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economist suntribune education thursday jan ni 2002 boys lag in school experts new curriculum resources could address problem by stefania rizzi staff writer teaching methods and practices in schools put boys at risk of under achieving experts agree we have to question whether the curriculum and assessments and educational resources are biased and whether as some the orists feel are favourable to the female learning style david dibbon a lecturer and education professor qt memorial university in newfoundland told 400 educa tors in richmond hill jan 9 educators at the conference organized by the york catholic district school board were told national and international research shows girls outperform boys on openended and essaytype tests whereas boys do better at multiple- choice questions its incumbent on administra tors to provide an eclectic amount of resources that appeal to both boys and girls mr dibbon said its incumbent on administrators to provide an eclectic v amount of resources iyliithatiappealto both boys and girls featured speakers and panelists included local national and inter national educators researchers and administrators they discussed the internation- alconundrum of why girls contin ually outperform their male coun terparts academically and what can narrow the gap jj according to 19981999 pfovihcewide grade 3 and 6 tests boys lag behind girls in almost every core subject the standardizedtests con ducted annually by the education quality and accountability office show that among grade 3 students 10 per cent moire girls than boys scored at the provincial level in reading 15 per cent more girls than boys met the provincial stan dard in writing while 3 per cent more girls than boys performed at the provincial standard in math among grade 6 students 16 per cent more girls than boys met provincial levels in reading 21 per cent more girls than boys scored at staff photomike barrett speaker michael gurian shared controversial theories on why boys learn differently than girls the provincial level in writing and 2 per cent more girls than boys per formed at the provincial standard in math students thoughts on reading writing and math could help edu cators understand the gender gap said catholic school board curricu lum and assessment superintend ent barbara bodkin that would definitely help said ms bodkin who helped organize the regions first confer ence on boys achievement weve known what students attitudes were for some time so well work with that to ensure more broadbased resources are used to help our boys although threequarters of the boards schools show a gender gap in academic performance ms bodkin is confident that will decrease over time it is said by some the gap has always been there she said ms bodkin explained the board is implementing some of the strategies discussed at the confer ence including having teacher- librarianscompile lists of boy friendly reading material and examining the balance of fiction and nonfiction books in the cur riculum learning how to cater to the needs of visual learners and ways to incorporate a stretch break during lessons to help rest less students were working on strategies all we can do is collect information and see what works and what doesnt she said with some strategies youll see immediate improvements with others it may take longer the most controversial part of the daylong event was when keynote speaker michael gurian discussed biological reasons why boys underacheive its their learning not ours and somehow theyve been kept out of the loop the american author educator neuroscience researcher and fami ly therapist said it takes boys 60 seconds to switch from one task to another and boys are more impul sive and disruptive than girls because they have higher levels of testosterone and lower levels of seratonin my profound belief is that every child is smart once every one gets a better working knowl edge about the human brain well innovate teaching methods he said however at least one educator called mr gurians beliefs danger- ous and simplistic toronto district school board equity coordinator terezia zoric said gurians biological theories do more harm than good all it does is predispose boys learning capacity she said a lot has to deal with selfesteem not biological reasons said zoric- who believes cultural and socioeco nomic factors influence a childs learning more than biology hes trying to make a causation out of an apparent correlation regardless of the factors con tributing to boys academic under- achievement jon pickering of the institute of education in england said strategies are needed to cor rect the ageold problem the lecturer is a strong believer in allowing students to take part in setting educational targets its their learning not ours and somehow theyve been kept out of the loop said mr pickering adding strategies that have improved boys achievement are groupings classroom seating arrangements where stronger stu dents are placed with weaker ones creating different sets of tests for boys arid girls a more electivebased curriculum altering expectations and implementing a reward system connecting with students and involving them is very central and key to moving forward he explained but all this cant be at the expense of girls or else the system becomes polarized if that does happen its a detriment to both boys and girls info box spotiight good sports if youre a coach with an interesting story to tell or if you know of a local sports hero who deserves recognition we want to hear from you well be high lighting young athletes in a new feature spotlight arid exploring coaching issues with the people on the sidelines contact us by email at mhayakawaeconsuncom or fax at 9052942200 beenthere the greatest show wobbling desperately as the trapeze continued its powerful swing i lifted a knee and got one foot on the bar finally i stood paralysed in a star position body aching hands raw lips twisted in the grimace of death 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