With this blog I wanted to respond to some of the people that have commented on my blog. First off, I want to thank anyone who commented on the blog at all. It means a great deal that you would take time out of your busy day to comment on my blog. Now, for those of you that had constructive comments I would like to thank you. Many of you bring up great things. One of the people who commented on this blog brought up a great point with his question. He asked, "Would if be more beneficial for boys and girls to strictly have teachers of the same sex, or is a mixture just as effective?" It's an interesting question and one I probably should have thought of this before. Given my research, I think a mixture is good. Just like any thing in life, you should try to find a happy medium. What is happening in today's education system is that the number of female teachers far out ways the number of male teachers. This means even the possibility of it being balanced in a male to female ratio is highly unlikely. That is why I am saying we need more male teachers because without this balance male students will generally start to lose interest.
Now like any good blog there is some controversy in my statements. One person has commented that I am overgeneralizing. That teaching style is different from person to person. This is a true statement. They do differ but it doesn't mean that the general rule doesn't apply. There are of course exceptions to every rule. I am not saying that every male teacher teaches in a certain way. But from the research I procured it showed trends. I am sorry if I made it seem that I was speaking for all male and all female teachers I'm not. Trends exist between males and females in everything not just teaching habits. Males and females think completely differently and when it comes to teaching there is a clear trend between gender and teaching method. That doesn't mean I'm being sexist. It doesn't mean I'm oversimplifying. I am simply stating a trend. The truth of the matter is if it was true that gender played no role in teaching strategies then there wouldn't be a need to increase male teachers. But because female teachers are less likely to teach in a way that little boys will comprehend and enjoy, we must increase the number of teachers that do reengage little boys, IE male teachers.
Zach you raise an excellent point. I definitely see a difference in the way my male teachers teach and how my female teachers teach. You are absolutely right when you say that there is a strong trend between gender and teaching method. I personally think the ratio needs to be more equal, but in our society we tend to stereotype everything. In my opinion, our society stereotypes teachers as being mostly females. I never understood this growing up, yes females teach and nurture, but i have always enjoyed my male taught classes better. Its something about getting a different perspective out of the class. Female teachers teach in a way that is better accessible to girls and young women. Young boys and men don't neccessarily learn the same way as women do. This is the main reason why we need to have mixed teaching faculty in schools and college campuses.
ReplyDeleteI never thought about how a male teacher and female teacher could teach different. I also find it interesting about how a male could lose interest in learning from a female teacher. It has never occurred to me that with a male teacher, males will tend to focus more and vice versa.
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