Pages- 43-87
Suzanne C.
"Rigorous Researcher"
The following passage peaked my interest in the subject of cortisol and its relationships to stress and learning in boys.
"Brain researchers have suspected for a few years now that where a male is in the pecking order may have a great effect on how he learns because of the level of stress hormones (higher in males when they feel worthless). Biologically, males on the high end of a pecking order secrete less cortisol, the stress hormone. Males at the bottom end secrete more. Why is this significant? Because cortisol can invade the learning process; it forces the brain to attend to emotional and survival stress rather than intellectual learning. This is perhaps a "natural" reason for the male fragility so many of us ave observed in boys who are humiliated or unliked, who appear weak, or can't make any friends."
Cortisol is a steroid hormone produced by the adrenal gland. It is released in response to stress and a low level of blood glucocorticoids. Its prinmary functions are to increase blood sugar, supress the immune system, and aid in fat, protien and carbohydrate metabolism.
It is involved in proper glucose metabolism, regulation of blood pressure, insulin release for blood sugar maintenance, immune function, and inflammatory response.
Cortisol is usually present in higher levels in the body in the mornig and lower levels at night. It is called the "stress hormone" because it is secreted in higher levels during the body's fight or flight response to stress and is responsible for many stress-related changes in the body.
The positive affects of cortisol are a quick burst of energy for survival, heightened memory function, increased immunity, lower sensitivity to pain, and it maintains homeostasis in the body. However, if the body is not able to have a relaxation response the body does not return to homeostasis. In our current high-stress culture the stress response is activated so often that some people have chronic stress. This can cause impaired cognitive performance, stressed thyroid function, blood sugar imbalances, decreased bone density, a decrease in muscle tissue, higher blood pressure, lowered immunity, and higher abdominal fat.
The fact the high levels of cortisol can affect cognitive performance explains Gurian's claim that boys could be suffering in the classroom more than the girls are, even though the opposite was originally thought. While it was believed that boys received more attention in the classroom because they were constantly seeking it, Gurian felt that boys who were low in the pecking order did worse academically than the girls because of the excess cortisol in their systems which distracted them from learning.
References
Scott, Elizabeth. "Cortisol and Stress: How to Stay Healthy." (2011).
http://stress.about.com
Wikipedia.Cortisol. (2011).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cortisol
Response to Suzanne's Blog #3
ReplyDeleteBy, Alison Getsloff
I like how you chose to write about this, because I too, was intrigued.
I had never heard of this term before and was interested in exactly how it worked. I find it interesting that there is a larger quantity of this present in the morning and lower levels at night. This makes sense because we all have more energy after a good nights sleep and at least for me, the morning comes easy to me- as in it doesn't drag, things get accomplished. The later in the day it gets to be, the harder it is for me to get things done.
I didn't realize that if your levels of cortisol were off, that it could affect your learning, which could then put you at a lower pecking level or distract you from learning and creating you from getting the best grades that you could be achieving.
As a future teacher, I want to learn how to make all males feel as though they belong. I want them to feel special in my classroom and achieve all that they possibly can, because isn't that what learning is about?!