Enhancing the School Success of Boys of Color Grades PreK-3 Train-The-Trainer Summer Institute

1. Enhancing the School Success of Boys of Color Grades PreK-3Train-The-Trainer Summer Institute Lansing Public Schools July 18, 2011 Dorinda J. Carter Andrews, Ed.D.

2. Module 4 Establishing a Boy-Friendly Classroom

3. Boy-Friendly Learning Environments • Effective Preschool Classrooms: • Support spatial-mechanical play and learning • Provide large bulletin boards where boys can proudly display their creations • Have lots of books, blocks of various sizes, and karate kicks • Have lots of light for working, reading, playing, and learning • Allow for choice-making • Have visuals on walls that reinforce concepts teachers are trying to help all students learn

4. Boy-Friendly Learning Environments • Effective Preschool Classrooms: • Provide brain breaks to support the rest state that boys naturally encounter • Evidences music being played and made • Provides opportunities for learning in natural settings (through outdoor experiences) • Aren’t “wordy” environments

5. Bonding and Attachment • Young children learn best when they learn from someone with whom they are intimately attached. • The brain needs bonding and attachment to fully grow and learn. • In the PreK-K age group, stress is generally founded in fear of attachment loss.

6. Bonding and Attachment • Bonding Solutions • Having two teachers in the classroom is optimal (the second mother concept) • Establish “I Love You Rituals” • “High Five” game, The Little Box • Routines and Schedules

7. Bonding and Attachment • Tips • Be genuine with children • Call each child by name • Learn about the child’s world, personal life, and personal interests • Use “I noticed . . .” statements • Smile, touch (when appropriate), and make eye contact • Attend events in the child’s life whenever possible • Respect the child and the child’s opinions • Personally disclose your life as appropriate/Tell your own story • Give the child choices and options that compel healthy decision making • Be nonjudgmental • Listen, and then listen some more • Admit mistakes you have made

8. Dealing with Aggressive Behavior • Boys are generally more physically aggressive than girls, and girls are generally more socially manipulative than boys. • Aggression Nurturance strategies

9. Brainstorming/Strategizing With your building team, identify strategies for establishing a boy-friendly (school, classroom), with boys of color in mind. (Remember the concept of mapping race and culture on your learning about gender differences) • Bonding and attachment • The Work Space/Classroom Setup • Aggression Nurturance

10. Setting High Academic Expectations • No Opt Out • A sequence that begins with a student unable to answer a question should end with the student answering that question as often as possible • Format Matters • It’s not just what students say that matters but how they communicate it. To succeed, students must take their knowledge and express it in the language of opportunity • Right is Right • Set and defend a high standard of correctness in your classroom • Without Apology • Do not apologize for the material that you’re teaching • Stretch It • The sequence of learning doesn’t end with a right answer; reward right answers with follow-up questions that extend knowledge and test for reliability.

11. Activities • Activity 4.1 • Activity 4.2

12. What Stuck? • An ‘Aha’ moment • A pleasant surprise • Something that you had to struggle with to understand • Something that you don’t agree with • Something that you agree with strongly • Something you thought was particularly interesting • Something you didn’t expect • An insight or solution • Something you want to know more about/A question that you have