From page 219:" it is the quality of student-teacher rapport that has the greatest effect on boys' achievement"
In reading, Boy Smarts, I look for gems like the one above which either confirm what I already think I know, or explains something I did not know.
Here are a few more from page 6:
"boys are more fragile than they appear...the are often misread....they fidget, they tap their feet and they look away, which may be interpreted as defiance and arrogance rather than anxiety."
"their active learning patterns may be seen as threatening, their physical forms of bonding are perceived as aggression."
"The teacher kept saying his lack of attention and misbehaviour was stopping him from learning, but no one really understood how to teach him."
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I have to tell you Kent, that your point about connecting with boys has really hit home to me personally this year. My son is in Grade 10 and has not felt any connection to one of his teachers this year, with quite unsettling results in his grades for that one subject.
ReplyDeleteHe is a successful student in all other areas but I definitely saw that fragility you mention interpreted by the teacher as a lack of interest and aloofness.
We've tried to make it a learning experience here at home about how to get along with all kinds of people, but I can't help wondering about what would have happened if this had been the kind of experience my son had experienced with the majority of his teachers...what would have happened to him then?
Scary thought....
Brenda,
ReplyDeleteThank you for your personal response.
The boys reading, writing, motivation and engagement literature has really moved me into action during this school year.
I was very encouraged when our district improvement plan included the following smart goal:
"Boys will independently produce non-fiction writing for an intended purpose and audience."
All the reading I've done points not only to the writing and cognitive side of boys learning but invariably, I end up reading about the affective domain. I'm finding this side of the literature very compelling.
Again, thank you for reading and sharing and lets continue the conversation...
Kent