Sometimes it seems funny to me that I've been getting an education(pun intended) on the subject of how boys learn/are taught. It's not something I ever considered until a few years ago. I could have told you a few things about how girls are generally shortchanged. But life is sometimes strange, and here I find myself the mother of three-maybe four-boys! So I pay attention when I come across things like this TED talk by speaker Ali Carr-Chellman called “Gaming to Re-engage Boys” about how schools today are leaving boys behind. I have not listened to it yet. But the points mentioned below make sense to me:
"Think I am exaggerating? Consider that boys will soon account for just 30% of college students.
Among the reasons she gives for “why boys are opting to zone out” are:
Zero Tolerance for Boy Toys, such as toy guns and violence–including the inability to even write about subjects they might be interested in such as a favorite video game.
Fewer Male Teachers (93% of elementary teachers are female–sending the message that school is for girls, not for boys)
“Kindergarten is the New Second Grade”–serious curriculum compression harmful to all active children (not just boys)
The talk is just 12 minutes long. While I don’t agree with all of her next steps (she advocates more inventive and engaging educational video gaming among other things), she is dead on in identifying the problem with the culture.
She also says, rightly so, that video games are not the cause but the symptom of a long period of turning off to education.
What can we do?
Her advice:
Design better games ( most educational games are glorified flashcards, not engaging)
Talk to teachers, parents, school board members, and politicians
Find more money for game design
Look at teacher attitudes
Found via the Daily Riff (great site for education issues)"
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