Comment on Nick's Post (2/16)

Hey Nick,

I focused my attentions on the website this week, so I'm glad to read about your impressions regarding the Weinstein/Mignano reading. I remember reading those statistics about gender participation in a book I read for TE 250. I had the same reaction - surprise. In this book that I read, it emphasized how loud, talkative boys were condoned by teachers, who often had a sort of "boys-will-be-boys" attitude, while talkative girls were punished for their behavior. What surprises me most is how this is contrary to what I've seen in the classroom. If anything, I've noticed girls getting favorable treatment for loudness in discussions; my CT will sometimes call on girls who do not wait patiently for a turn to speak, while I've noticed her intentionally pass over boys for the same impatience. This other book was written about 15 years ago, so the question that this gives me is, have things changed over these years? If not, is there evidence for this gender participation difference that I am not recognizing as such?

Dave Koch