One Teacher's Quest to Encourage Male Writers

All classrooms are composed of unique students with individual needs. The children are working at different levels, coming from different backgrounds with various levels of prior knowledge and experiences. It is the demanding, often unrealistic job of the teacher to ensure that all of the students are learning and will move on to the next grade. Sometimes patterns emerge in the work ethic of students that may puzzle the teacher.

Being an educator for six years, I have taught many different students. I have often wondered about the situations my students experience outside of school. What happens to them after school or on the weekends? I have learned that each child comes from a different perspective regarding education and life in general. I am a four/five combination teacher at Paynter Elementary School (all proper names used in this report are pseudonyms). The school is located twenty miles outside of Washington D.C. in the suburbs of Maryland. Waterford County is rather large, and the school I teach at is located in a middle class neighborhood. My students come from families ranging from minimum wage job workers to white collar workers such as politicians. The school’s population is about 50% Caucasian. There are a growing number of other ethnic groups such as African American, Hispanic, and Asian students. There are approximately 700 students attending Paynter Elementary, with the number increasing every year. Approximately 200 different languages are represented in Waterford County. The county is growing each school year due to all of the new housing developments being built including single-family homes, town homes, apartments, and low-income housing units. With all of the new developments, this is creating a diverse area with students from different races and ethnic backgrounds.

The physical atmosphere of my classroom is very stimulating. The classroom is student-centered. My desk is located in the back corner. The students’ desks are arranged in groups of four, with a mix of boys and girls in each group. This set up easily lends itself to cooperative learning activities. Reading and writing activities are enthusiastically encouraged in my classroom. We have many posters offering motivating words to read. There is a rocking chair and a special carpet area of students to use while reading. A bulletin board with bright yellow paper is located in the corner of the classroom supporting writer’s workshop. It lists the steps of the writing process -- brainstorming, pre-writing, rough drafts, editing, peer/teacher conferences, final drafts, and publishing. Each child has a card that he/she moves as each step of the writing process is completed. There is also a section of the bulletin board where published work is displayed. Another bulletin board with bright blue papers is located in another corner of the room. This bulletin board displays a “VIP.” Each week one student is selected for this role. He/she brings items in to display and share. The topics include favorite foods, sports, places, and activities. My classroom environment is conducive for learning. I feel that the classroom is a risk-free, non-threatening place for students to learn together. My classroom is composed of 24 fourth and fifth grade students. I have 11 fourth graders--8 girls and 3 boys, and I have 13 fifth graders--8 girls and 5 boys.

The majority of students are Caucasian, but there are several African American, Asian, Hispanic, and Middle Eastern children. All of the students get along, and there are not any behavior issues. This is the first year of my teaching career that I have taught such a highly motivated group of students. Combination classes are created in Waterford County when the numbers are not high enough to hire another teacher. For example, we have three fourth grade classes and three fifth grade classes this year. The numbers were not high enough to have an additional fourth or fifth grade classroom. However, the numbers were high in both grade levels. The result is a combination class pulling students from both grade levels. Most of the girls and boys in my classroom this year are identified as gifted. This means that they are highly capable and are expected to complete challenging tasks. As I observe them in class, I see that children go about a task differently, which is interesting to watch. However, the females usually produce higher quality projects. They generally spend more time on a task and explore concepts by going above and beyond. The female students are organized, have neat workspaces, and are extremely motivated. Overall, the male students score lower on projects. Their desks are generally disorganized and they have papers and materials lying all over the floor.

Puzzlement

I am puzzled by the quality of written work produced by the gifted girls and boys in my classroom. I would like to understand more about why the female students are more conscientious about completing their work more accurately and neatly than the male students. The boys quickly turn in the same assignments and projects and score lower grades when they are just as capable of doing an excellent job. This puzzlement is important to me because I want all of my students to be successful. In the past several years of teaching fourth grade, I have noticed a similar type of pattern. The female students were more successful in completing quality work. When the students were required to write in their journals, the girls responded to prompts by writing paragraphs with quality explanations whereas the males responded in one or two sentences. Females were more eager to participate in classroom discussions. Generally, their behavior was more appropriate. I have always enjoyed writing so I never really thought about it being a burden or difficult. I started wondering about writing when our school began to focus on writing to pass our state performance assessment tests. We began to spend more time in the classroom on writing than we had previously. It became clearer and clearer to me that girls were more prolific writers. It baffled me because some of the boys I thought would do better were performing so poorly. I knew they could answer the questions yet their written responses would be vague and incomplete. I was eager to learn strategies that will assist me in encouraging my male students to work to their greatest potential in writing.

