How Homeschooling Can Benefit Boys
Educators and parents are often told of the unfair advantages boys receive throughout school.
However, recent studies have shown that boys, not girls, are being treated unfairly in public schools, and could benefit from more personalized learning and homeschooling.
Here are some facts from research conducted over the last several years:
In preschool, boys are five times more likely to be expelled.
- The typical boy is a year and a half behind the typical girl in reading and writing.
- In 1997, college full-time enrollments were 45 percent male and 55 percent female. On many college campuses, women outnumber men 60 percent to 40 percent, and the U.S. Department of Education predicts that the proportion of boys in college classes will continue to shrink.
- According to the National Center for Education Statistics, slightly more girls than boys enroll in AP and other high-level math and science courses.
- Girls read more books and outperform boys on tests for artistic and musical ability.
- More boys than girls are suspended from school, held back, or drop out. In preschool, boys are five times more likely to be expelled, and they account for 70 percent of suspensions in grades K—12. A majority of suspensions are the result of minor disturbances and zero-tolerance policies, which impact boys at much higher rates than girls.
- Boys are also three times as likely to receive a diagnosis of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
- Lastly, a recent study in the Journal of Human Resources showed that despite scoring the same on tests, boys received lower grades than girls because teachers disapproved of their behavior.
Given the difficult environment boys may face in public schools, many parents are concluding that a more personalized learning environment, such as homeschooling, can provide better education options.
Here are some ways homeschooling benefits boys:
- Homeschooling allows boys to develop reading skills in ways that differ from how girls and traditional public schools encourage reading. For starters, boys need materials that interest them. Teachers are very focused on classical literature, or stories that are interesting to girls. Secondly, boys develop their reading skills in a different way, and later than girls. Hence, the one to many teaching approach and age level standards can lead to boys feeling as if they are sub-par students. Homeschooling eliminates that concern by personalizing reading to help boys build skills as well as confidence.
- Public school environments are more likely to disapprove of what boys are interested in. If boys are constantly subjected to disapproval for their interests and enthusiasms, they will grow more disengaged in education. Homeschooling parents can take their boys to train yards, construction sites, farms, science museums, and places where boys can tap into their interests, and when possible, use their hands.
- Given that behavior is increasingly calculated into public school teacher evaluations, which can lower grades for boys, homeschooling provides a different environment. Instead of worrying about how their behavior can harm their grades, boys can focus more on learning.
- Many boys enjoy physical activity. One of the challenges in a traditional public school is that physical movement and adventurous behavior are discouraged. Students are told to sit quietly at a desk, and considered insubordinate when they do not – leading boys to be disciplined in high numbers, and told they are not being good students. For many boys, this constant negative message leads to higher disengagement in the classroom in later years and less joy of learning. Homeschool parents can use shorter lessons for boys, take movement breaks, and use other techniques that allow boys to be active learners.
- Public schools also have substantially decreased the amount of outdoor play time. Science Daily reports that since the 1970’s school children have lost close to 50% of unstructured, outdoor play time. However, homeschooling has no such restrictions. Lessons can be done outdoors and they can be personalized for boys in ways that are impossible in public schools.
Lessons can be done outdoors and they can be personalized for boys in ways that are impossible in public schools.
Overall, there are a number of benefits to homeschooling boys.
If you are interested in learning more, you can read our article “Top 5 Reasons Why Parents Homeschool Their Kids.”
You also can reach out to our team by calling: 1-888-487-4652.