May 9, 2007
Education of Boys in the U. S.
Olen Kalkus
Head of Princeton Academy
Minutes of the 31st Meeting of the 65th Year
President Giordmaine called the approximately 100 attending members to order for the 31st meeting of the 65th year at 10:15 AM at the Carl Field Center. John Marks led the invocation.
James Deneen read the minutes of the previous meeting of May 2, 2007.
President Giordmaine welcomed a visitor, Bob Monsour, the Associate Director of Princeton’s new Center for Innovation and Engineering Education.
President Giordmaine reminded those present of the last Old Guard meeting of the academic year – the Annual Guest Day - on May 16. This meeting, to take place at the Carl Field Center, will follow a forty-five minute hospitality hour beginning at 9:30 a.m. The speaker will be Stephanie McCurry, Professor of History at Princeton University. Her subject: “The Secession Campaign: The American South on the Brink of War.”
James Harford introduced the speaker, Olen Kalkus, founding headmaster of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart. He described Mr. Kalkus as highly qualified to address prevalent questions regarding Gender and Education. With advanced degrees from Columbia and Colby under his belt, Mr. Kalkus has over the years embraced different modes of education as head of an all-girls school, head of an all-boys school and head of a co-ed international school in Prague. He is deeply interested in current research regarding gender differences: how they play an important role in a) establishing the best methods for teaching boys and girls, and b) potentially shrinking some of the gender discrepancies we see in the professions.
Mr. Kalkus began his talk by describing a growing gender gap in American education – as revealed in reports by such as ETS and AAUW. Since 1991, girls have been outperforming boys in school. More females than males are taking AP exams and upper level math courses, are enrolling in undergraduate college programs and are participating in leadership levels in extra-curricular activities.
Data from 1998 shows that girls have not only caught up with but have overtaken boys in high school level math and science (except physics). Furthermore, boys continue to lag behind girls in Writing. Current data shows that many schools are worried about boys becoming disengaged from education. The question is: how can schools encourage boys to reconnect academically? Mr. Kalkus told the story of a successful experiment made by the Thurgood Marshall public elementary school in Seattle. When this co-ed school divided into separate all-boy and all-girl classes, all test scores rose dramatically, discipline improved and the school became calmer. A number of public schools across America are following suit.
Mr. Kalkus turned to current thinking re gender and education, frequently supporting his views with fascinating examples. Researchers believe that although each child is unique, gender is an organizing principle in child development. While there are no differences in what girls and boys can learn, there are differences in the best ways to teach them, Aptitudes in learning are a matter of timing - of brain development - rather than of superiority. Research has revealed that use of both halves of the brain, affect, sensory processing, language and fine motor skills mature earlier in girls. Consequently, girls in elementary school can sit quietly at a desk for long periods of time, while boys are much more often disciplined for inappropriate behavior. Conversely, brain areas involved in targeting and spatial memory mature earlier in boys. This accounts for their often early-identified proficiency in math. The male’s unilateral brain is predisposed to quick decision making whereas the female’s more ‘social’ brain takes in information before making a decision. Females are born with a higher proportion of nerve cells to process information, with more brain regions involved in language production. Female eyes have developed to see more color and detail. Girls’ hearing is substantially more sensitive than boys’. Male eyes track movement and direction. They are more advanced in gross motor skills. In a boys’ school, active learning works best. Rather than sit with the science textbook, they need to do science. The more involved they are, the more apt they are to want to pursue subjects at higher levels. Mr. Kalkus displayed PET scans of male and female brains. Functional MRIs register differences between female and male brain responses to stimuli that are emotionally loaded.
Data shows that brain chemistry is different between boys and girls. Many hormones in the endocrine system in the brain act as neurotransmitters. Male brain secretions cause greater impulsivity, less empathy, more aggression and competition, “fight or flight” reactions. Females collaborate: they “tend and befriend” Testosterone and progesterone play a large part in the behavior of male and female learners. These findings have been very pertinent in education when teachers use different gender-based models to challenge and test their students, build their self esteem and ultimately motivate them to take the risks that new learning requires. The danger of ignoring such findings lies especially in the de-motivation of boys, for whom traditional teaching methods and diagnostic assumptions are often misplaced.
Mr. Kalkus’ analysis of gender differences shed light on many concerns confronting educators today. In conclusion, he stated that studies consistently confirm that single-gender programs are educationally more successful than co-educational programs because they cater to boys or girls different learning styles. “Co-ed schools tend to reinforce gender stereotypes at all grade levels, while single-sex schools allow kids to break through them.”
