Hi Folks,
As promised in my last post, today I’d like to outline one of the ‘other’ sessions I attended at the NBEC. It was entitled “For whom the boys toil” and run by the resident woodwork teacher at The King’s School, Nick Green. The session explored the content and implications of Reichert and Hawley’s (2013) paper For whom the boy toils. There is also this link that gives a quick easy to read overview of the research paper if you prefer.
After his presentation a panel was formed with Drama and Mathematics students and volunteer delegates from the audience to reflect on the eight gestures (left) Reichert and Hawley found as central to the boy / teacher relationship’s success. It was a fascinating and interactive presentation.
These are some of my favourite comments and reflections from the presentation:
- Boys are willing to try for teachers to whom they are able to relate
- “I like people who think”
- “He makes me feel I’m worth something”
- “He makes an effort to get to know every student”
- Drama classes enable boys to develop much stronger relationships with their teachers
- In Maths class the boy felt that he had to ‘create’ a relationship with the teacher in order to get assistance and desired academic results
- When the teacher is able to give a real life example and use for what they are learning then boys are more engaged
- Boys see through phoneys
- When relationships failed to form boys tended to blame the teachers while teachers tended to blame structures, boys’ problems, learning difficulties and family difficulties.
Next week: I’ll post a review of Craig Smith’s demonstration session – “Learning from Autistic Children in Supporting Boys to Really Learn”
🙂 Have a good week!
