Boys’ schools are the perfect place to teach young men to express their emotions and involve them in activities such as art, dance and music.
Far from the traditional image of a culture of aggressive masculinity (男子气概), the absence of girls gives boys the chance to develop without pressure to be consistent to a stereotype, a US study says.Boys at single-sex schools were said to be more likely to get involved in cultural and artistic activities that helped develop their abilities to express their emotions, rather than feeling they had to obey to the “boy code” of hiding their emotions to be a “real man”.
The findings of the study are against the received wisdom that boys do better when taught alongside girls.
Tony Little, headmaster of Eton, warned that boys were being ignored by the British education system because it had become too focused on girls. He criticized teachers for failing to recognize that boys are actually more emotional than girls.
The research argued that boys often perform badly in mixed schools because they become discouraged when their female peers do better earlier in speaking and reading skills.
But in single-sex schools teachers can adjust lessons to boys’learning style, letting them move around the classroom and getting them to compete in teams to prevent boredom, wrote the study’s author, Abigail James of the University of Virginia.
Teachers could encourage boys to enjoy reading and writing with “boy-focused” approaches such as themes and characters that appeal to them. Because boys generally have sharper vision, learn best through touch, and are physically more active, they need to be given “hands-on” lessons where they are allowed to walk around. “Boys in mixed schools view classical music as feminine (女性的) and prefer the modern type in which violence and sexism are major themes,” James wrote.
Single-sex education also made it less likely that boys would feel they had to give in to a stereotype that men should be “masterful and in charge” in relationships. “In mixed schools boys feel pressed to act like men before they understand themselves well enough to know what that means,” the study reported.
小题1:The author believes that a single-sex school would ____ .
A．force boys to hide their emotions to be “real men”
B．help to form masculine aggressiveness in boys
C．encourage boys to express their emotions more freely
D．naturally place emphasis on the traditional image of a man to boys小题2:It is commonly believed that in a mixed school boys _____ .
A．perform relatively better
B．grow up more healthily
C．behave more responsibly
D．receive a better education小题3:What does Tony Little say about the British education system?
A．It fails more boys than girls academically.
B．It focuses more on mixed school education.
C．It fails to give boys the attention they need.
D．It places more pressure on boys than on girls.小题4:According to Abigail James, one of the advantages of single-sex schools is _____.
A．teaching can be adapted to suit the characteristics of boys
B．boys can focus on their lessons without being absent-minded
C．boys can choose to learn whatever they are interested in
D．teaching can be designed to promote boys’ team spirit小题5:Which of the following is the characteristic of boys according to Abigail James’ report?
A．They enjoy being in charge.
B．They act the same to stereotypes.
C．They have sharper vision.
D．They are violent and sexist.
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