Those first chapters

Okay, so somehow my brain didn't put it all together at the beginning of this journal, and I didn't make posts about the first chapters. I make comments about the chapters because I thought we were going to have one post for each chapter and make comments to it, not each make a post for each chapter. Oh well. So here are my notes about those chapters :)

Introduction:
I love that Brizendine starts the book by using terms I can understand. She refers to the Anterior Cingulate Cortex as "the worry-wort center" (pg. xiii). The hormones are characters with short descriptions. I especially love how she says that testosterone "has no time for cuddling" (pg. xv). She also lays out the different phases women go through in life in a table that is helpful and easy to read.

Some of the things in the introduction could be especially helpful for teachers. Brizendine says that it takes females longer to get to an answer than males, and they use different circuits than males (pg. 5). Girls might just need more time than they are given to answer questions. Females stress about seemingly small things. They are more able to read emotions in other people, and are pretty much ruled by emotions themselves.

Chapter 1 - The Birth of the Female Brain:
The image of the little girl rocking the fire truck wrapped in blanket saying, "Don't worry, little truckie, everything will be all right" (pg. 12) might be the cutest thing ever. I also love that it shows that emotions and traits are hardwired in the brain. Just because a girl is given a toy that isn't a doll doesn't mean it will change how she feels.

I thought it was interesting that facial expressions are so important to females. Little girls need to see how someone else feels about things. They need approval from their parents and teachers. I never thought about how much a facial expression can change what a girl might do. Girls are also more focused on developing, and maintaining, friendships with other girls. They use language and make decisions together. They are less aggressive. I also liked that Brizendine says that both nature and nurture are important to the development of children (pg. 28).

Chapter 2 - Teen Girl Brain:
This is, of course, the chapter that is most important to secondary education teachers. So many important things were brought up in this chapter. Brizendine points out that because attracting a mate in order to keep the population going is so ingrained in the female brain that they would still be worrying about how they look even if televisions and magazines didn't exist (pg. 32). Hormones drive this. Hormones pretty much drive everything in females. And they can change on a daily basis.

Social bonding is so important for girls at this age. Brizendine says that bonding with other girls results in "the same kind of dopamine rush that coke or heroin addicts get when they do drugs" (pg. 38)! So interfering with it can be a dangerous thing. (Not that girls should be allowed to talk with their friends whenever they want or anything.)

The whole idea of the female brain maturing faster than the male brain is fascinating to me. I always think it is strange when parents freak out about their daughters dating a boy who is a couple of years older than her at this age. In order to be with someone who is on the same level as her, she usually has to.

Girls at this age are also often going through extreme changes in their body. Their period might have just started recently, or changed. PMS, PMDD, and the whole of the menstrual cycle can make a girl seem crazy. If teachers don't understand the effects of the hormones going through the body, they can react very negatively towards girls. (Even my step-mom didn't understand them because she never got cramps, so when I had them as a teenager, she thought I was making it up and just wanted to get out of school, gym, or family trips to places like the water park.)

This is a time in life when females start to become more likely to develop depression. Brizendine says "by age fifteen, girls are twice as likely to suffer from depression" (pg. 53). This is something teachers and parents need to be aware of and watch for.

Chapter 3 - Love and Trust:
This was a chapter that I found interesting, but it doesn't really have a lot to do with teaching.

One interesting thing is that "girls learn to tell the difference between reality and fairy tales or 'just-pretend' play earlier than boys" (pg. 65). It is also important to know that romantic love is like a drug, so a girl who has just been dumped is going through withdrawal. However, men who have been dumped are "three to four times more likely to commit suicide. Women, by contrast, sink into depression" (pg. 75). So we have to watch out for both sexes when it comes to losing love.

The thing about 20-second hugs was fantastic! I can just see parents with stopwatches in the halls!