Helping Boys Learn

Happy Teachers Day! Have you thanked a teacher yet?

Schools often get a bad rap, particularly where boys are concerned. In many places, school has become a sit-down-and-shut-up kind of place, a place where recess and gym are being phased out in favor of more...worksheets. Is it any wonder that so many boys are doing so poorly in school?

But this Teachers Day, I want to focus on the educators and authors who are working to make our schools a better place for our sons. People like:

• Dr. Marcus Jackson. Dr. Jackson is the principal of Pointe South Elementary in Jonesboro, Georgia. He's also the author of "Because My Teacher Said I Can," a children's book that celebrates the power of encouragement. I've had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Jackson a couple of times, and let me tell you this: He is determined to help his boys -- the students in his school -- succeed. His school is in one the poorest areas of the state, yet his students' reading and writing scores are among the highest in the state. Inspired by Dr. Jackson, the boys at his school read -- and Dr. Jackson doesn't care what they're reading. "When it comes to reading, we allow students to choose their books," he says. "My boys, if they want to read about Muhammad Ali or baseball and Babe Ruth, that's OK. We'll get to the novels, to To Kill a Mockingbird, later." 
• Dr. Allison Carr-Chellman.  Dr. Carr-Chellman, a professor of education at PennState, is talking honestly about some of the ways today's classrooms are hindering our sons. Check out this video where she discusses how zero-tolerance policies can inhibit boys' writing, She also talks about ways schools can use video gaming to get boys excited about learning.
• Richard Whitmire. Richard's book, Why Boys Fail: Saving Our Sons From an Educational System That's Leaving Them Behind, was just honored as one of the Top 5 Educational Books of 2012.
• Michael Gurian. Some parents of boys are unimpressed with Michael Gurian; they think he focuses too much on unproven or questionable claims of brain-based differences between boys and girls. But as a mom of four boys, I'm convinced that boys are wired differently than girls. (Note: "different" does not mean "better" or "worse.") His book, The Minds of Boys, helped me understand my sons and the challenges they face in society, and for that, I am grateful. 
• Leonard Sax. Leonard Sax is a medical doctor and PhD-level psychologist who write and speaks frequently about boys and education. His books include Why Gender Matters and Boys Adrift.
• Peg Tyre. In 2008, Peg published The Trouble with Boys: A Surprising Report Card on Our Sons, Their Problems at School and What Parents & Educators Must Do. Her latest book, The Good School: How Smart Parents Can Help Their Kids Get the Education They Deserve, picks up where The Trouble with Boys left off.

Who else should we add to our Helping-Boys-Learn list?

Great Teachers, Part II

In my other life, I'm a professional writer. And lately, we writers have noticed that a lot of people take good writing for granted. Anyone, the thinking goes, can write -- so why pay someone big bucks to craft an article for you when anyone can hammer out some words on a keyboard?

As writers, we know that good writing doesn't just happen. Good writers are also good researchers. Good writers are connected. Good writers conduct interviews with top experts -- and ask the tough questions. Good writers understand the difference between heresay and fact, and good writers know how to present opposing opinions in a balanced manner. Good writers make reading fun. We know how to structure a paragraph, a sentence, an article to attract your eye and amuse your intellect.

Good writers -- ones who have honed their skills for years -- are also typically peeved when someone with no experience is hired to write an article on, say, anything, because all too often that article ends up looking like this.

What does this have to do with teaching? Good question.

As a homeschooler, I've often argued that teaching degrees and certifications are unnecessary. Then I interviewed a woman who is National Board Certified teacher.

The amount of time and dedication she's put into her profession is amazing. (See Great Teacher.) And for the first time, I could see how, to someone like her, homeschool parents look like a bunch of uneducated hicks.

But...

Being a classroom teacher is entirely different than homeschooling your children. To teach in a classroom, you need a broad understanding of child development, learning styles and curriculum. You need a teacher tool box, full of ideas for reaching every single student that crosses into your classroom.

Homeschooling parents don't need all that. To homeschool effectively, a parent needs to love and understand his or her child. I don't need to know all about auditory learners to reach my very active kinesthetic learner. I don't need to know how to handle an autistic child in the classroom because, frankly, none of my kids are autistic. I do, however, need to know how to handle a highly-spirited, gifted child.

And here's the kicker: Because I love my children, because I know them and want the very best for them, I, like most homeschool parents, will walk to the ends of the earth (or search the Internet all night, whichever comes first) until I find something that works for my child. Have you ever seen a homeschooler's house? It's filled with books, learning activities, games and curriculum catalogs. The bookshelves are likely jammed -- with everything from simple storybooks to college textbooks and books about learning theory, brain development and homeschooling. Most homeschool parents, like most dedicated teachers, spend years expanding their skills. Like teachers, we attend conferences. We share ideas. And we learn.

As a writer, I'm appalled when someone with no experience is hired to write an article. But I never -- never -- tell someone who wants to write that they can't do it. Because once upon a time, I was a Registered Nurse.

What Makes a Great Teacher?

Bill Gates is someone I admire. He has billions of dollars and absolutely no financial incentive to ever work again, yet he continues to devote his time, energy and resources to worthy causes, such as global health and, recently, education.

Gates recently committed $45 million dollars to the Measures of Effective Teaching Project, a study designed to identify the characteristics of good teaching. The idea, of course, is to then replicate those characteristics in classrooms across the country.

Not everyone thinks it's money well-spent. Retired teacher James D. Starkey wrote a thought-provoking op-ed for Education Week, an op-ed which is inspiring a fair amount of controversy.

Teaching, Starkey says, isn't about tricks and techniques. Teaching and learning, he says, "happen whenever significant adults interact with and direct children. You can’t stop it."

I argued a similar point in a column I wrote for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel last year. And while teachers weren't happy with me (I argued that an interested adult who supports and encourages the children's curiousity is an effective teacher -- whether or not that adult holds a teacher's certificate), I stand by my point. Children are hard-wired to learn. It is virtually impossible for a child to get through a day without learning anything. It's even more impossible when that child is in the care of an attentive adult.

I don't know about your kids, but mine constantly ask questions. Some are rather mundane ("Can I have oatmeal for breakfast?" and some are thought-provoking ("What effect did tanks have on World War II?") All of them -- even the oatmeal question -- inspire discussion and learning.

The debate, though, doesn't stop with me or Mr. Starkey. The debate as to what makes a good teacher will go on and on. Add your voice to the debate. What do you think makes a good teacher?