Boys Education |
"In boys' brains, a greater part of the cerebral cortex is dedicated to spatial and mechanical functioning. So boys tend to learn better with movement and pictures rather than just words." Michael Gurian |
Underachievement of boys within education is an international problem and something I have always been passionate to try and address. Upon undertaking my first teaching role in New Zealand, I began independently tracking the achievement of boys within my class. As part of the behaviour management system, the school invited me to lead and nurture a group of Year one and two boys who had been identified as underachieving both socially and educationally. As such I became interested in tracking the achievement of these boys to determine trends. Through professional conversations with peers across the cluster and Auckland I began reading about successful programmes being trialed at other schools, many of which were similar in decile and socio-economic standing to GPS. I began to implement a boy focused writing programme within a mixed class and then monitored the results closely. With this information and professional learning from other schools, I approached the Principal with a proposal to set up a boys only class at GPS. After two years at GPS I was recruited to lead and build a similar trial programme at Murrays Bay School.
As the leader of boys’ education at Glenfield and Murrays Bay I furthered my own professional knowledge through personal research, professional learning and peer review. I maintained my knowledge of current practice from a variety of countries and educational journals as well as fostering relationships with other boys’ class teachers from around the country. I sustained strong communication with my former school in London and regularly shared/received ideas to combat underachievement in boys’ reading and writing. I believe that success in boys’ education comes from the home, so have always developed strong relationships with parents and whānau school wide, often asking for and sharing strategies that have proven successful. My pedagogy and approach to writing has been adopted by a number of teachers in different schools, furthering co-operative development and planning.
Boys (as learners) are quite different from girls and as such my classroom programme was tailored to suit their needs. Much of the students’ success achieved stemmed from the ownership of the learning that took place. I would regularly sit with the boys and allow them the opportunity to choose their topic, discuss key questions and share how their choices relate to the New Zealand curriculum.
As the leader of boys’ education at Glenfield and Murrays Bay I furthered my own professional knowledge through personal research, professional learning and peer review. I maintained my knowledge of current practice from a variety of countries and educational journals as well as fostering relationships with other boys’ class teachers from around the country. I sustained strong communication with my former school in London and regularly shared/received ideas to combat underachievement in boys’ reading and writing. I believe that success in boys’ education comes from the home, so have always developed strong relationships with parents and whānau school wide, often asking for and sharing strategies that have proven successful. My pedagogy and approach to writing has been adopted by a number of teachers in different schools, furthering co-operative development and planning.
Boys (as learners) are quite different from girls and as such my classroom programme was tailored to suit their needs. Much of the students’ success achieved stemmed from the ownership of the learning that took place. I would regularly sit with the boys and allow them the opportunity to choose their topic, discuss key questions and share how their choices relate to the New Zealand curriculum.