Learning, rather than being taught. (How boys are falling behind at school and what can be done to help them.)

As the mother of four boys, two of whom are now in school and a third in preschool, it worries me to read that boys are falling further behind in school and that one in five boys cannot write their name after a year of primary school:

Boys have fallen further behind girls in key areas of development, including writing and the ability to concentrate, following the introduction of Labour’s ‘nappy curriculum’ last year.

Eighteen per cent are unable to write their own name and simple words such as ‘mum’, ‘dad’ and ‘cat’ by the time they reach the end of primary school reception classes at age five.

And research out last week by the Cambridge Primary Review suggests that children should not start formal learning until they are age six.

With the emphasis very much on formal learning at an early age, boys, in particular, are being ill-served by schools because they are not allowed enough outside play, nor to move around in the classroom as they learn, nor – for under 7s – encouraged to learn through play. The formal curriculum increasingly being pushed on young children and pre-schoolers will NOT help our children, boys particularly, do better academically. And so it is hardly surprising to read that boys are falling further behind in school.

This year my son, who is seven and in Year 3, has moved into Key Stage 2 and is really struggling with the long, boring days. He spends ‘too much time sitting down on the floor’ (which I find suprising to hear, given his classroom is small and has desks where everyone faces the teacher which makes teaching to the class while they are sitting at their desks perfectly practical). He also complains that there is not enough time spent outside running off ‘all the energy he has got’. His teacher is nice. She is very calm. She is strict. These are all good qualities for keeping a classroom of rowdy children under control; no-one wants anarchy in the classroom because our children wouldn’t learn anything. But children, and boys in particular, need to be interested, participating and involved in order to learn well. And for many of them that requires moving about, doing things, rather than sitting and listening to somewhat passive teaching. A quiet, hardworking classroom looks good to the onlooker, but it isn’t necessarily the way that children learn best, particularly boys.

My second son is six and in Year 2. His teacher is the same one Harry had last year. She is nice. She is a bit shouty. She is quite strict. She has a slightly chaotic classroom. The children are often moving about. To the onlooker, it might look like she doesn’t have a lot of control over the pupils. But the children love her. They love being in her class. They learn a huge amount. She is an outstanding teacher and teaches other teachers across the country.  They love the things she prepares for them to do.  My son, who is having a few issues at school with friendships, wants to go to school even though he doesn’t really like it there because he loves the work she gives them and the way he learns in the classroom.

When he homeschooled we almost never sat at a table doing workbooks. We learnt through play, through activities, anything that involved moving, interacting and participating: learning, rather than being taught.

Reading, writing and social skills are key to achievement in later life and if boys are falling behind in reading and writing what can you, as a parent, do? Well, you can read to your children as much as you and they can bear. Buy or borrow books that are written for boys. The Max Flash series (Sub Zero (Max Flash)) written by Jonny Zucker are great for boys.  Encourage non-fiction reading. Read books that will make them laugh; I often pull Oh, Yuck!: The Encyclopedia of Everything Nasty off the shelf and I secretly grimace my way through it, but they love it and will continue to read it when I leave them with it. Let them cook, preferably something that makes a bit of a mess and they will practice their maths and reading and hopefully their tidying up skills too. Let them do science experiments at the kitchen table. The DK Kitchen Science book is good for this and doesn’t require anything too arduous in the way of preparation. Competitive activities and play-fighting appeal particularly to boys; encourage them. And let them get plenty of exercise before and after school – walk to school if you can and in summer send the children into the garden for ten minutes before setting off for school to run off some energy. Come home via the park or make a playdate with a friend if it means your children will run around more. Consider starting your son at school at a later age, and let him spend Reception Year (pre-K) and/or Year 1 (Kindergarten) in a more play-based environment. Some schools – even good ones – will consider holding a place open for up to a year.

At your child’s school ask the governors, the Friends of the School parents group or the headteacher what can be done to allow boys to move around the classroom while they are learning and if they can have as much playtime outside and activities like PE (Phys Ed) and creative art as the timetable allows. Ask if boys can sit at the front of classes to get maximum impact from sometimes softly-spoken female teachers. Ask the school to encourage competitive activities. Encourage your school to set less homework (if you have formal homework, make it physical wherever possible: do spellings on the stairs – for every right spelling they move up a step, down for one wrong, if they get to the top, they get to do a ridiculous goal ‘run-around’ like the professional footballers do when they score). Intervention strategies like these can be implemented to benefit boys whilst not impacting negatively on girls’ performance. Get your child’s father to be CRB checked by the school so that he can help out on school trips whenever possible. Encourage your son to take subjects which are assessed by exams rather than coursework if possible (boys do better with the cram-at-the-last-minute kind of work). If coursework is unavoidable help him plan how to get the work done.

Encourage boys that they can aspire to be teachers in the future. The shortage of male teachers particularly at primary levels is acute and as boys grow up thinking that teaching is a ‘girl’s job’ it will be to the detriment of the next generation of boys. And if you are not a parent of boys, encourage those who are amongst your circle of friends or wider family to get the most out of the education system; the welfare of the next generation is the responsibiltity of us all and we will all surely benefit.

More:

Raising Boy’s Achievement – Research Report

Lessons in life at the forst school -under 7s learning through play rather than through formal learning.

Photo: woodleywonderworks

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