Mom Is Teaching

The conversation lately on educating boys verses girls is still ongoing. It has ben interesting to see the ways that different people see this topic differently. It certainly shows quite a lot about how people view gender differences and nature verses nurture. I love hearing how other people view topics such as this one.

Toddlebits has one such post up that talks about both nature verses nurture as well as socially accepted activities. She talks a little about expecting her children to be respectful in the classroom by controlling themselves. It is something that I am sure a lot of parents expect, and honestly it is something the classroom requires. A single teacher cannot do her job if all 25+ of her students are running around. That just is not logistically possible.

Children need to be provided with plenty of opportunities to get their wiggles out, but don’t they also need to learn the importance of complying with social expectations and finding socially acceptable outlets for their various needs?

I am a huge believer that movement helps a child to learn. Not all children, many do require stillness and calm to absorb what they are studying. But from talking to other parents I’ve sen that many, if not most, agree that their children learn better while running in circles in the living room, jumping up and down the stairs, or just hanging upside down on the couch. A kinesthetic child needs to move. It is not a want or an action of disrespect, it is a need to wiggle and shake in order to fully absorb what they are being taught. Being allowed to move while learning gets their blood pumping and their brains working faster. To me, this is more important than learning the social graces of sitting still and quiet.

Of course none of this is a specific boy thing. There are many girls who also need movement in order to stimulate their minds and to learn better. However kinesthetic education is more often pointed towards boys than girls. An article in Educational Leadership from 2004 talks about helping boys learn through movement. Yet we can see in this study on movement among students that both boys and girls had an improvment of skills when movement was added to the classroom. Which I think takes me back to my original point.

Either way you feel, homeschooling still stands out on top to me. If you have a child who would rather run in circles screaming than sit quietly at a desk for 45 minutes you can accommodate that, regardless of the gender.

homeschooling, education, gender, boys, girls, kinesthetic