Results

Through my research, I have found that teachers have differentiated expectations of girls and boys in the classroom. Teachers expect girls to be compliant and boys to be disruptive and defiant. Unfortunately, as boys view school as a place to negotiate their masculinity they can become oppositional and disruptive. I have found that boys have to make sure that other boys see them as tough. I gave my male students a survey that asked these questions:

• It is important for a boy to act like nothing is wrong, even when something is bothering them.


• I can respect a boy who backs down from a fight.


• Boys should not let it show when their feelings are hurt.


• A boy never needs to hit another guy to get respect.


• If a boy tells people his worries, he will look weak.


• It is important for a boy to go after what he wants, even if it hurt others.


• It is embarrassing for a boy to ask for help. It is important for a boy to talk about his feelings, even if people laugh at him.


• Boys should let other boys know they are tough.


• Girls should always respect boys.

The boys could answer 1=disagree a lot, 2=disagree, 3=agree, 4=agree a lot. 14 boys took the survey. I was pleased to learn that 11 of the 14 boys agreed or agreed a lot that boys don't have to hit each other to gain respect and 10 out of 14 agreed or agreed a lot that boys should talk about their feelings even if others laugh. It was nice to learn that 10 of 14 and 12 of 14 disagreed a lot or disagreed that boys will look weak if they tell people their worries, it is important to go after what you want even if it hurts others and it is embarrassing to ask for help. It was interesting to note that 8 out of the 14 agreed or agreed a lot that boys should not let it show if their feeling were hurt. 10 of 14 and 9 of 14 agreed or agreed a lot that boys should let other boys know they are tough and that girls should always respect boys. Unfortunately the latter responses lend themselves to boys' navigation of hegemonic masculinity development.

Murphy's law strikes again. What can go wrong will. My home computer is down and my school computer blocks blogs. I am forced to depend on the graciousness of my friends. I guess that's what friends are for.
I want to describe the behavior of two more of my boys. Michi is a large boy for his age and he is the man of his household. His mother depends on him to help her with his siblings and to translate for her. Michi is a dominant presence in the classroom. He is not loud, but he makes his presence known. He is often solemn and can be blatantly disrespectful. He often walks away when being spoken to and when he doesn't want to hear what you have to say. He often interrupts you when he does not agree with what you have to say. He will walk up to you and invade your space to show that he is not afraid. His behavior exemplifies that of a person struggling with masculinity development. The interesting thing about him is that he will often silently cry when he is angry and can not express himself. He gets into major trouble outside of the classroom and is verbally abusive to female authority figures. However, he reigns himself in when dealing with me.
Davon is also the man of his household. He has the air of entitlement and walks around as if he is the king of the hill. He ignores authority and is sexually aggressive and gets into trouble for touching girls inappropriately or making vulgar remarks. He only does the assignments that interest him and will not do anything he does not want to do. He can be extremely volatile when he does not get his way. He does not listen to his mother and usually dictates to her what he will or will not do. Unfortunately, his mother is acquiescent. Though Davon's behavior seems extreme compared to the other boys' behavior, he also exhibits the character traits of a person dealing with masculine identity. The idea of masculine identity is not new. What I have discovered is that it is becoming more prevalent in the elementary grades. This development has traditionally taken place when a boy reaches adolescence at 13 or 14 years old. Like many changes that have begun to occur in our society, the characteristics of masculine developement are being seen more and more in our grade school boys.
My goal is to present a way in which teachers can accomodate this development without removing the child from the classoom or dispersing harsh discipline. I would also like to develop strategies that will help teachers help the boys gracefully transit into their manhood.

Phase Two

After surveying my students to find out what they thought about men and women, I began to observe four of my boys. I chose these boys because they exhibited what I believed to be masculine tendencies and they had the most problems in and outside of the classroom. Jay is from a two parent home and is the oldest of four. He is ten years old and big for his age. His father is a welder and his mother works for the local hospital. Jay has commented that his father told him not to allow anyone to mess with him and if someone does, take care of it. Jay walks around the classroom making his presence know. He doesn't initiate conflict, but he doesn't back down either. He often intimidates by invading other people's space. When he doesn't want to do what I ask, he looks at me and turns his head and says, "I don't want to." When I respond, he ignores me until I say, "Do I need to call your Dad?" Once I have asked the question, he becomes grudgingly compliant. According to my research, Jay's behavior is a exhibition of hegemonic masculinity. Hegemonic masculinity is masculinity that is socially expected , accepted and supported by society. In our culture the some of the characteristics that are linked to hegemonic masculinity are defiance, aggressiveness, strength, macho ism and self-reliance. Nate is a boy who has been in the foster system because his mom is in jail. He is quiet, but does not tolerate anyone messing with him or his friends. He is often defiant and rebellious toward my direction. He often states that he doesn't need anyone or anything and that he can take care of himself. He now lives with family members and tries hard to please them. When I mention contacting them he silently cries, but he stands up straight and tall and looks me dead in the eyes. It is as if he's saying I can handle whatever you're dishing out. His behavior is also characteristic of hegemonic masculinity. I'll talk about the final two in the next post.

The Context of My Research

Sunset Elementary School is a Title I school in Coalinga, California. The population of the town is approximately 11,000 with 5000 thousand of the population being housed at the Pleasant Valley Correctional and Rehabilitation Center. The demographics of the town are 65% Hispanic, 29% European and 6 % other. The demographics of the school mirror those of the city. My classroom has 35 students, 16 boys and 19 girls. I have one SDC student who comes to me for lunch. My classroom demographics are 77% Hispanic and 23% Hispanic. Fourteen of my students are English Language Learners leveled at 3 and 4.
I began my study by surveying my students to see if they had preconceived notions about the roles men and women should play and what types of jobs they should have. I wanted to discover if their was a definite ideology of what was considered a masculine job and a feminine job. I used a questionnaire that asked the students to choose the best word to place in a blank to complete a sentence. (i.e. Dr. Martin reads x-rays. _____ helps people. (He/She) Twenty-seven students took the survey . The results were stereotypical. Most of the students felt that men should be doctors, firefighters, astronauts, gardeners, and mechanics and women should be shoppers, house cleaners, bakers, nurses, computer workers and librarians. It is clear that the children see a clear distinction between a man's job and a woman's job. This survey was used to get a glimpse into the thought patterns of my students. I have another one specifically for the boys to see how they feel about being a boy and their masculinity. I am finding that my topic is harder than I anticipated and I am struggling to get a clear concept of what direction I am going in.

The Reseach Question: Can the perceived negative behavior of boys be attributed to their masculinity and identity development.

My action research stemmed from my observation that many male students were being given referrals, sent out of class and suspended for negative behavior. As I discussed this issue with my colleagues, I heard comments that were unexpected. The comments seem to suggest that the students weren't going to amount to anything in the first place so why have them in class. This disturbed me. I wanted to find out what the cause was for the behavior and were there ways that boys could be taught that would better allow for their behavior.
Though I have many questions in regard to the behavior of boys in the classroom and whether or not they are receiving a quality education, my questions are abstract in terms of teacher perception. I have been forced to redirect my focus to trying to determine a cause for the perceived negative behavior. If in fact boys are exhibiting behavior that is common to masculinity and identity development then it is the teachers responsibility to accommodate that student in the classroom. Removing the student is not a viable option.

Questions

Are boys missing out on valuable educational experiences because of teacher perception? Do boys have to sit still and be quiet to gain the teacher's positive response? Do teachers teach boys and girls the same way? If a teacher perceives a student as a lost cause will the teacher expend his/her energy on that student?