Developing a Plan for an Early College High School for African American Males - Dissertation Example

The gender issue is relevant to classroom learning in several ways. In the United States, there is an increasing prevalence of boys expressing their disdain for school “saying that school is stupid and they do not like to read” (Sax, 2007, p.40). This approach is found to cut across all demographic groups, affecting both affluent white boys in the suburbs and black boys in low-income neighborhoods. Sax (2009) argues that there are five distinct and independent factors driving boys away from books over the past thirty years.

These exclusively impact boys and not girls. They include changes in education in the past three decades; video games; medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD); endocrine disruptors; and a devaluation of masculinity. Focusing on the first of the five factors: changes in education in the past three decades, the the author offers a practical alternative for librarians and teachers to undertake, for improving boys’ interest in learning and education. The kindergarten curriculum currently in most American schools emphasizes the importance of learning to read and write; on the other hand, thirty years ago kindergarten focused mainly on the socialization of the child.

This major change is not beneficial because “girls’ and boys’ brains develop differently, and for many boys, it is not developmentally appropriate to ask them to read at age five”. Thus, timing is as important in education as in many other fields, keeping in mind the developmental variations between different areas of boys’ and girls’ brains. Therefore, the primary school curriculum should be changed nationwide to make it more developmentally appropriate. To promote a love for books, for reading, and for attending school among boys, there should be the introduction of sufficient recess time, field trips, and other outdoor activities, besides storytelling formats such as Noisy-Time and Quiet-Time storytimes.