“In school, however, many of the boys reported that they never felt in control and this alienated them from their studies.”  Michelle Galley

I found this to be a very interesting article. The sentence about not being in control really stood out to me because I could relate to it and never really thought of it that way. I think that many people become disengaged with learning because they often feel that they have no control over what they are learning or how they are learning.  I know I certainly felt this way in middle school and the beginning of high school; the last 2 years of high school I felt that I was offered more choices as a learner, and I loved that. I believe by being offered some choices and control over what I learned in some classes , I was more accepting and open-minded about the material that I had less control over.  I think that having control over how one learns has improved somewhat over the years, but from the little that I have seen in the classroom in the US, students usually have very little choice over what they learn. Of course, teachers are supposed to take into account the students’ interests, and they do, but the information is usually presented from the teacher’s perspective rather than the students. I guess I should be happy that student interests are considered at all.

I was actually talking to a student today about this. He was telling me how he didn’t like the books he was assigned and really hoped that he would be given a list to choose from instead of being assigned a specific book. He didn’t feel that the books were that relevant to his particular experience; I told him that I had felt the same way in high school and that the books that I didn’t care for turned out to be some of my favorite books when I went back to read them later.  We both agreed that much of our lack of interest in the books undoubtably came from our being obligated to read them. We had no choice or control over what we were to learn. I think it can be complicated with large classes, curriculum standards, and school standards, but I think it is important to give students some control over what they are learning. Even if it is as simple as giving them 2 or 3 choices, at least most will feel that they had some say in what they learn.

The main focus of the article was gender differences. Though I found it interesting, and important to acknowledge and be aware of the differences that exist between genders, I agree with the conclusion of the article that these differences are generalizations and that all students are unique, complex individuals and must be treated as such.

“By the time young people reach adolescence they have had years of educational experiences influenced both by biological factors and by the ways society socialized boys and girls.” – Would Girls and Boys Tend to Answer Differently? Galley
I totally agree with this. Identity is often given by social experience and self-identity is also influenced by this factor. Adults like to dress up a baby boy in blue and dress up a baby girl in pink. While they are growing up, they receive the message that blue is a boy color and pink is a girl color. But does color really have a gender? No. It is just a social habit and everyone receives it and accepts it. It is the same token in educational setting. Because of the difference of biological development in the early age of boys and girls, people developed the social impressions such as girls are better at language learning than boys are and boys tend to behave aggressively. But we don’t have any research result showing that adult women have advanced ability in language while men do not or there are any aggressive factors in men’s body and affect their actions. Therefore, it is not fair to judge people by gender.

“Instead of brushing off words like “gay” or “faggot” with hasty or offhand reprimands of “don’t say that word!,” I try to prevent bullying while encouraging analysis of the varying meanings of these words – literally, historically, and colloquially – just as I would do in studies of other words students stumble across in texts. I shared a news article about Lawrence King’s murder with my students last year and posed questions about the decision to try thirteen-year-old shooter Brandon McInerney as an adult and about the politics of hate crime legislation. I received admonishment and complaints from administrators and some colleagues who claimed that I should “be careful, this is awfully mature for sixth graders!” But we can’t truly address bullying without closely examining the language that fuels it.”

It was difficult to choose an MVP from Krywancyzk’s incredible article – every single beautifully-written sentence made my head spin, made me take a deep breath just to take everything in before I went onto the next sentence. Krywancyzk writes so eloquently and clearly about a topic of such urgency I want to include the whole article as a sort of “MVA” – “most valuable article.” Forced to choose one passage, though, I chose the paragraph above because I actually heard a student call someone a faggot at school today, and how did I respond? I said, “C’mon, don’t say that word.” I had a feeling even at the time that this was a weak and ineffectual response, but I wasn’t sure how to press further. I think I was afraid of getting too “lecturey.” This passage is valuable because it says it’s okay to dig deeper – you’re not being lecturey – you’re explaining! You’re putting things into context. I’m reminded of an episode of “Louie” that featured a group of guys playing poker together. One of them is gay:

The next time I hear the word “faggot”, I’m gonna remember this clip, and Krywancyzk’s passage. I love how the guy handled it in this situation. He wasn’t preachy, he wasn’t angry – he was calm, but he stated in a very matter-of-fact way what the word “faggot” does – the kinds of memories it conjures. That’s so much better than saying “cut it out,” the same way I would if they were tapping their pen.

        To be a “Boy” Or “Girl”?

          “This student has demonstrated a consistent, pointed interest in trans issues and has raised unprovoked questions about transsexuals on at least three occasions. He (or she?) is sometimes teased by other students for “acting gay,” wearing sweater-vests, and borrowing pink highlighters from the girls in class to decorate his notebook. Without assuming anything about this student’s identity, it is clear that gender and sexuality are important for the student to think about and work through right now.” (Krywanczyk, 2009)

The last sentence of this passage attracts my attention. It is true. “Gender identity” is a sensitive topic to young students. People differentiate the “sexuality” based on the physical characteristics. Then, when the young children are capable of declaring themselves as boys or girls, this is the confirmation of their “gender identity”. In most of cases, children learn their gender behaviors from some sort of “gender stereotypes” like, “boys should do this” or “girls should do this”. However, when they in high school, they have their small social circle. In that case, I think the friends who they choose to imitate in their lives could be the source of the confusion or the change of their own gender identity. In these days, we do not have as much expectations, like “boys should do this” or “girls should do this”, as before. I mean sometimes, girls can be “masculine”. As educators, we help our students to develop their special potential rather than emphasizing excessively on whether their behaviors are coincided with their gender identity.