidgeting, that might mean it’s time to move around. "And I have to put a little bit higher emphasis on following the directions exactly," he added. He said he has been impressed with the students’ math skills, but pushing them to use supporting details in their writing has been a challenge and required him to use his "louder voice" in order to "get them to raise their expectations of themselves." Sixth-grader Nena Abernathy said her class, like Adrienne’s, is quieter than last year’s. "We get more learning done, and I can concentrate better," she said. Nena also noted that she is more comfortable speaking up this year. "A lot of the girls that were quiet last year, they were raising their hands and answering questions," said her teacher, Takisha Garcia. She said the class is easier for her to teach, as well. "With boys, you need a lot more energy," she said. This year, said Garcia, "I don’t have to repeat myself as much with my directions. Girls at that age are better listeners." She said the girls enjoy working in groups and giving presentations. Their desks are arranged in clusters. Garcia said she incorporates music into her lessons and writing into math and science. She also said she plans to invite guests to discuss subjects such as etiquette, financial savings and career opportunities, "honing in specifically on girl-oriented issues." After each academic quarter this year, the school will send a survey to parents, inquiring about their children’s attitudes toward school, said Howard. The staff will compare report cards and numbers of referrals to the office for misbehavior, "and then, at the end of the year, we’re going to put it all together and see what we have," she said. "And I don’t know what we’ll have. But I do know it’s exciting."
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