I have always been more comfortable around guys. I grew up with four older brothers. Both sides of my extended family have a majority of boys. I have more boy cousins than girl cousins. I have one child and he is a boy. I love watching football! I find myself being more comfortable in a group of guys then a group of women. That’s just how it has been for me.
I am an avid NFL Network watcher! I remember having a conversation with the PE teacher at my school. I asked him about Calvin Johnson‘s off-season knee surgery a while ago. I didn’t know what it was about! I asked him if it was an “Adrian Peterson@ knee surgery or an “RGIII” knee surgery. I crystal clearly remember this conversation in the cafeteria of our school. When I asked him this question, he smiled and told me that, “It’s kind of hat that you know the difference between the two surgeries!” I remembered that I laughed about that.
Going with my comfortableness around guys, I thought of this specific memory a couple days ago when I took an online test to see if I could pass second grade. I answered 30 questions without getting a question wrong and then I lost interest. I already passed second grade, a long time ago! One of the last questions I answered, made me think about a time when I was UNcomfortable amidst a class of boys.
I taught two reading programs for seven years. I taught three sections of six students Read Naturally and four sections of 15 students for READ 180. I taught two chapters of the READ 180 workbook to 7th grade and two chapters of the READ 180 workbook to 8th grade. There was a two page spread as a review before the chapter quiz. I used to complete this two page spread with the students and we were to have conversations about it as they answered the questions in the book.
The most memorable review session I had with a class was with an 8th grade class of 15 boys. I thought of this day when answering that online test to see if I could pass second grade. One of the questions asked how many tentacles an octopus has. Before I clicked on the correct answer, eight, I thought of that class of boys and laughed.
After research came out about the importance of same-sex classes for low level students, I divided both my 7th and 8th grade READ 180 sections into only boys and only girls. I remember the first day of the semester, and students were filing in to my room, a student asked me if there were any girls in the class because all students who were coming in were boys. I looked at him and told him, “Me… and I am twice your age!“
I found that class of 8th grade boys to be the most fun! One of the questions and that two page spread asked was to choose if you would rather fight with a shark or an octopus on your team. Students just needed to check off the box. After they answered the question, I asked the class to raise their hand if they would rather fight with a shark or an octopus.
I then asked their reasoning. A majority of students wanted to have an octopus on their side even when I told them that I was deathly afraid of sharks and I thought that would be a more formidable opponent.
A student that sat at the opposite end of the table raised his hand and when I called on him he told me that, “ The octopus has eight tentacles.” Instead of saying tentacle, he used a word that is part of the male genitalia. Another student began to laugh and I corrected both of them telling them that the proper word they were looking for was tentacle.
The first student looked unconcerned and said, “Well, we all have them!“ At which point I continued laughing and covered my face. The class was uproariously laughing and I told the student, “I don’t!” Which just made all of us laugh even harder! I laughed a lot with my students when I taught but I think that was the hardest I have ever laughed!
Even with that awkward exchange about the male genitalia, I absolutely loved that class! That memory warmed my heart the other day when I was asked the question About the number of the tentacles an octopus has. Even in the midst of something that would be uncomfortable for me is the only female in the class of 15 boys, I was not at all! I just loved laughing with them! So I guess that I AM more comfortable with boys, regardless of age.