Known Information

I have decided to narrow my focus to four male students in the fifth grade. All four of them are A/B students but have significant trouble with writing assignments. This has been an ongoing problem for the past two years. I taught each of these four boys in fourth grade as well. Although they have made some progress, I feel that each time they are successful, the next time they are unsuccessful. The first student, Miguel, is from Afghanistan. He does not live in a single-family household. His mother cannot afford a house so they live with his younger sister, aunt, and two cousins. This affects him because he has told me that he lives in an apartment and cannot find a place to sit alone and do his homework. This child also has parents that are going through a divorce. This is another negative factor that influences his ability to focus on school. Miguel has lived in the United States his entire life. In Waterford County the students are required to take a criterion reference test in reading and math in third and fourth grade. A score of 650 is passing in both areas. Miguel scored 880 in math in fourth grade and 673 in reading/language arts. He is clearly a stronger math student based on these scores as well as classroom performance. Miguel has attended Paynter Elementary for the last two years. For the first three years of his schooling, he attended a school in northern Virginia. English is the second language of his household. His first language is Farsi.

Miguel is a quiet student. He is respectful to his peers. He often projects the mannerism of being superior to the female students in the classroom. For example, when the students are working on science experiments, he will not work cooperatively with the girls. He bosses them around and often refuses to allow them to take part in the activity. He loves math and science. Miguel has commented many times that he wants to be a scientist. He once stated that he would never be able to focus on one aspect of science because he loves all of the sciences! He is an inquisitive, hands-on learner. However, Miguel often has difficulty turning in homework assignments. Also, he rarely turns in long-term projects.

The second student, Ryan, is a Caucasian American. He lives in a single-family household with his two parents and younger sister. On the “CRT” test Ryan scored a 734 in math and 689 in reading/language arts. He has attended Paynter Elementary his entire life. His mom regularly volunteers in school. She is also a substitute teacher. She is clearly involved in Ryan’s education. His family appears to be financially stable because he regularly attends professional sporting events. He is actively involved in sports and attended sleep away camp this past summer.

Ryan is a strong math student. He likes to read but has difficulty in writing. He is very unorganized. His desk and area around his desk is constantly a mess. He often loses important papers. Even though his desk is cleaned out weekly, finding work is still a major problem.

The third student, Payton, is a Hispanic American. He lives in a single family home with his two parents and older sister. On the “CRT” test Payton scored 752 in math and 590 in reading/language arts. Payton did not even pass the language arts test for last year. Payton has made great progress in the area of reading comprehension. I administered an Analytical Reading Inventory to Payton at the beginning of fourth grade, and he was reading on a third grade level. I again tested him at the beginning of fifth grade, and he is currently reading on a fifth grade level. English is the second language spoken at his home. His first language is Spanish. Payton has attended Paynter Elementary his entire life. His parents are both actively involved in his education. They attend parent teacher meetings regularly and often check on his progress through email communications with me.

Payton is a kind student. He is often very hyperactive and has difficulty staying on task. Other times, he appears very tired and subdued. He is very involved in tennis and practices for many hours after school. Payton has a great sense of humor and likes school. He has some difficulty with organization, and his desk is often unorganized with loose papers strewn all over the place. Generally, Payton is conscientious about turning in assignments, although sometimes he is capable of doing better than what he turns in.

The fourth student, Ethan, is an Asian American. He lives in a single family home with his two parents and two older sisters. On the “CRT” test Ethan scored 732 in math and 668 in reading/language arts. English is the second language spoken in his home; his first language is Korean. His parents are both actively involved in his education, corresponding with me on a regular basis. They are also eager to find additional practice and work for Ethan. Ethan has attended Paynter Elementary since the third grade. For the first three years of his school career, he attended school in Korea.

Ethan is a caring, gentle student. He is always willing to help his peers. He is very quiet. He is always on task and very interested in learning. He is particularly successful in math and science. He likes to read but has difficulty writing. His sentences are often very short and his thoughts are not always clearly explained.

