The Brain! The Brain!

This blog is about boys, not kids in general but boys – and why it is about boys ? It is to celebrate the unique qualities and perspective that boys bring to this world.  So why and how are boys different from girls and what does it all mean anyway?

It starts with the brain.  A boy’s brain is heavier and larger than a girl’s.  It matures at an older age.  (A girl’s brain reaches full volume at 10.5 years old and a boy’s at 14.5!) In those brains there are distinct differences that effect communication, language, perceptions, physical activities, and more.  There are over 100 hard-wired structural differences between a boy’s  and  girl’s brain!  For instance the right hemisphere of a boy’s brain is slightly larger than his left and both hemisphere’s in a girl’s brain are fairly equal in size  -  how this impacts boys:

So what does this mean for the mind of boys:

• boys have more cortical area devoted to spatial-mechanical functioning and half as much to verbal-emotive feeling
• spatial-mechanical functioning makes boys want to move objects through the air
• risky or dangerous activities trigger a “fight or flight” response that gives a tingle, or charge that many boys find irresistible.
• boys systematically overestimate their own ability, while girls are more likely to underestimate their abilities
• boys have less serotonin and less oxytocin, which makes them more impulsive and less likely to sit still to talk to someone
• boys have less blood flow to the brain and tend to structure or compartmentalized learning
• the male brain is designed to go into rest states in which it renews, recharges and reorients itself, girls do this without going to sleep
• the more words a teacher or parent uses, the greater chance a boy will quit listening
• boys brain are better suited to symbols, abstractions and pictures.  This means that boys generally learn higher math and physics better than girls.  Boys prefer video games for the physical movement and destruction. Boys get into more trouble for not listening, moving around, sleeping in class and incomplete assignments.

These brain differences can have profound implications for learning and socialization….I think that the first step in understanding boys is to understand these differences, be educated about what this may mean for you and your boys and to advocate for your boys with the facts….here are a few quotes that I thought were relevant to this information…

“Very well-meaning people have created a biologically disrespectful model of education.  ” Dr. Bruce Perry, Houston Neurologist

“Girl behavior becomes the gold standard.  Boys are treated like defective girls.” Dr. Michael Thompson, PBS Series Author of “Raising Cain”

“There are no differences in what girls and boys can learn.  But there are big differences in the best ways to teach them.” Dr. Leonard Sax, Author “Why Gender Matters”

Sources: Bill McBride, Author “Entertaining the Elephant”,  M.Gurian & K. Stevens, “With Boys and Girls in Mind”, Educational Leadership, Nov 2004,  Dr.Leonard Sax, “Why gender matters”, Broadway Books 2005

Images: MSN Encarta

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