Study: Teacher's gender affects learning

[Kendall]

Boys learn more from men and girls learn more from women.

article http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060827/ap_on_re_us/boys_girls

Wondering if I learned more from male or female teachers... Lol cant remember. Certainly I have learned more from my mother than my father.

[Kimberly]

I am more comfortable with a female teacher as far as I know. Interesting thought.

[Jillieann Rose]

Interesting article.
Same here Kimberly.
All of my favorite teaches and instructors were women.

Jillieann

[Chaunte]

As long as the teacher made a connection, gender didn't seem to matter for me. 

Keep in mind that this study deals with 8th grade students.  THey are still in the middle of Raging Hormones and gender imprinting.  They are still working their way up the evolutionary scale after de-evolving down past Homo-erectus.

WHile the girls of this age group are slowly approaching Cro-Magnon, the boys are still brachiating!  (Walking on their knuckles gorilla-style.)  They won't be up to Neanderthal until early 9th grade.

(Girls spend very little time brachiating because it ruins their nails!)

Chaunte

[SusanKay140]

In elementary school all staff except the janitor were female.  In intermediate school, except for shop and gym, they were mostly female.  Even in high school most academic teachers were female.  Several female teachers were as big an influence on me as I would allow and my favorite was my female third grade teacher.  Most male ones were not, except that my male intermediate school printing/metals teacher was probably my second favorite - go figure!  I don't think it matters much; In my case I pretty much made a school long career out of not learning from anyone (some would say a life time career).

So what does this tell me, or us?  I would think that "traditionally gendered" boys or girls do relate more to teachers of their own gender and may well absorb learning, or at least be disposed to absorb learning from adults of "their own gender".  My first flipant thought is that it wasn't that complicated back in the fifties.  My second one is perhaps that was part of the problem. 

Very interesting topic.

[Buffy]

I always prefered women teachers...

The reason why I am in my career to day, is because I had a Female Chemistry Teacher and Male Physics and Maths Teachers.

I liked her teaching style, enthusiasm and willingness to answer questions and explain facts, rather than just being lectured at.

Rebecca

[LynnER]

My teachers gender didnt matter to me I dont think....

I learned far more from involved teachers than anything else... If they had the zeal for teaching and the ability and knowledge to go with it I learned from them....

My physics teacher was a total nut but interesting... learned allot from him
My english teacher had a very nice twist on his class.... learned a heck of allot from him
My math teacher was a freaking genious when it came to numbers and helping others figure them out... Learned allot from him.....
my Economics teacher was a blast... got allot out of her....
Other english teacher made projects out of every class... her
Band Director... Her
Piano.... Him...
Speach and Debate.... her....

Teachers who didnt know what they were doing or went purely by the book.... or thought because I was assigned to there class I should try and learn at "There" level I learned allmost nothing from... again allmost an equal mix of male and female teachers......

[Melissa]

I agree that the teacher gender doesn't matter.  I have had excellent male teachers and excellent female teachers.  I have also had poor male teachers and poor female teachers.  One pattern I do notice now that I think about it, is that I have tended to do better with male teachers in subjects I am less familiar with, but I think it was their passion for the suject which captivated my attention.

Melissa

[Jillieann Rose]

In college and high school it was the female teacher that I became close too. They seem to understand me and be able to relate to me. I in turn listen to what they said and learned more than I have from any male teacher. 
It's always been hard for me to be close to men because I don't understand them and they don't seem to understand me.
Just my thoughs/

Jillieann 

[Ellissa Ray]

I learned far more from involved teachers than anything else... If they had the zeal for teaching and the ability and knowledge to go with it I learned from them....
Teachers who didnt know what they were doing or went purely by the book.... or thought because I was assigned to there class I should try and learn at "There" level I learned allmost nothing from...

Deffinitally true, hence the reason I've always hated the large, lecture type classes....you just learn better when you are involved, when the teacher has more personal interactions with their students.

It's always been hard for me to be close to men because I don't understand them and they don't seem to understand me. 

Oh do I know this feeling to well... basically all the teachers I've been able to have that closer, more involved interaction with have been females.


Ellissa

[sheila18]

kendra:
Interesting, thanks.  I can see where motivation being a factor  it would make a diference,
I went to an all boys Chatholic School and all the teachers were male let me just say that i believe that heaven it was not. I n college I felt more motivated to prove i could do better with female techers.
The question I have is if the study considered the Gay Factor?
At work male gay workers clash with women from the get go and are not motivated to do theit best work for female supervisors...
love, no matter what, sheila18