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+--- Thread: Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? (/thread-3960.html)
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Taem - 08-29-2006
I just read this article in the LA Times today and found it interesting. Heres an online link to the article.
Summation:
Boys learn better from male teachers. Girls learn better from female teachers.
I'm curious as to how much of a difference this is (percentage wise) and if it really matters or not. Perhaps the whole "all-girl/all-boy" school concepts weren't such a bad idea afterall?
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Wyrm - 08-29-2006
Well, it's been proven that boys learn at a different rate from girls, so classrooms that are single-gender do promote better learning. This is the first I've heard of teachers following that idea as well though, but it does seem to make sense. The study in the article was based on 8th graders, who never really pay attention to anything anyway, so if we can find a way to make them listen more, I say go for it. I don't really remember my elementary years, but I was taught (like most people I'd imagine) primarily by women until I got to college.
The woman they had, Greenberger, counter-arguing the guy cracked me up a little.
Quote:"I don't think there are many parents or students, looking back over their educational careers, who haven't been inspired by a teacher of the opposite sex," she said.I guess being inspired by 1 teacher who has a passion for something you're probably already interested in > field data that looks at general classroom learning. I'm not really certain how/why a lawyer should be commenting on this anyway...
I think the other commentator, Weaver, hit it closer to the mark when they said
Quote:"Students benefit by having exposure to teachers who look like them, who can identify with their culture ... but this is just one variable among many," Weaver said.
As for myself, I would think it's infinitely more important to get a good teacher that has a passion for teaching and is sensative to the fact that boys and girls learn differently rather than to take mediocre teachers and put them with same-gender students just because of a statistic.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - kandrathe - 08-30-2006
Quote:... The study in the article was based on 8th graders, who never really pay attention to anything anyway, so if we can find a way to make them listen more, I say go for it. ...I was thinking for students at that age, perhaps there might be a link to adolescents seeking behavior models for gender role identity. It is certainly the time in both boys and girls lives when they are seriously working on identity formation.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Doc - 08-30-2006
Well DUH!
A boy is bound to be distracted from his learning by a nice pair of hooters as the teacher leans over his desk to check his work.
Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad... I'm hot for teacher.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - kandrathe - 08-30-2006
Quote:Well DUH!I'm jealous now. I didn't have any "attractive" teachers. I think the rule in our school district was that you had to be at least 50 years old to apply.
A boy is bound to be distracted from his learning by a nice pair of hooters as the teacher leans over his desk to check his work.
Got it bad, got it bad, got it bad... I'm hot for teacher.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Doc - 08-30-2006
Quote:I'm jealous now. I didn't have any "attractive" teachers. I think the rule in our school district was that you had to be at least 50 years old to apply.
Well damn, that could do it too. Catching an eyeful of jugs where the milk was way past the expiration date.
Not being sexist or anything, just saying what goes through a young boy's mind.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Occhidiangela - 08-30-2006
Quote:Well damn, that could do it too. Catching an eyeful of jugs where the milk was way past the expiration date.*Frowns* Not being sexist?
Not being sexist or anything, just saying what goes through a young boy's mind.
Riiiiiiiiiiiiight.
Occhi
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - vor_lord - 08-30-2006
Quote:I'm jealous now. I didn't have any "attractive" teachers. I think the rule in our school district was that you had to be at least 50 years old to apply.
Miss Spurr--English teacher in my junior year of high school. 23 years old, and had played collegiate volleyball. 6'1", blonde, hot.
Sure didn't help educational focus, that's for sure.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - LemmingofGlory - 08-30-2006
Quote:Well DUH!
A boy is bound to be distracted from his learning by a nice pair of hooters as the teacher leans over his desk to check his work.
Your own schoolboy blueballs aside, do you think the study is essentially saying students learn better when there's no sexual attraction to the teacher? Now, I would guess that to be most of the time, so I lean toward the study showing something else... though whatever it is, any practical use it may have escapes me.
-Lemmy
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Doc - 08-30-2006
Quote:Your own schoolboy blueballs aside, do you think the study is essentially saying students learn better when there's no sexual attraction to the teacher? Now, I would guess that to be most of the time, so I lean toward the study showing something else... though whatever it is, any practical use it may have escapes me.
-Lemmy
In all seriousness, sexual desire for a hot teacher could be a good thing or a bad thing.
If a student is distracted, a bad thing.
If a student does everything in their power to impress said hot teacher, gets good grades, does extra credit work, all that sort of stuff, then who is to complain?
Dan Baird had a song about this very issue.
