Category Archives: Teaching Practice

The Problem With Boys

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written by Todd Beach

What are little boys made of?
Slugs and snails
And puppy-dogs’ tails,
That’s what little boys are made of.

What are little girls made of?
Sugar and spice
And everything nice,
That’s what little girls are made of.[1]

 

In 1998, Harvard researcher and clinical psychologist William Pollack published the New York Times bestselling book, Real Boys, which revealed his research on what he called this generation’s “silent crisis” concerning the raising of boys in our society.  In his book, Pollack challenges our traditional ideas surrounding masculinity and male identity and how the traditional paradigm fails to address the needs of boys in our changing society.

I found the book to be incredibly interesting and I was especially intrigued by the chapter titled, ‘Schools, The Blackboard Jumble’ where Pollack argues that schools are failing boys as students at record levels and describes a new gender gap in education where boys are over represented in the bottom of their class and in a number of other categories such as dropout rates, special education services, and truancies.  With these findings I anticipated more studies by researchers to help identify how schools could better serve boys and specifically understand how teachers could better engage boys in the classroom, but sadly there are relatively few studies with this aim.

My interest in this topic has been constant in my teaching practice but it is especially peaked each September when I see enrollment numbers for my 9th grade Honors American Government & Citizenship course and my AP European History course.  Traditionally more girls than boys have registered for these challenging courses but this year the numbers are especially skewed with girls outnumbering boys more than 2 to 1.

What are the long term consequences of this continuing phenomenon?  When you consider the emergence of the new knowledge economy, the high number of boys who drop out of school and the outsourcing of semi-skilled labor to developing countries what does this mean for their future and what can schools and teachers do to help curb or reverse the trend? Continue reading →

Animal Farm, Technology & Formative Assessment

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written by Todd Beach

“Obviously he would not have become a famous philosopher had he confined himself purely to listening to others… He just asked questions, especially to begin a conversation as if he knew nothing.  The essential nature of Socrates’ art lay in the fact that he did not appear to want to instruct people.  On the contrary he gave the impression of one desiring to learn from those he spoke with.  So instead of lecturing like a traditional schoolmaster, he discussed.”  -Sophie’s World, by Jostein Gaarder

One of the challenges associated with facilitating Socratic seminars in the classroom is trying to create an environment where every student feels they can contribute and have a voice.  This is best accomplished by placing students in small groups (usually 4-6 students per group) which I’ve found to be a nice size for pure and thoughtful discussion without the forced, sometimes coerced dialogue.  The small group size affords students a chance to contribute and synthesize ideas being voiced while also being accountable to the expectations of a scholarly discussion, which is to build upon the student’s current knowledge of the topic and challenge new ideas students have about the topic. Continue reading →

The Sweet Spot

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written by Michael Hartoonian

What Every Teacher Must Teach

What Every Kid Must Learn

 

The power of the sweet spot is pure art.  It doesn’t matter in which discipline you work – medicine, agriculture, baseball, or life – hitting the sweet spot is an aesthetic joy – a joy that comes only from the work ethic and the word ethic.

If happiness is the aim of life, be sure you understand its foundation. The word ethic means learning.  Learn all you can, when you can, everywhere you can.  Learning is the key to all you do, all you are, and all you will be.  With learning you understand that you must exercise your (for) health, give freely of your talent, and practice virtue.  If you are learning, healthy, and good, you will acquire a quiet conscience, private esteem, and public honor – in other words, happiness.  You should want nothing more than this.  With happiness thus defined, you will easily obtain what you need, and more important; what you love.  Good health, a right conscience, strong work habits, a love of what you do, and freedom in all you pursue will direct your life toward happiness.  In this context, life is sweet, indeed.