Boys and Girls (4/30)

More boys speak up in live zoom classes than girls, and more girls communicate through messaging or email than boys.

Some boys are more outgoing, and they express their ideas openly. When they think of something to say, they unmute themselves and open their mouth to say it. Maybe boys also tend to forget their questions, so they ask it in the moment in order not to forget it. Or perhaps they want to know the answer to a question as fast as possible.

Some girls may tend to be more shy, so they wait after class to email the teacher privately. They may not want everyone in the class listening in on their questions/comments. They also might be more conscious and thoughtful. When a question arises in their mind, they let it fully form before communicating it. Emailing the teacher would allow them to think about their questions before they actually send it. They might be wary of saying something that they will regret saying, so emailing will also allow them to revise their wording so they don’t make a mistake.

These may be some reasons why boys generally talk more in zoom classes and girls generally email more. This doesn’t apply to everyone, but I generally would email a teacher rather than talk in a zoom class.

“Build Things” (4/23)

To me, building something means to form a structure by putting different materials together and creating something new.

I wouldn’t say that I have built a big project before, but I have done some small things. Last year in Technology, we built several things, including a circuit, a person made from wire, a flashlight, switches, and an automaton.

Building the automaton was the hardest one for me. I decided to build a dog that gave the impression of walking. It was difficult to make the dog’s legs move, and the finished product wasn’t exactly how I originally pictured it to be. Constructing the automaton had certain elements that were easy, but other days it was challenging and I wasn’t sure if I would be able to finish it. Sometimes I would feel energized when finishing a component of the automaton, but other times I would feel frustrated if I couldn’t figure out how to solve a problem. The Tech teacher helped me brainstorm a new idea when my original plan wouldn’t work. After a lot of hard work, I finally finished it, and I felt accomplished.

Although I don’t have my automaton, I do have a clear memory of the building process.