Post on 02-Jul-2015
description
transcript
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!