Mr. Kalkus invited questions, of which there were many.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Juliana S.C. McIntyre
James Deneen read the minutes of the previous meeting of May 2, 2007.
President Giordmaine welcomed a visitor, Bob Monsour, the Associate Director of Princeton’s new Center for Innovation and Engineering Education.
President Giordmaine reminded those present of the last Old Guard meeting of the academic year – the Annual Guest Day - on May 16. This meeting, to take place at the Carl Field Center, will follow a forty-five minute hospitality hour beginning at 9:30 a.m. The speaker will be Stephanie McCurry, Professor of History at Princeton University. Her subject: “The Secession Campaign: The American South on the Brink of War.”
James Harford introduced the speaker, Olen Kalkus, founding headmaster of Princeton Academy of the Sacred Heart. He described Mr. Kalkus as highly qualified to address prevalent questions regarding Gender and Education. With advanced degrees from Columbia and Colby under his belt, Mr. Kalkus has over the years embraced different modes of education as head of an all-girls school, head of an all-boys school and head of a co-ed international school in Prague. He is deeply interested in current research regarding gender differences: how they play an important role in a) establishing the best methods for teaching boys and girls, and b) potentially shrinking some of the gender discrepancies we see in the professions.
Mr. Kalkus began his talk by describing a growing gender gap in American education – as revealed in reports by such as ETS and AAUW. Since 1991, girls have been outperforming boys in school. More females than males are taking AP exams and upper level math courses, are enrolling in undergraduate college programs and are participating in leadership levels in extra-curricular activities.
Data from 1998 shows that girls have not only caught up with but have overtaken boys in high school level math and science (except physics). Furthermore, boys continue to lag behind girls in Writing. Current data shows that many schools are worried about boys becoming disengaged from education. The question is: how can schools encourage boys to reconnect academically? Mr. Kalkus told the story of a successful experiment made by the Thurgood Marshall public elementary school in Seattle. When this co-ed school divided into separate all-boy and all-girl classes, all test scores rose dramatically, discipline improved and the school became calmer. A number of public schools across America are following suit.
Mr. Kalkus turned to current thinking re gender and education, frequently supporting his views with fascinating examples. Researchers believe that although each child is unique, gender is an organizing principle in child development. While there are no differences in what girls and boys can learn, there are differences in the best ways to teach them, Aptitudes in learning are a matter of timing - of brain development - rather than of superiority. Research has revealed that use of both halves of the brain, affect, sensory processing, language and fine motor skills mature earlier in girls. Consequently, girls in elementary school can sit quietly at a desk for long periods of time, while boys are much more often disciplined for inappropriate behavior. Conversely, brain areas involved in targeting and spatial memory mature earlier in boys. This accounts for their often early-identified proficiency in math. The male’s unilateral brain is predisposed to quick decision making whereas the female’s more ‘social’ brain takes in information before making a decision. Females are born with a higher proportion of nerve cells to process information, with more brain regions involved in language production. Female eyes have developed to see more color and detail. Girls’ hearing is substantially more sensitive than boys’. Male eyes track movement and direction. They are more advanced in gross motor skills. In a boys’ school, active learning works best. Rather than sit with the science textbook, they need to do science. The more involved they are, the more apt they are to want to pursue subjects at higher levels. Mr. Kalkus displayed PET scans of male and female brains. Functional MRIs register differences between female and male brain responses to stimuli that are emotionally loaded.
Data shows that brain chemistry is different between boys and girls. Many hormones in the endocrine system in the brain act as neurotransmitters. Male brain secretions cause greater impulsivity, less empathy, more aggression and competition, “fight or flight” reactions. Females collaborate: they “tend and befriend” Testosterone and progesterone play a large part in the behavior of male and female learners. These findings have been very pertinent in education when teachers use different gender-based models to challenge and test their students, build their self esteem and ultimately motivate them to take the risks that new learning requires. The danger of ignoring such findings lies especially in the de-motivation of boys, for whom traditional teaching methods and diagnostic assumptions are often misplaced.
Mr. Kalkus’ analysis of gender differences shed light on many concerns confronting educators today. In conclusion, he stated that studies consistently confirm that single-gender programs are educationally more successful than co-educational programs because they cater to boys or girls different learning styles. “Co-ed schools tend to reinforce gender stereotypes at all grade levels, while single-sex schools allow kids to break through them.”
Mr. Kalkus invited questions, of which there were many.
The meeting was adjourned at 11:30 AM.
Respectfully submitted,
Juliana S.C. McIntyre