As you may already know, I chose to write my posts about the benefits I or others received from a homeschool education and how we can further implement these to improve the public school system. This week, I want to focus on what is probably one of the most evident perks of home education, but nevertheless, one of the most important. No one person is wired the same–each of us have strengths and weaknesses. That much is obvious. There have been numerous studies done on the subject such as this one by the National Institute of Health partnering with Harvard. The article elaborates on just the differences between gender and brain development. Girls hit peaks sooner than the boys do, and the research proves dramatic variance between the development of boys between the ages of 10 and 12 as compared to girls. This study is just one of many that investigates children’s brain maturity, and for the most part, they are equally conclusive.
However, if it is so obvious, why is our education system still catering to children like they are all the same?
Before my parents pulled my brothers and I out to homeschool, we were in a local private school with a good reputation. However, both my brother who was in first grade at the time, and me in third grade struggled for different reasons. My brother was constantly bored in school. He would quickly finish worksheets and end up doodling all over his assignments just to entertain himself. He was stuck at a pace much too slow because the rest of the class had to catch up. For me, math has always been a struggle. I can remember second grade arithmetic challenging me and it was frustrating to watch the rest of the kids breeze ahead and feel like I could not catch up. Contrastingly, reading was where I excelled. I tore through books and quiet reading time was my favorite time of the day. This is something that many kids deal with today: attempting to balance their strengths and weaknesses with a one size fits all curriculum.
When we started homeschooling, there were dramatic improvements. My brother finished his work early and would spend the rest of the day holed away with thousands of legos or outside exploring. I got to spend more time trying to understand math and getting personalized attention from my dad (a computer engineering major). Then, for the rest of the day, I could read any books I wanted.
This sort of flexibility is invaluable. Children are able to make sure they really understand something, and can do so without feeling bored or rushed. Perhaps even more important, they can do so without feeling self conscious around their peers. We are teaching students from a young age that it is better to check the box and maintain the same pace as everyone else, but neglecting the fact that every person has a different pace of learning.
The method to reform public schools in this regard, although it is controversial, may help bring equilibrium. Since boys and girls brain developments is so drastic, it would make a lot of sense to split up certain classes by gender. At first, this seems rigid and old fashioned, but it would put students on more of a level playing field. In addition to the different times at which the brain develops, girls and boys learn different ways. This website from the National Association for Same Sex Public Education discusses the different ways boys and girls learn. Boys are much more tactile, while girls tend to be more auditory or visual. Girls can sit still for longer periods of time and still retain information, while boys need constant stimulation.
In order to maintain that kids are socialized with the opposite gender as well, there would be combined recess, lunch hour, and other times during the day when classes would be combined. Classes are segregated by age, but no one worries that younger children won’t know how to socialize with older children.
To be clear, segregated classes does not mean that boys get more focus on STEM and girls get more focus on reading. They would both receive equal education in all subjects and the same amount of encouragement in every area. Furthermore, it is possible there would be less of a tendency for girls to see science and math as “boys” subjects and vice versa.
These studies are something we need to be aware of, and the public school system, no matter how they choose to do it, needs to start taking the differences in the pace of learning into account.