On boys and learning
It is like others are thinking the same, yet without realizing it. In the Edmonton Journal today not one, but two, articles discuss the differences between boys and girls."Girls better readers than boys, study says" and "Stereotypes stick to kids like glue" look at Reading levels of Grade 1, 3 and 6 students and how teen girls are gravitating towards traditional female occupations. John Holt's book Better Late Than Early explains well how boys are hardwired differently than girls, especially when it comes to reading and writing skills. I was very priviledged to have a homeschool friend who loaned me that book in my homeschool teaching infancy. The key concern this book brought out was the detriment to the male of our species regarding their willingness to want to read and their handwriting skills when we force them to learn before they are ready. Having three boys and one girl, I can tell you right now, at least in my family, his words bode true. My avidly reading eldest didn't read until he was eight and my now ten-year-old is just now ready to read. The interesting part of this is, when we listen to our children and follow their abilities, reading skills develop in weeks rather than years. My eldest, now 12, learned to read at a grade 8 level within a span of 24 weeks... when he was ready. But my sons were not in the education system so they had the choice. Most boys don't have that option, so they must learn withing the restraints of an institution geared to the learning ability of the female of our species.