Research supports what parents of boys and girls have always known: Those brains are wired differently.
Not all kids fit the pattern, but boys tend to learn better when they have pictures, graphics, and physical movement to help them grasp concepts. Girls often benefit from the opportunity to talk about how to solve a problem and work with others on a solution. We at Walton Academy recognize this and address it head on.
“We are understanding more and more how the brain learns, and how boys’ and girls’ brains learn differently,” says Michael Gurian, author of Boys and Girls Learn Differently: A Guide for Teachers and Parents. “It’s a big deal.”
Understanding these differences can help parents decide when to let a child learn in his comfort zone and when to push him to try something that doesn’t come naturally. It can help parents recognize behavior that is typical and problems that might be fixed by tweaking the learning environment.
Girls tend to mature a little faster than boys, developing language skills sooner and giving them the edge over boys in reading, writing, and speech.
While boys are lagging behind girls on writing assignments, they are often ahead in math and science. They may like to build things, manipulate objects, and picture complex objects in their minds. This explains why boys are drawn to construction toys like Legos, complex building puzzles, and even video games.
Parents of boys may feel like the classroom is setup to favor girls, who can sit still and listen to the teacher for longer periods of time. Parents of girls may worry that their daughters are praised for being good at reading and writing and not pushed to excel in math and science. And for parents who have at least one boy and one girl, the adventure is in figuring out how to help both succeed in school. Walton Academy private school takes all of this into account when considering your child’s education.
“One common difference between boys and girls is how they behave after school”, Gurian says. All children tend to need to wind down after a hectic day at school. But they have different ways of chilling out. Girls generally like to talk. And talk and talk and talk. “Boys more often resist talking after school,” Gurian says, noting that boys can be quick to plug into a music or video device and zone out.
For boys and girls both, doing homework immediately after school is often not the best strategy. Instead, most kids benefit from some time to decompress after school in whatever way works best for them.
After taking some time to recharge, boys and girls also benefit from exercise. Shooting baskets in the driveway, riding a bicycle, walking the dog, jumping on a trampoline or just running around playing outside are good ways to blow off steam.
Reach out to us anytime to discuss the opportunities waiting for your children here at Walton Academy private school here in Greenville, NC.