Tom Schutte and other teachers at Seattle’s O’Dea High School take cues from the Gurian Institute, which trains parents and teachers about the differences between the ways girls and boys learn.
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The Purpose of Boys
Smiling and laughing at 4 months. Rolling over at 6 months. Saying “mama” at 8 months. Crawling, super fast, at 10 months.
I remember charting my son’s progress as he passed each key milestone. You, too? When did I stop noticing his developmental stages? Maybe when he started kindergarten? He’s now 9 years old and a new book makes me think developmental phases are just important to observe now as they were during the baby years.
Michael Gurian has been advocating for boys for two decades with a series of books, including The Wonder of Boys and The Minds of Boys. His new book, The Purpose of Boys, is his latest on the subject of boys.
Gurian says parents should pay attention to boys’ developmental stages until they reach their early 20s.
“About the time a boy gets to the age of 10, for example, parents back off in order to let their son become more independent,” he says. “Boys actually gain independence through structure.”
I would have done the same thing, assuming it’s natural for a boy to drift away from parents at that age. Instead, I’m going to subtly add more “daily chores, solitude time, and structured activity” to my son’s life, as Gurian recommends. Don’t tell him about the chores thing.
The morning bell rings and 28 seniors glide into Room 202 at Seattle’s O’Dea High School. Some are chatting about an upcoming baseball game, one guy is talking about his girlfriend, several are yawning. It seems like a typical classroom.
Except, a lesson plan on a white board looks like a football play. The hour’s topic is “Buddhist Marks of Existence.” The game plan is to divide into four teams, analyze a subtopic for exactly seven minutes, then move to another location in the room to tackle the next discussion. “Class timer is set,” says teacher Tom Schutte. “Begin.”
From the cool temperature and fresh air in the room, to the soothing music and activity countdown clock – Schutte’s classroom is atypical.
“I don’t talk for more than 13 minutes or I’ll lose the boys’ attention,” he explains. “I can’t bulldoze through information and expect them to sit quietly and listen. But if I engage their senses, they become more curious and excited about learning.”
Schutte uses techniques from the Gurian Institute, which trains parents and teachers about the ways boys and girls learn differently. Teachers at O’Dea – the only all-boys school in the state – are able to focus exclusively on male learning styles and brain development because there are no girls around. About 470 students from 98 different ZIP codes in the region go to O’Dea, a Catholic school founded in 1923. (Charles Wright Academy, which used to be an all-boys school, started admitting girls in 1970, and Lakeside School became co-ed the year after that.)
This month, O’Dea becomes a model school for the Gurian Institute. The designation recognizes the school for the learning environment it’s created for boys. Public school systems that are showing a renewed interest in single-sex education are surely keeping close tabs on O’Dea.
In 1995, only three public schools in the U.S. offered girls- or boys-only classrooms, according to the National Association for Single Sex Public Education. Today there are 95 schools with 445 single-sex classes. Thurgood Marshal Elementary and Madrona K-8 in Seattle have some separate classrooms for boys and girls. Cheryl Chow, a Seattle School Board member, told me a few years ago she’d love to have an all-girls middle school in the city. And there has been a movement to start an all-boys middle school in Seattle.
Frank Lazarek, the assistant principal for faculty at O’Dea, sees the value of dividing the sexes. He says research shows both boys and girls benefit from single-sex education, and the need is especially critical for boys.
“Boys today simply aren’t learning as well as girls are,” Lazarek says. “In 35 percent of industrialized countries, boys are between one and one and a half years behind girls. Boys cause 90 percent of the disciplinary problems in schools, they receive 70 percent of the Ds and Fs given to students. I could go on and on.”
Lazarek says boys are more willing to take risks when they don’t have to worry about making mistakes in front of the opposite sex, or think about impressing girls. They’re “less stressed.”
“Cortisol, the stress hormone, goes up and learning goes down for many boys in co-ed schools,” says Lazarek.
An O’Dea freshman, who asked not to be named, admits it is “kind of strange” not having girls in class. But he also says he’s a better student “because they’re not around.”
Is he just saying that because it’s what he thinks I want to hear?
“Nah, that’s what my grades say. I’m doing a lot better this year,” he says. “This place is good for me.”
Linda Thomas is a freelance broadcast and print journalist in Seattle. Post your comments about single-sex education on our Web site at www.seattleschild.com, or send her an e-mail: linda@lindathomas.com.
