The following lesson activities are based on the article “Wanted in China: More Male Teachers, to Make Boys Men.”
Before Reading
Write and Discuss: Do children derive academic benefits from studying with teachers of the same sex? What do you think? What has been your experience?
After Reading
Read the entire article and answer the questions, supporting your responses by citing evidence from the text.
1. Why are education officials across China aggressively recruiting male teachers? What are they worried about?
2. In what ways are boys underperforming compared to girls in China?
3. Does everyone in China agree that an overabundance of female teachers has had a negative effect on boys? What has been the backlash to this view?
4. How large is the gender imbalance among public-school teachers in China?
5. Why is the recruitment and retention of male teachers in China so difficult?
Going Further
The issue of girls outperforming boys is not unique to China. A gender gap also exists in the United States at all levels of the educational ladder, from kindergarten to graduate school. One explanation for that gap is because of differences in behavior. Christina Hoff Sommers writes:
Boys score as well as or better than girls on most standardized tests, yet they are far less likely to get good grades, take advanced classes or attend college. Why? A study coming out this week in The Journal of Human Resources gives an important answer. Teachers of classes as early as kindergarten factor good behavior into grades — and girls, as a rule, comport themselves far better than boys.
The study’s authors analyzed data from more than 5,800 students from kindergarten through fifth grade and found that boys across all racial groups and in all major subject areas received lower grades than their test scores would have predicted.
The scholars attributed this “misalignment” to differences in “noncognitive skills”: attentiveness, persistence, eagerness to learn, the ability to sit still and work independently. As most parents know, girls tend to develop these skills earlier and more naturally than boys.
In response to that article, we asked: Is school designed more for girls than boys? Read our Student Opinion question, and then join the conversation.
Related
Student Question | Is School Designed More for Girls Than Boys?
Student Question | Does Separating Boys and Girls Help Students Perform Better in School?
Film Club | ‘China’s Web Junkies’
This article was suggested by two members of our Student Council, Grace Masback and Robert Schwartz. As Robert writes, “It’s thought-provoking that in these Chinese cities, social qualities are so closely tied to economic expectations.”