Teachers often single out boys as trouble-makers because girls tend to be more quiet in the classroom. Across the country, boys have never been in more trouble: They earn 70 percent of the D's and F's that teachers dole out. They make up two thirds of students labeled "learning disabled." They are the culprits in a whopping 9 of 10 alcohol and drug violations and the suspected perpetrators in 4 out of 5 crimes that end up in juvenile court. They account for 80 percent of high school dropouts and attention deficit disorder diagnoses. (Mulrine, 2001)

     Because boys are so well-known for getting in trouble, they often dominate the attention of their teachers.  This attention could be a major cause in the behavior, however.  A lot of this has to do with the way girls are boys are treated socially throughout their early school days.  Many teachers have students line up in boy and girl lines or have them seated according to gender, which implies that girls and boys should be treated differently.  When an administrator ignores an act of sexual harassment, he or she is allowing the degradation of girls. When different behaviors are tolerated for boys than for girls because 'boys will be boys', schools are perpetuating the oppression of females. There is some evidence that girls are becoming more academically successful than boys, however examination of the classroom shows that girls and boys continue to be socialized in ways that work against gender equity.

(Research Room, http://www.edchange.org/multicultural/papers/genderbias.html).

     Teachers socialize girls towards a feminine ideal. Girls are praised for being neat, quiet, and calm, whereas boys are encouraged to think independently, be active and speak up. Girls are socialized in schools to recognize popularity as being important, and learn that educational performance and ability are not as important. "Girls in grades six and seven rate being popular and well-liked as more important than being perceived as competent or independent. Boys, on the other hand, are more likely to rank independence and competence as more important." (Bailey, 1992) This is an almost Victorian standard that is very outdated, yet still perpetrated in our society.  So what can teachers do?

     Teachers of younger students can use games that have no gender-specific orientation.  Teachers of all grades should be equal in what they expect out of students and not let something slide in one gender just because it is socially acceptable.  Teachers should not promote ideas of education being more important for boys than girls, and popularity being more important for girls than boys.  Everyone deserves an equal chance at education.  These are some links which provide more helpful research and strategies on dealing with the situation of gender socialization. 

http://eric.ed.gov/ERICWebPortal/Home.portal?_nfpb=true&_pageLabel=RecordDetails&ERICExtSearch_SearchValue_0=ED233415&ERICExtSearch_SearchType_0=eric_accno&objectId=0900000b800fb2e7 

     This site brings you to a link with an article researching gender-specific children's games and the way they affect students once they become adults in the corporate world.

http://www.umext.maine.edu/topics/gender.htm 

     This site is a project currently at the University of Maine to encourage gender socialization and equalize the way children are brought up and the roles they feel they are to fulfill.

http://www.gasat-international.org/conferences/G11Mauritius/proceedings/proceedings%207.doc 

     This is an article dealing with a study on a constructivist approach to gender socialization and the results.  It focuses on Chemistry learning.