I am a Pisces baby, and March 8th, the International Day of Women, is my birthday, so it is only natural that women's issues and how we not only get along in the world from day to day, but how we make an important difference in building communities and innovations in learning are of great interest to me.
One of the things that has always fascinated me is the huge difference in learning/teaching styles between the feminine and masculine of any species. (I am talking about self-identification of feminine/masculine here, not the outer, physical representation)
The feminine mode is through collaboration, team building, praise and SHOWING each other new ideas and methods that benefit the entire community. The feminine soul is also more quick to adopt new ideas from others if they are shown to be more beneficial than the current methods being used.
For instance, the Japanese Macaque is a species of Old World monkeys that washes it's food - not unusual you say? Except that not so long ago they used to eat it as they found it. However, researchers studying the Macaques observed a single female take her food to the beach where she washed it before eating. Soon others in the tribe were following her lead until after several generations, all the Macaques in the area were washing their food before eating it.
Women share best places to buy food (they used to share best places to forage), child rearing best practices, healthcare breakthroughs, etc. They even warn each other about which males to avoid.
A woman will pick up a stick and use it to plow a field, hang food to dry, or any number of other creative, community building things.
To the feminine, all children, or young, are extensions of themselves and they will care for them, even if they are not their biologically.
Feminine souls look out for each other and the community around them and share their wisdom through storytelling, hands-on teaching, personal examples, etc. so that each generation can build upon the foundation of the last.
On the other hand, masculine learning is very competitive. Males don't like to share their discoveries with other males unless they are sure that the other is not as proficient as they themselves are.
Masculine souls need a VERY good reason to try something new if they feel that what they are doing is working. The old saying "if it ain't broke, don't fix it" was definitely coined by a man!
A male will NOT show you the best hunting spot or fishing hole unless you are a part of "his" social group. There is definitely a feeling of "us vs them".
When a masculine picks up a stick, it is usually to create a weapon.
Also, most males do not readily accept children that are not their biologically. This is changing, but most men, when asked, will usually admit that they want a son to carry on their lineage.
To masculine souls, every day is a competition - for the best mate, the best job, the best vehicle, house, etc. and rather than help other males to reach the same level as their own, they prefer to try and always keep "one up" on each other.
There has been a very interesting study done on learning differences between boys and girls that outlines these differences. While physically our brains are not a lot different, they are clearly wired differently. Men are indeed from Mars and Women from Venus. Let's hope that the planets become even more aligned over the next generation so that we can ALL help to create a more nurturing and progressive world community.
Here is just one study on the differences in learning styles between male and female.
What do we know about differences in how girls and boys learn?
