Competence, Competence, Competence

So, Smith and Wilhelm have stressed that boys simply like to do things that they excel at. How can we make them understand that in order to get better at something, they must participate, right? Well, school seems to make the boys that were included in the study feel incompetent. "'it's better to say the reading assignment is stupid than to admit or look like you are stupid.'" (Smith, 98)

There is hope, however. Many of the boys did say that good teachers can help them to avoid that feeling of incompetence. How, do you ask?

1. A teacher should try to get to know me personally.
2. A teacher should care about me as an individual.
3. A teacher should attend to my interests in some way.
4. A teacher should help me learn and work to make sure that I have learned.
5. A teacher should be passionate, committed, work hard, and know his or her stuff.

"When teachers failed to hold up their end of the bargain, the students echoed Herb Kohl's famous book title: 'I won't learn from you.'" (Smith, 99) I know that everyone in the classroom has had a student shut down on them at one point or another. I would like to think that it is not because I failed to be any of these things on the list above, but who really knows? I do know that even if you cannot incorporate a students interest in cars, sports, etc., you still need to show an interest in their interests. Maybe just ask them how their car is running. Now, if you have a student that won't even open up enough to give you any information, I don't really know what to tell you. I have had a few of those, as well.

Even if you can't get to know them personally, do know that boys generally prefer activities that go along with reading assignments (as opposed to discussion or writing prompts). As many of you may know, by the time they get to high school, they are masters of "getting by" and really do not engage in actual learning until there is something "fun" about it. "The boys were happy to read for school projects such as making video or hypermedia documentaries, completing a bridge-building project..." (Smith, 105) They also respond well to having the opportunity to put their own identities into their projects. Like one of my previous blogs, "make it their own."

Just mix it up in the classroom. It is not only the boys in the room that will probably appreciate it. "Exclusive teacher control, they argue, works against student learning. A measure of student control works for student learning." (Smith, 113)