<p>I am reminded of the “Regional things a student should know” thread where someone recently posted the warning for those headed south that “bless your heart” is never meant to be a compliment.</p>
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Now THAT I’ll agree with. And I’m female with very little artistic “talent.” No arts & crafts sense at all.</p>
<p>And for note-taking? I have a BA, a master’s and a professional degree. But if anyone had ever checked my notes, I’d never have graduated elementary school! In fact, in several classes which I found deadly dull, I took my notes in mirror writing!</p>
<p>My notebooks were always a disaster, no matter how well-organized they were at the beginning of the year. (See Parents Cafe thread about “Messy or Neat.”) I took notes in ways I understood. Didn’t matter if no one else did.</p>
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<p>I was more like your DS. I rarely followed those rules - I challenged them. Luckily, I had some administrators who backed me.</p>
<p>I remember that we had to outline our papers before writing them. (Same in law school for our briefs.) I can’t do it - I’d always find other things to say while I was writing, and then I’d move things around, etc. My papers never looked like my outlines. So I learned to write the paper first, and then write the outline!</p>
<p>My d also had a high energy level, and was not an auditory learner. She was a tactile learner. In first grade she was lucky enough to have a teacher who would allow her to stand & walk around the other edge of the circle at circle time as long as she didn’t bother anyone else. Then she could listen to the story. Otherwise, she was just spending all her energy trying to sit still.</p>
<p>I’m not certain that these are male/female issues, though (as I said, I’m female). I’d like to see (yeah, pie in the sky time) more time devoted to learning styles, and not divide them by gender.</p>
<p>In our district there was a period (now somewhat loosened) of a VERY strict mandated curriculum. A previous complaint was that the math wizards, competitive problem solving approach favored boys. That may be true and may have needed modification, but the pendulum swung completely the other way. It was not so much a matter of individual teacher style, but a systematic global curriculum requirement. As emeraldK mentioned up-thread, this particular math curriculum (now scrapped) fed into the state testing protocol (also scrapped) which made success more difficult for anyone of any gender who was strong at math but had writing, language or penmanship challenges (not to mention patience challenges!). Boys with learning differences and high performing boys seemed to be particularly impacted - based on anecdotal evidence and observation.</p>
<p>p.s.<br>
Chedva: my D did ok with a go along and giterdone in math, but sounds like you with the papers requiring grades outlines and “pre-writes”. She struggled through them in elementary and middle school, then did them after the fact in high school.</p>
<p>Chedva,
my youngest son is a match with your D. When he was in the primary grades, he used to sit on his hands to try to keep still.</p>
<p>When it would be time for desk work, he would start out sitting at his desk…and then standing at his desk…and somehow migrate to doing his work on top of the bookshelves or window sill. And he would never even be cognizant of having moved around!</p>
<p>His second grade teacher had no problem with it…she said he never broke concentration and didn’t bother any one else. </p>
<p>His third grade teacher gave him a nightmare year. He understood staying in his seat. But she had major problems with him swinging a foot under his desk (even though he did not invade anyone else’s space) or flexing his fingers or squeezing a soft ball during any time that required sitting time.</p>
<p>To this day, he often works standing up…he has rigged “standing” desks both at home and at his apartment. This summer at his internship, he often uses his boss’s standing desk when it is free…the boss has back problems.</p>
<p>Chedva, my son’s middle school made the notebook 20% of the grade in every major subject. He always lost those points because he just doesn’t learn that way. Let him listen and he will process and retain the information and then able to write about it with understaning and in detail. Make him copy from the board and he’s lost. I don’t think it’s an accident that he plays three instruments and is known for being able to play music he’s only heard once or twice.</p>
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One of the top partners in my firm works this way and even had his office arranged to accommodate his preference. He is a multi-million dollar a year lawyer who is an internationally recognized expert in his field. He is certainly in a position to know how he thinks best.</p>
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<p>I had never heard this. My mothers family is from Mo., my great aunt & my grandma used to say that all the time!</p>
<p>The company I work for has desk options that allow you to either sit or stand. The desks elevate (push a button up they go). It’s a great option for people that like or need that. I mostly work from home so I don’t have that option, nor would I really use one, but many people do.</p>
<p>emeraldkity4, listen to what they tend to say after “bless your heart”. It is basically a license to say something horrible about someone after those three little words.</p>
<p>I think there is a regional usage among people a generation or two up from mine (like emeraldkity4’s great aunt and grandma) where “Bless your heart” is used in an endearing way, often to a child, with no negativity intended. But I have also heard of it being used currently in a different sense, to a person who has just committed a gaffe or worse–on the other hand, in those instances, the “something horrible” generally goes unsaid, in my experience.</p>