Bringing out the Best in Boys

Homefield School

January 2014

What’s our starting position?

• “Developing and sustaining effective partnerships between the home, the community and the school is, without question, the most important component of school improvement.”

• Harris and Goodall, 2008 quoted Harris, Andrew-Power and Goodall, 2009

What’s our starting position?

• 90% of children say their parents are interested in their education,• However the report goes on to say the majority of parents are

struggling to get involved with their child's learning• 31% of parents to feel 'excluded' which can then lead them to

'hassle' their children for information• 24% of children questioned said they felt under pressure from their

parents to talk about their school day.• 82% of parents want schools to keep them better informed of their

child's progress at school• BECTA 2009• What response do you get when you ask your boys:• What did you do at school today?• Albert Einstein’s mum used to ask him…• What questions did you ask in school today?

What parents want…

• Parents want their children to be happy, to be safe and to be able to do something with their life…

• Parents, in the main, want the best for their children: they don’t always know how to go about providing it…

• Boys can be a particular challenge

• …& JOY

Bringing Up Boys

• There Will Be Planes, Trains and Automobiles & Guns!!

• Boys Don't Stop Moving

• You Will Love Watching Him Play With His Dad

• You'll Learn to Love Legos

• Roughhousing Is Innate

• The Humour Starts Early

Do not compare them!!

You'll Probably Make a Trip to A & E

Boys and water, mud, dirt!!

Why do they do it?

Bulletproof : The Risk-Taking Teen

• Lifting dopamine levels includes giving boys:

• rewards

• regular feedback

• reassurance they're loved

• clear expectations and boundaries

• encouragement to do activities with lots of repetitive movement such as football, volleyball, swimming or drumming.

The secrets of a happy boys’ school: VEST and VAKT

• Variety

• Engaging

• Sociable

• Transformative

• Visual

• Auditory

• Kinaesthetic

• Tactile

Learning Styles

• And Tactile

Learning Styles

• No stereotypes

• No labelling

• No excuses

• Ofsted/ISI/DfE all insist that teachers are aware of their pupils’ learning styles and how they learn best

Boys’ Learning

• We must be careful not to label all boys with a particular style or set of learning behaviours. But while every learner is unique, specific pupil groups (boys, girls, G&T, EAL, SEN etc.) can exhibit common features. Intuitively and analytically you may recognise the following as typical male learning needs:

• to look, move about, talk, joke, ask lots of questions• to have structure and a 'pecking order'• to have bite-size learning• to learn in teams rather than groups• to avoid 'hard work' with charm and cunning• to leave it till the last minute

What, when, how, why?

• Boys are inherently successful, they just lack the opportunities to show it publicly in a curriculum and assessment system mis-matched to their expectations.

• If boys, generally, are good at X, Y and Z and like to show you through method A, then why do we insist on measuring them on P, Q, R through method B?

Authentic Performance

• Authentic participation

• The anatomy of an Authentic Performer

• How to Lead, Love and Live Authentic Performance

• As parents and teachers [and boys!] we are aiming for AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCE

Authentic performance

• "Authentic Performance only occurs when the commitment to the experience is both personal and profound: it's then that the legacy endures…”

• How do we encourage AUTHENTIC PERFORMANCE?

• Do we discourage it? Why?

Follows instructions

• Must get it right • Wants the answer • Follows the teachers logic and tries to get it right

Follows teachers pace• Answers teacher questions• Is grouped by the teacher• Is rewarded upon completion• Is given a mark, level or grade • Is assessed by the teacher • Focus is on becoming a better performer• Is concerned with status and pecking order

Makes decisions

• Must have a go • Wants the method • Learns incrementally and by trial and error Controls own

pace • Answers own questions • Elects who to learn with • Is rewarded by effort • Understands and interprets their own mark, level or grade

Is assessed by the teacher, themselves and peers• Focus is on becoming a better learner• Is concerned with progress and capacity to improve • These will lead to Authentic Performance

In Conclusion

• Be prepared

• Be supportive

• Be encouraging

• Be aware of IT/ Video games/ Prescription Drugs/ Endocrine Disruptors

• Be aware of the devaluation of masculinity & the lack of quality role models

• They will turn out OK- we hope!