Boys Will Be Boys

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6. Boys Will Be Boys “Female” “Male”

7. Boys Will Be Boys Boy crisis, girl crisis, or understanding gender in schools crisis?

8. Boys Will Be Boys Victor 2009 IB Diploma Graduates Notice all the boys…

9. Boys Will Be Boys There they are… Victor 2009 GED Graduates

10. But wait… Project Lead The Way and Valedictorian

11. Boys Will Be BoysMotivation I want you to want to do the dishes... Alternate

12. What we can do: • Purpose, implications for the real world. • Less “Here’s what I know…now spit it back.” More hands on, student centered, inspiring a desire to learn more. • Be prepared to answer “Why do we need to learn this” with more than “To do well on the test.” • Keep parents informed of due dates and projects. Send an email home with important upcoming events. • Keep a kid after school. He might enjoy it. • Manipulatives and props…the more the merrier. • Have them write out goals and check them off as they go. • Competition – as long as it’s winnable for everyone. • Debates vs. arguments • Games and game shows….Who Wants to Be a Millionaire, Dating Game, Jeopardy, have them create their own. Have them act. • Use their interactions and relationships with one another. Fractions - Weeden? Politics in the hallways, have them act out historical relationships. • Jobs…for older kids, look to the future. How can what you’re learning be applied to the workforce. Allow choice in assignments to cater to individual career goals. • Solving problems. • Visual Medias • Personalize assignments. When they feel like it matters to them, they’ll be more apt to complete it. Motivation

13. Boys Will Be BoysAggression and Discipline “The Bear” and my dad

14. Things we can do: • Separate sex grouping • Take a walk. Have a talk. • Get them up and moving around. Exercise…ie. Writer boot camp. • Build relationships. • Talk to them about “why?” Learn about their biological and hormonal response. Give a cue. • Break the negative trend. • Be authoritative, firm, and fair. That doesn’t require much yelling. • Negotiate by offering choices…all of which you approve of. • Divert and distract. Figure out a way to diffuse the problem with humor. Pointing to head. • Boys take a little longer to transition. Give them some warning. • Ask yourself, “Is this behavior going to affect the safety of the classroom?” If not, let’s move on. • Non–Negotiables. Create a line they must not cross, let them know where that line is, what the consequences of crossing it are, and hold firm. When they cross it, punish and be done. Period. • Help boys understand their aggressive tendencies. You’re fighting against biology. • Early grade teachers: Never eliminate recess. You can change it…but don’t eliminate it. Don’t have recess? Fight for it. • Discipline problems often way to keep brain engaged. Engage the brain in other ways. • Engage in a power struggle, you lose. Plain and simple. • Stay calm. If need be, remove the boy. Then have a conversation with him later. Punishing a boy will stop the behavior for now. It will not change the behavior over time. Aggression and Discipline

15. Boys Will Be BoysRole Models Lawn mowers and elephants – Get the community involved.

16. Things we can do: • Seek out men in the community for help. • Have kids engage with men in the community. Letters, interviews, etc. • Cross grade levels. This gives older kids purpose and younger kids role models. • Share this info with parents. • Point out male leaders in your field of study who have made huge contributions. Let them know it’s cool to be a smart guy. • Homework help groups. Can you get men to come help out? Tutor? Just work with the boys? You could do this with girls too. • Let fathers know how important it is to get involved. Target the kids without fathers. Find them helpful role models somehow, someway. • Lunchtime or recess time with guys. Can parents rotate in during decent weather to play sports with the boys? • Get creative. Role Models

17. Boys Will Be BoysLiteracy “Our educational culture is, in general, quite judgmental about what kids read.” ~Michael Gurian “Right now, I’m seeing many boys who have never had the experience, not even once, of reading a book that really excites them. They’ve never read a book that punched them in the gut. They’ve never cried while reading a book. They have no clue how powerful books can be.” Dr. Leonard Sax “A writing curriculum so heavily slanted toward test preparation will not encourage kids to develop a love for writing, find their voices, and deeply engage in the craft…not only are we force feeding them a kind of writing that is teacher-directed and formulaic, but more importantly, there’s no payoff—no purpose, no tangible reader, no fun…” Ralph Fletcher

18. Things we can do: • Allow choice. • Allow choice. • Allow choice. • Regardless of your content, make it known that you value literacy. Have a book laying out at all times. • Make your it your goal to develop a love for reading. • You can’t force students to like a book. You can turn them off to reading for a lifetime. • You can also turn them on to reading for a lifetime. • Help kids understand the value of the written word in a world dominated by technology. • In every subject, in every career, the most successful are often those who read. Make sure our students know this. Literacy

19. Boys Will Be BoysScreen Time • Did you know*? • The average American household has its television on for 6.7 hours per day. The average American parents spend 3.5 hours having meaningful conversation with their children…per week. • By the time the average American kid reaches 18, h/she will have spent 22,000 hours watching TV. The only thing h/she’ll do more? Sleep. • By the time the average kid is 21, h/she’ll have seen one million commericals. • By age 16, the average American kid will have seen 200,000 acts of violence on TV. 33,000 of those acts will be murder. • Americans check out 6 million videos per day. The number of library books checked out? 3 million. • The most striking thing about these statistics? They fail to include video games, internet use, ipod downloads, or any use of a screen other than watching TV. • *Taken from Michael Gurian’s book, A Fine Young Man

20. Things we can do: • Educate boys (and girls) about appropriate use of “the screen.” • Help students navigate the virtual world. • Become even more media literate yourself. • Help students recognize the importance of books when they’re researching. While the internet is a useful tool, books are still a valuable resource. • Consider attempting “screen free” time in your school or classroom. • Ask your most active and rambunctious or unmotivated kids how often they use computers/watch screens. If it’s often, perhaps an education on how their brains operate might make a difference. • Use technology in your classroom. It’s a tremendous resource if used properly. Just consider that if every teacher is using technology, we give homework requiring computers, and the kids watch tv in the evening, they’re spending an awful lot of time in front of a screen. Screen time

21. Boys Will Be Boys More discussion Next workshop: January 13 Michael Gurian – All kinds of books – VTC copies, JH Library. Leonard Sax – Boys and Girls Learn Differently, Boys Adrift Mary Pipher – Riviving Ophelia – 4 copies in HS library Kindlon and Thompson – Raising Cain Ralph Fletcher – Boy Writers Others? Newsletters with suggestions for teachers and parents