Cultural Influences
That are Most Applicable to My Puzzlement

I used the Cultural Inquiry Process website (Jacob, 1999) to formulate questions regarding my puzzlement. The six steps of the process are: select a focus group and identify a puzzlement, summarize what is known, consider the cultural questions and select one or more of them to explore, gather and analyze relevant information, develop and implement interventions, and monitor the process and results of the interventions. I believe that the values and beliefs of educators (CIP 3.1) is a main contributor to my puzzlement. I feel this cultural influence is applicable for several reasons. Sometimes I feel that my expectations for the males and females are different. I know that girls are going to write meaningful papers that are thorough and well explained. When I read one of my male student’s papers I automatically feel like their answers are brief and not very descriptive. The handwriting is sloppier and there are many spelling and punctuation errors. Sometimes papers are turned in wrinkled with chunks of the paper missing. I observe the females working intensely in class, and I see some of my male students off task. It seems that they need reminders of what should be done. In group activities they are rambunctious and take longer to finish a project. Other teachers at my school also set different expectations for the males and females. This year a science club was started for girls after school. The purpose of the club was to encourage females to participate in science. I think this is a wonderful idea, but since there is not a club for males and males were not invited to join the science club, I wonder what kind of message that is sending to them. My principal also plays a role in the gender differentiating. We recently had a staff meeting, and she explained the need to increase our scores specifically in the area of writing. She stated that the male students in grades three through five scored significantly lower than the females. She informed us that our focus should be on our male writers. It appears to me that the beliefs and assumptions of educators in my school are playing a role in my puzzlement. I feel that influences on students outside of school (CIP 3.4.1) also play a major role in my puzzlement. Society has different expectations for males and females. These expectations can originate from television or movies. Many children are permitted to stay up and watch television late in the evening. Other children go home to an empty home and can watch whatever they chose. Many children also have television sets in their bedrooms thus making it difficult for parents to monitor what is being watched.

In my opinion, the influences outside of school probably play a greater role in my puzzlement. Television and society are setting the standards and expectations for both males and females. I have had several parent conferences where a parent has stated, “Well, he is a boy. You know how they are.” I feel that society assigns certain responsibilities to females and males. Adults generally give males more leeway with negative behavior. In writing, girls tend to write longer, more descriptive answers while boys write short, to the point sentences. This is not necessarily a bad thing. However, when teachers are trying to focus on developing students in the area of writing, it is difficult to teach beyond these biases.

Gather and Analyze Relevant Information

I began my data collection by requiring the students to fill out a survey involving education and after school activities. It was interesting to see patterns that emerged from the results. The four boys that I focused on all had parents that attended college. Three of the boys had two parents attend college. Miguel does not report whether his father attended college or not. This tells me that education is important to all of the families. All four of the boys go straight home after school. They are not enrolled in day care. There is a parent or sibling at home after school each day.

The survey also asked what types of television are watched on a regular basis. A common theme noted was cartoons, particularly the Simpsons. I viewed this show several times. It is about a family of five. Homer, the father is not a good role model. He drinks "a lot" of beer and is extremely lazy. Marge, the mother, and Lisa, the sister are responsible for keeping the family functioning, eating, going to school, etc. Bart, the little boy is often in trouble. The males in the cartoon are lazy and unproductive, yet this is supposed to be funny. The females are successful and the males are not, yet the entire family accepts this behavior. I also asked how much television was watched each week. The children really couldn’t accurately answer this question. However, it is an understatement to say that children watch a great deal of television. It is estimated that children in the United States in grades kindergarten through six watch from 10 to 25 hours per week (Streitmatter, 1994). I also administered a writing survey to my students. The results of this survey indicated that three of my four focus students said that they liked to write. Ryan stated that he did not like to write because he was not good at it. All of the boys said that they liked to write about topics such as non-fiction, adventure, action, and science fiction. They also declared that they preferred to be given free choice when writing instead of being assigned a particular topic. Starting from the premise that boys and girls are differently literate, the best route to increased competence on the part of both is to identify and work with their respective strengths (Sadker & Sadker, 1994). Thus, providing more free choice and action packed writing for boys may make them more successful. All four of the boys listed that they spent an average of no more than 15 minutes on homework involving responses to literature. The girls all listed that they spent approximately 30minutes on their reading homework. I also noted that each of the four boys is the only boy in their individual household. Each boy has at least one sister, but no brothers. I feel that this may play a role in the upbringing of each child. Perhaps more responsibilities are delegated to the females in the households, and the males are given more freedom and the expectations of helping around the house, etc. are lower for them.

