Boys Better Than Girls?

“Boys are better than girls…” “No, girls are smarter than boys….”

We often hear children fighting about the gender that seems more superior to them, even though they do not understand the depths of such claims. However, we cannot overlook the fact that there is indeed some difference in the way a female brain works in comparison to a male brain. Perhaps they are simply “wired” differently. What exactly is different about the brains that cause the results we observe?

The news article I chose talked about the fact that when girls attended single-sex schools they did exceedingly well in subjects that involved verbal, reading, and math skills. However, a study found that at a co-ed school, boys did slightly better than girls in subjects that involved math and science, even verbal skills. Researchers believe that the presence of boys in the same room as girls affects the girls’ intelligence. “Pink brain, blue brain” was quite interesting in the way it explained the differences between males and females. The chapter about verbal skills and the fact that females have better speaking, writing, and reading skills than boys connects with concept of co-ed schools. Eliot implies that only sections of the left hemisphere functions while a boy does school work. However, portions of both the left and right hemispheres function when a girl does her school work. Therefore, one would expect that a girl’s intelligence would exceed that of a boy’s. Yet this is not necessarily the case. Eliot claims that the way a young boy and girl are nurtured plays a significant role in their overall intelligence.  If a girl spends time with another girl even in the beginning of her childhood, she is likely to acquire more efficient verbal and cognitive skills rather than when spending time with a boy. On the other hand, if a boy spends time with another boy in his childhood, he will acquire less efficient verbal and cognitive skills than when spending time with a girl.  Therefore, when a boy has the company of a girl in a co-ed school, they are most likely to do better, sometimes even better than girls in the company of boys.

Bibliography

"Single-Sex Education’s Benefits Challenged In Study." Health News / Tips & Trends / Celebrity Health. N.p., 7 Feb. 2014. Web. 28 Feb. 2014.