Boys Don't Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools

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The head of “The Brunner” is optimistic. He says there is a degree of under-performance in boys, but this does not mean they are no longer achieving. The Teaching Delusion: Why teaching in our schools isn’t good enough (and how we can make it better) by Bruce Robertson Chapter 4: Mental Health– Another thought-provoking listen with chilling statistics. Pleased to know that a number of the recommended strategies are already in place in my setting. Appreciated the mention of teacher modelling openly talking about their emotions and shoulder-shoulder talks, which made me think of a Pivotal podcast that I listened to in my first year of teaching and has stayed with me since.. Be clear on exactly what you want everybody to produce and praise boys discreetly when they meet your demands.

Competition is questioned through the fear it can also engender: “If I don’t try, then I can’t fail,”“If I write nothing, then I’ve written nothing wrong.” Be warned though: sarcasm as a form of humour is a huge no-no. ‘Banter’ with the boys is not appreciated. Even when boys seem to be enjoying it, they’re probably not. The two schools-based authors write chapters in turn. In chapter one, Mark Roberts tells of his early success as a teacher with a reputation for teaching boys well and describes his popular classroom strategies.

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Boost their 'cultural capital': It might be tempting to get boys in a sports-mad school to write essays about big match finals, but it can be better to open up students' minds to the world and help them find interests and passions they may never have known of. This section for example, where Connell reflects on the behaviour of his male friend at school immediately reinforced the research on male relationships referenced in ‘Boys Don’t Try’: Chapter 10: Other Voices– This was a slightly different chapter made up of short sections written by a variety of authors – teachers, leaders and parents – each with very their own stories to tell. I had to listen to this again (not on a walk) to take a note of all the quotes in it! In their new book, Boys Don't Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools, teachers Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts examine the research and drill down to a core conclusion: boys are not hitting their heights because of a fear of failure. Plan time into your week to develop and strengthen your subject knowledge. It’s far more valuable than filling in spreadsheets and writing to-do lists!

In Boys Don’t Try? Matt Pinkett and Mark Roberts directly link boys’ relative educational underachievement to mistaken attempts to aspire to an “outdated, but nonetheless widespread idea” about what it means to be a “real man” and “a brand of masculinity that leaves many boys floundering” - and make no mistake, it is a brand, sold hard yet often unthinkingly, with very real casualties. The message is clear: we have a lot of work to do. Sometimes, this might mean ‘spoon-feeding’ an answer to a boy in a 1:1 chat and then asking him to tell the class the answer in a whole class discussion later on so he can experience the pleasure of ‘being right.’ 4 | Focus on productivity To the fragile, male, adolescent, mindset, trying hard and still failing is the worst of both worlds. Research suggests boys are more likely than girls to self-sabotage their academic outcomes in an effort to protect their sense of self-esteem.” Boys Don’t Try? Rethinking Masculinity in Schools is available via https://www.routledge.com/9780815350255. Do you have an idea for a story?

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Dozens of studies have been conducted along these general lines, including studies using materials more like those used in classrooms, and overall the theory is not supported. Matching the ​ “preferred” modality of astudent doesn’t give that student any edge in learning.’ As aresult, Roberts states that ​ ‘boys continue to wander and fondle for no good reason.’