Some of the boys also come to school with different points of view as to the purpose of school. I believe Miguel comes from a home where education is not the number one priority. According to the chapter “Resistance and Compliance in Minority Classrooms” by D’Amato (1996) some students come to school with a structural rationale, which encourages them to do well in school so they will do well later in life. Other children do not have structural rationales; they have situational rationales, which allow them to be successful at times, but not always. These types of children could be more concerned with social interactions with peers and succeeding in school is not always high on their lists. This also would explain why Miguel is sometimes very successful on different assignments and fails at other times. It appears that education is not the number one priority in his family because homework is often not completed and long-term projects are not done. When contact is made with his mom she often responds that work is incomplete because they are busy at home. These comments tell me there are other more pertinent issues going on than the completion of work.

Interventions

There were several interventions that I implemented to encourage the boys to become better writers. Belief in theories about different innate characteristics of females and males may help perpetuate unconscious assumptions that are behind gender-biased practices. If one holds the assumption that important thinking and behavioral pattern differences exist between the genders, and that these differences are caused by genetic or hormonal factors, one is quite likely to substitute gender stereotype for consideration of the individual learner (Streitmatter, 1994). If teachers believe that boys and girls have different innately determined ways of thinking and learning, they may develop gender differentiated teaching practices. It is necessary to address the multiple intelligences in the classroom. Hands on activities as well as choice and differentiated activities are necessary.

One of my objectives was to have the boys elaborate and follow a sequence of events in their writing. This was done through the "pass the bag" motivating activity (Goldberg & Roswell, 2002). This involved an activity where students experienced the ways that descriptive detail, dialogue, and reflection can enhance narrative. This activity involved creating a group-generated story. In this manner the students had the opportunity to work collaboratively building ideas from one another to create a story. I also provided 20 minutes each week for free choice writing in a journal. These entries were not graded and were shared on a volunteer basis. This was an opportunity for the boys to write without restrictions or limitations.

The boys were also introduced to a "validating the negative" strategy. The purpose of this activity was to help validate negative responses and to demonstrate that a negative response can be developed with text support and precise language as fully and effectively as a positive response (Goldberg & Roswell, 2002). I modeled the strategy by reading the picture book The Boy of the Three-Year Nap by Dianne Snyder. I then modeled how to write a “rave review,” which provided positive reasons for liking the book. I also showed students a “book boo,” which provided reasons why the book was not good. I think this strategy may help the boys feel that it is OK to not always like what is read and that you may express those thoughts. Another intervention I used was the Alpha Smart. This is a keyboard, which allows students to type and then hook up their Alpha Smart to a computer to print. This great use of technology appeared to motivate the four boys. They preferred to type versus write by hand. Some brain development research has shown that students write more effectively if they use keyboards because they don’t have to think about the formation of letters (Jensen, 1998). Alpha Smarts are more "hands on," which seems to accommodate the learning styles of the males in my classroom.

I also sent progress reports home so parents could see how their child was doing on a regular basis. I required students to keep an assignment notebook to keep track of their work. I also had a reward system in my classroom where children are “paid” for good work and deeds. Students were then allowed to spend their money in a class store that has been established. I tried this to motivate students in a society where not much is done for free. You complete a job and expect to receive payment or compensation. I was interested in seeing what affect the money system has on my focus group of boys.

I also wanted to monitor the television programs that the five boys watch. I created a weekly chart to have each child fill out. The boys listed the name of each program watched, provided a brief summary of the main idea, and recorded the length of the show. A parent signature at the end of the week was also required. In this manner I kept track of the types of television shows the children are watching.