Quote:Back when I was goin' to school,
I never learned a thing
All I did was daydream,
a-waitin' for the bell to ring
I had a certain teacher,
I always tried to impress her
When she stood up in the classroom,
I would mentally undress her
Then one day I decided,
that I would write a little letter
She said the spellin' was a masterpiece,
the punctuation could be better
I understood what she was saying,
I got the gist of her sentiment
She said "I don't mean to be degrading,
"but here's the way that it should've went:"
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
Right on up to high school,
people said I was a writin' fool
All my letters became really great,
with punctuation that was never late
But I was havin' trouble meetin' girls,
I never knew the things to say
Soon I had 'em all overwhelmed,
when they heard me talk this way, like this:
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
I love you period
Do you love me question mark
Please, please exclamation point
I want to hold you in parentheses
Motivator? Maybe. I don't believe in all of this shagging the teacher nonsense going on though.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - kandrathe - 08-30-2006
Quote:Your own schoolboy blueballs aside, do you think the study is essentially saying students learn better when there's no sexual attraction to the teacher? Now, I would guess that to be most of the time, so I lean toward the study showing something else... though whatever it is, any practical use it may have escapes me.My interpretation was more "Why would boys in a segregated classroom learn better from a male teacher?" At that age (pre-rebellion), adolescents are firming up their identity formation. So, it would seem to me that segregated, adolescents are more willing to "follow the leader" rather than "compete for attentions from the opposite sex". I would imagine the "beauty/handsomeness" of the teacher also would have something to do with the level of competitiveness. So the fly in Doc's ointment of "trying to please", is that they may be doing that competitively standing on the head of the other students. This competitiveness reduces the energy that can be devoted to learning. But it's just a hunch.
-Lemmy
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Doc - 08-30-2006
Quote:My interpretation was more "Why would boys in a segregated classroom learn better from a male teacher?" At that age (pre-rebellion), adolescents are firming up their identity formation. So, it would seem to me that segregated, adolescents are more willing to "follow the leader" rather than "compete for attentions from the opposite sex". I would imagine the "beauty/handsomeness" of the teacher also would have something to do with the level of competitiveness. So the fly in Doc's ointment of "trying to please", is that they may be doing that competitively standing on the head of the other students. This competitiveness reduces the energy that can be devoted to learning. But it's just a hunch.
I dunno.
Competing to impress Ms. Hottie is still a means of motivation. And believe me, in a situation such as this, there is energy to spare. Nothing is lost. Last I checked, most teenage boys have endless reserves of energy when trying to impress a pretty face.
Not so sure I see a fly in the ointment here.
All that matters in the long run is that they learn. I do not care much how they learn, being a pragmatist I don't see much as being bad as far as motivating students to learn, do what ever it takes, within reason. A good teacher will do what ever it takes, and use whatever assets they have, old or young, hot or not.
How many of us have a favourite or trusted teacher that was the older frumpy sort? I can think of one or two.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - kandrathe - 08-30-2006
Quote:I dunno.Yes, energy. There are two ways to get Ms. Hottie's attention. You've been bad Doc, very bad, and now you'll need to stay after class and work with Ms. Hottie, one on one.
Competing to impress Ms. Hottie is still a means of motivation. And believe me, in a situation such as this, there is energy to spare. Nothing is lost. Last I checked, most teenage boys have endless reserves of energy when trying to impress a pretty face.
Not so sure I see a fly in the ointment here.
All that matters in the long run is that they learn. I do not care much how they learn, being a pragmatist I don't see much as being bad as far as motivating students to learn, do what ever it takes, within reason. A good teacher will do what ever it takes, and use whatever assets they have, old or young, hot or not.
How many of us have a favourite or trusted teacher that was the older frumpy sort? I can think of one or two.
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Ashock - 08-30-2006
Quote:Yes, energy. There are two ways to get Ms. Hottie's attention. You've been bad Doc, very bad, and now you'll need to stay after class and work with Ms. Hottie, one on one.
If that's not wishful thinking, I don't know what is :shuriken:
-A
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - LemmingofGlory - 08-31-2006
Quote:How many of us have a favourite or trusted teacher that was the older frumpy sort? I can think of one or two.
Ah, the crusty old man archetype. They're a key feature in tales with fantasy elements. "Star Wars" (IV-VI) has Obi-Wan and Yoda. "Kill Bill" has Pai-me. "Harry Potter" has Dumbledore. "The Matrix" has the Oracle. And every so often, some folks are lucky enough to get a crusty old man of their very own.
My crusty old man was my undergraduate advisor. When he retired, I inherited a number of books from his office library. Generous, wise, multitalented, great teacher.
-Lemmy
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - DeeBye - 08-31-2006
I'm putting my son in junior kindergarden this year. I don't know who his teacher will be, but I am going to meet him/her later this week.
If his teacher is female, I'll slap a fake beard and mustache on her and my son will be none the wiser :shuriken:
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - Merlinios - 09-01-2006
Quote:If his teacher is female, I'll slap a fake beard and mustache on her and my son will be none the wiser
Could just give him some stylish glasses with the fake beard and mustache painted directly on them, which would elliminate the whole issue of bribing/hypnotizing/chloroform + gorilla glue-ing to get said implements to stay on the teacher in question.
--me
Does A Teachers Gender Play A Role In Education? - kandrathe - 09-02-2006
Quote:If that's not wishful thinking, I don't know what is :shuriken::whistling: It always worked for me... :w00t:
-A