Yes, I think there is research showing issues both for boys AND girls in terms of how they get treated in the classroom. It's a complex question, for sure.

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Not all boys are loud or shout out answers, anymore than all girls are quiet, nor does their behavior on the playground necessarily look like their behavior in the classroom.

Of course not--I completely agree. FTR, I also have a boy as well as a girl. My girl has some stereotypically "male" behaviors and my boy has some "female" ones, so my kids are not particularly "gender-typical" by cultural standards. However, it's been my observation that many kids do fit the classroom behavior stereotypes. But I am probably more concerned about social fit and finding friends than classroom dynamics. Maybe the magnet will be less gender-segregated, but at her present school, the boys and girls virtually never play together at recess.

ETA that I do also have concerns about DD being steered away from/turned off on math. The steering has already happened at her present school. Her verbal talents are very obvious, but IMO she has some awesome math potential. I worry that math may be more male-identified at a school that is already boy-heavy.

Last edited by ultramarina; 04/25/11 07:56 AM.