Conclusions and Implications

Several of my interventions worked very well. The use of the Alpha Smart was a successful intervention. The boys seemed to really enjoy keyboarding versus writing by hand. Ryan had difficulty writing neatly. His handwriting is practically illegible. Therefore, when he began using the Alpha Smart his responses became longer and more thoroughly written. I think he did not like to write a lot because he had difficulty forming the letters with his pencil. Payton had difficulty with spelling. Using the Alpha Smart helped to eliminate his fear of misspelled words. He was able to use spell check to help him correct his errors. Ethan and Miguel both enjoyed writing with the Alpha Smart. We only have two in our classroom, so they were constantly asking to use it. Ryan and Payton’s parents both saw enough progress in writing with the Alpha Smart to go out and purchase them. I feel each of the four boys produce higher quality responses when using the Alpha Smart. Waterford County mandates that all fourth and fifth grade students write in cursive. I think this is a great burden for my four male students. It inhibits them to freely express themselves in writing. The Alpha Smart is a writing “adventure seeker” that allows them to write without fear of errors. It also can take less time because they don’t have to worry about their handwriting. The boys turned in their television charts to me for a three-week period. Ethan commented that he didn’t watch as much television as he normally did because he had to record it. Miguel stated that he didn’t watch as much television because he didn’t like creating summaries of the shows. The chart was a good way for me to see what the boys were watching. Although the chart was only required for three weeks, it allowed the boys, their parents, and myself the opportunity to become more conscious about what was being viewed on television. Payton’s mom stated that she is going to continue using the chart.

The progress reports were also an excellent way to communicate with the parents on a regular basis. These were sent out to make parents aware of behavior issues, missing work, and the overall progress in each subject area. I also gave the parents my email address, and I communicate monthly with each of the four boys’ parents. The progress reports prevented surprises and disappointments when the report cards were sent out.

Free choice writing was a good motivator. Students could write in a journal once a week. This was not graded. It was interesting to observe the boys as they wrote in their journals. Miguel would eagerly write from the beginning of the free time until I asked the students to stop writing. Ryan didn’t like to write in his journal because he would make a face when I asked him to begin, and he would finish way before the time was up. Payton and Ethan also enjoyed journaling. If I would not get to the writing, on Friday they would ask me if we were going to have free choice writing. As for sharing, at first only girls would volunteer to share their entries. But as the weeks progressed and the boys saw how enjoyable the class found the entries, gradually they began to share too. Miguel, Payton, and Ethan all shared stories, which were full of action. Ryan never shared an entry, which was fine. It was not a requirement. The validating the negative strategy also worked well. The boys liked the idea that they could write, “book boos” as long as they supported their responses.

The money system was also effectively working in my classroom. The boys were given “dollars” throughout the week for good behavior, turning in work on time, handing in quality work, and for keeping their desk areas neat. On Fridays, the boys can shop at our store, which is composed of toys that were donated by the students. This is a positive incentive that helps the students work towards becoming successful.

By completing the steps of the Cultural Inquiry Process, I hope that I was able to assist the four boys in becoming more interested in writing as they venture off to middle school next year. I feel it is important to acknowledge that there are differences in the learning styles of males and female. Teachers must both attend to the differences in the attitudes and abilities of male and female students and address the topic of gender in and of itself (Pace & Townsend, 1999). It is the role of a teacher to differentiate instruction to meet the needs of all students. I am more aware of the strategies and incentives I need to use to encourage my male writers. It was always assumed that girls need more assistance in math and science. Now, the gap appears to be closing. However, I feel teachers assume that boys are acting out because they are boys. It could simply be that instruction needs to be more hands-on to engage the male students. As for writing, I have learned that boys are capable of quality responses. It appears they are just uninterested in some of the topics. To address the quote at the beginning of the paper, it is important for educators to understand and accept that all children learn differently. We cannot use the same strategies and lessons with different children day after day and year after year. It is the job of an educator to provide equal opportunities for each child to succeed. Through completing the steps of the Cultural Inquiry Process, I feel that I have begun to understand the differences in males and females with regard to their learning styles. I am more confident in differentiating instruction and more willing to experiment with a plethora of strategies to improve the academic level and self-esteem of all the students that enter my classroom.

References

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Goldberg, G., & Rosewell, B. (2002). Reading, writing, and gender: Instructional strategies and classroom activities that work for girls and boys. New York: Eye on Education.

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Sadker, M., & Sadker, D. (1994). Failing at fairness: How America’s schools cheat girls. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons.

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Sullivan, P. (1999). Sugar and spice vs. snips and snails. Our Children, 24, 5-13.

Streitmatter, J. (1994). Toward gender equity in the classroom: Everyday teachers’ beliefs and practices. New York: State University Press.