(Dr. Spence in the Director of Education for the Toronto District School Board.)
Jalen is a boy in Grade 4. When asked what he thinks about people
who read a lot, he says, “They need to get a life. I can think
of more fun things to do than to just sit there.” Ask him about
reading, and he adds, “I don’t like having to read for school.
When I get to choose, it’s all right, [but] I would only choose the
good stuff.”
When it comes to reading and writing, boys perform more
poorly than girls all across Canada. Similar statistics can be found
in over thirty other countries. In comparing boys and girls, boys
© say they are less committed to school.
© don’t read as many books.
© are more likely to be held back in school, suspended from
school, and drop out of school.
© are three times more likely to be in special education classes.
© are four times more likely to be diagnosed with attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
© are more successful in committing suicide, even though more
girls make the attempt.
(Heyman, 2003)
These are quite alarming facts.
But are boys really poor learners? Is there not something we,
as educators and parents, can do to motivate more boys to
become successful students? Does the disproportion of at-risk
boys in the learning environment not say something about the
way they are taught? Children, I believe, are natural learners.
Given a chance, they will try to understand and use what we
teach them.
So where have we gone wrong? Why does an otherwise successful
boy like Jalen, who in every non-school aspect seems like
a successful individual, feel that he’s not getting “the good stuff ”
in school?
I was inspired to write this book by the birth of my son,
Jacob. I want to give him opportunities to learn that were lacking
when I was young. I want him to be part of a successful
learning environment where being a boy isn’t a handicap. I
believe the school system needs to address how it is educating
the young males of our society. There has certainly been enough
research to show that boys and girls learn differently. At the same
time, numerous studies have concluded that the school curriculum
and many teachers do not take these gender learning and
behavioural differences into account. What I offer to this discussion
comes from my experiences as a teacher and administrator. I
have taught, counselled, and mentored boys throughout my
career. And, of course, I was a boy once myself.
My parents were from Jamaica, but I was born in England.
There, soccer was my passion and the sports pages were my reading,
and my brother’s. Like so many young boys, we were more
interested in becoming sports heroes than in being the teachers’
favourites. I spent more time every evening reading the sports
pages to my parents than I did with the books my teachers wanted
me to read. My brother and I collected, organized, compared,
and traded sports cards. No one ever told us that we were learning
important literacy skills.
When I was 8 and my family moved to Canada, I discovered
Sports Illustrated in the local library and became an avid reader.
The magazine was the gift of choice for my brother and me. I
also discovered that I was very good at playing soccer. The game
brought meaning to my young life and gave me confidence to
become successful academically and socially. Eventually, I earned
an athletic scholarship to Simon Fraser University, starred as a
running back on the football team, and received a degree in
criminology. After graduation, I was drafted by the B.C. Lions of
the Canadian Football League. When an injury ended my career
three years later, I began working with young people in group
homes and detention and treatment centres. These experiences
eventually led me into teaching Grade 6. I spent many of my
teaching years in middle-school classrooms, and eventually
became a principal and superintendent.
I was just a typical boy. I preferred physical activity to sitting
and listening to adults. I wanted to read about real people doing
real things instead of made-up stories about imaginary people. I
wanted to be praised and accepted for who I was, not for who
other people expected me to be.
From my work with young offenders to my years as a
teacher, principal, and superintendent, I have always had the
desire to reach out to young people—especially boys—before
they become failures in the school system. I know from the
important part reading played in my early years that literacy is
key to their success. I also know that like so many boys, I had to
be physically motivated—not just intellectually stimulated—to
learn.
As educators, we strive to ensure that every student has an
equal opportunity to acquire learning skills and knowledge. We
know from years of research the influence of gender learning
styles and teaching methods. It’s time to put this research into
practice. Many boys learn differently than the majority of girls,
especially in the area of literacy. Let’s give these boys a chance to
succeed.
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