FEEDBACK FROM SCHOOLS
I've worked with a number of schools in metropolitan Melbourne where I live. I've also had the pleasure of working in regional settings, where the external influences on teachers and their students are quite different.
In their evaluations of the day-long workshops participants have been very generous in their assessment of my efforts, with comments including:
" A really stimulating day with practical activities I can use in my classroom."
" I was expecting a day filled with facts via PowerPoint where note taking would be the main activity. Jeannette covered so much really interesting research findings about boys - how they feel about school, and how they learn best. But she did it through some great interactive activities. I loved the way we had a chance to discuss things with teachers from other schools."
" Apart from the findings about why boys are not achieving as well as girls, the biggest lessons I'm taking home today are (1) we can't expect to change everything instantly, it's an incremental step-by-step process and (2) I'm OK. Jeannette made us feel that we're already on the right path of wanting to learn more and that we're doing some great work with and for our boys."
" A really enjoyable and fun day - one of the most useful and informative PD I've attended in years."
HELPING BOYS ACHIEVE
Regardless of the geographical setting, I remain impressed by the enthusiasm and dedication of society's greatest asset - our teachers. All the research into how best to help boys achieve supports my lifelong belief that teachers are the cornerstone of civilisation. Without great teachers, we have no happy, successful and inspired plumbers, poets, doctors, truck drivers or thinkers.
In other areas of my consultancy, I often ask senior executives to name someone in their childhood or adolescence who was influential in their current success. In almost every single case, they've named a teacher, and sometimes more than one teacher.
Success for boys requires educators who are eager to try new ways to motivate, teach and assess all students. It requires teachers who are willing to learn about the ways boys learn best and to adapt their pedagogy, teaching practice, to accommodate research findings. Most of all, success for our students needs dedicated professionals who are willing to convey to students that they care what happens to them, and that they want the best for them, and that they expect their best efforts from each and every student.
They're the qualities I have found among teachers in my Success for boys workshops.
