Helping Disorganized Boys
Males Just Need More Assistance Getting Organized
Girls Do Better in School Than Boys
Girls are excelling in school more than boys are and the college campus ratios of girls to boys prove it. It is not often that we find a college campus with a higher percentage of males than females. And, if we do it is a college or university that offers engineering or a vocational program. Why are girls outperforming boys in school?
Boys and Girls Are Different
Each year the pool of male teachers shrinks a bit more. And, since teachers tend to teach like they learn, we are teaching boys more like girls each year. How do girls learn?
- Girls are comfortable asking questions in class.
- Girls respond to shopping questions.
- Girls thrive in a relaxed environment.
- Girls work in pairs or alone.
Boys are not girls.
- Boys do better in competitive environments.
- Boys enjoy action-based lessons.
- Boys enjoy time-oriented tasks.
- Boys prefer to wait with asking questions to avoid looking less smart.
- Boys respond to sports questions.
Since the majority of teachers are females, boys don’t have the best environment to be… well, boys.
Girls also seem to just be more organized. They coordinate their clothing in 4th grade, fix their hair with matching bows, and carefully select book jackets and pencils. Boys throw everything in a bookbag that soon becomes the dead letter office or a huge black hole.
Tutor Ana Homayoun
While Ms. Homayoun is a tutor, she must at times help her students organize their homework so she can begin tutoring. Organizing boys has become a top priority. Many in education, like in South Carolina, suggest single-sex classrooms. Others want more male role models. Some even suggest eliminating chairs in the classroom for active students and replacing them with exercise balls. Homayoun suggests organizing boys.
Tutors often charge $100 an hour and more to assist boys with organizational skills stating that girls are just better at multitasking and organizing. It is not a natural skill for boys. [Alan Finder, nytimes.com, January 1, 2008]
Worth $100 Per Hour?
Counselors are charging $100 and more to organize boys for their last few years of high school and for the journey into college. They teach them to use
- Color-coding
- Accordion binders
- Daily planners
- Weekly planners
- Monthly planner
- Recording deadlines
- File boxes
[Alan Finder, nytimes.com, January 1, 2008]
The Homayoun Plan
Homayoun’s business, Green Ivy Educational Consulting, was formed after her graduation from Duke University in 2001. Her business is based on how she successfully completed her education. She demands that each client have a three-ring binder for each subject. The binder is divided into five sections:
- Notes
- Handouts
- Homework
- Tests and quizzes
- Blank paper
A 3-hole puncher is a must since every paper is placed in the binder and not in a pocket, book or in the bottom of a locker and left at school.
Students are to number the order in which they plan to do homework.
- Unified Science
- American History
- Algebra I
Clients check off the subject when completed.
Where Is Homework Done?
In a quiet room over a period of two hours with
- No distractions
- No music
- No cellphone
- No television
- No instant messaging
- No iPod
Homayoun has completely dumped out contents of bookbags and begun sorting inches of papers one paper at a time. While some girls need to be taught structure, 75% of her clients are boys. [Alan Finder, nytimes.com, January 1, 2008]
Copyright article 2008 Barbara Pytel. All Rights Reserved.
